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HANDBOOK 


FOR 


TRAVELLERS IN SICILY. 







A 


HANDBOOK FOR TRAVELLERS 


SICILY: 


INCLUDING- PALERMO, MESSINA, CATANIA, SYRACUSE, 
ETNA, AND THE RUINS OF THE 
GREEK TEMPLES. 


WITH MAP AND PLANS. 


J 



JOHN MUEBAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 


PARIS: A. Sc W. GALIGNANI AND CO.; XAVIER. 
MILAN: ARTARIA. TURIN: MAGGI. 
FLORENCE: EDW. GOODBAN. 

ROME: SPITHOVER; PIALE. NAPLES; DETKEN. 


1864. 


The right of Translation is reserved. 


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Constantinople. Greece. 

WICK. ATHENS . . A. NAST. 






PREFACE. 


►O*- 


This Handbook is the fruit of four visits to Sicily made in 1847, 1852, 
1857, and 1863. It has been so long promised to the public that some 
apology is due for the delay that has occurred in its appearance. I 
must absolve the publisher from blame, and assume the entire respon¬ 
sibility, urging in explanation that avocations of a totally foreign character 
in one of the hottest and most insalubrious climates of the globe have 
left me neither time nor energy steadily to fulfil literary engagements. 
The work, though commenced many years since, has, in fact, been written 
almost entirely during occasional visits to Europe, and under disadvantages 
which those who have settled residences, and the command of time and 
books, never experience. It cannot fail, therefore, to betray errors and 
defects which claim the tourist’s indulgence. The political revolution 
recently effected in Sicily has probably rendered a few of my notices 
now inapplicable, though I endeavoured to correct them, as far as possible, 
on my last visit to the island. I shall therefore be thankful for any 
corrections, additions, or criticisms with which those who make use of this 
guide-book may favour me, as the result of their personal observation, in 
order that more accuracy may be ensured in a future edition. 

It is impossible to specify all the sources from which I have derived assist¬ 
ance in the writing of this work ; but I must not omit to mention my 
obligations to Mr. Goodwin, H.M. Consul at Palermo, for the mass of valu¬ 
able information on the condition of Sicily at various periods which he has 
kindly placed at my disposal, and of which I have often availed myself 
without special acknowledgment. I am also proud to own my obligations 
to the Right Hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the use of the 
Journal he kept on his tour through the island in 1838, from which I have 
occasionally cited passages, indicated by the initials W. E. G., and have 
extracted an animated and faithful description of the ascent of Etna. 

Geo. Dennis. 


a 2 


London , February , 1864. 













' 














CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 


§ A. General Topography .. page vii 


§ B. Geology . ix 

§ C. Mineralogy. xii 

§ D. Climate. xii 

§ E. Political Divisions.xiv 

§ P. Population.xiv 

§ G. Agriculture. xv 


§ H. Mines. page xx 

§ i. Fisheries . xxi 

§ J. Manufactures . xxii 

§ K. Commerce.xxiii 

§ t. Antiquities and Art .. .. xxiv 

§ M. Chronological Tables .. .. xxix 


PRELIMINARY 

§ t. Passports .. .. page xxxix 


§ 2. Custom-houses .xxxix 

§ 3. Money.xxxix 

§4. Weights and Measures .. .. xii 

§ 5. Steamers to Sicily .. .. xii 

§ 6. Railroads .xliii 

§ 7. Roads and Modes of Travelling xliii 


INFORMATION. 

§ 8. The Giro, or Tour of 

the Island .. .. page xlvi 

§ 9. Inns and Accommodation .. xlviii 
§ 10. Requisites for Travelling .. xlix 
§11. Seasons for Travelling .. 1 

§ 12. Security of the Roads .. li 

§ 13. Skeleton Tours. lii 


ROUTES. 

*J* The names of places are printed in italics only in those routes where the places are 

described. 


ROUTE PAGE 

Palermo— 

General Information .. .. 1 

Description. 9 

2. Palermo to Trapani, with Ex¬ 

cursions to the Ruins of 
Segeste, and to Monte San 
Giuliano .143 

3. Palermo to Alcamo, by the 

Coast.162 

4. Palermo to the Ruins of Selinus, 

by Salemi .165 

5. Trapani to Castelvetrano .. 177 

6. Castelvetrano to Girgenti .. 186 

7. Palermo to Catania .. .. 216 

8. Palermo to Sciacca, by Corleone 239 

9. Palermo to Girgenti, by Ler- 

cara .245 

10. Palermo to Messina, by the 

J Coast.250 

11. Termini to Cainscibetta .. .. 281 

12. Petralia to Bronte.284 

13. Palermo to Giardini, by Bronte 289 

Index . 


ROUTE PAGE 

14. Randazzo to Giardini, by 

Francavilla .296 

15. Girgenti to Castrogiovanni .. 297 

16. Castrogiovanni to Caltagirone 301 

17. Caltanisetta to Catania, by 

Piazza.306 

18. Girgenti to Syracuse, by Mo- 

dica and Noto .308 

19. Terranova to Syracuse, by 

Chiaramonte and Palazzolo 360 

20. Terranova to Syracuse, by Ra- 

gusa, Palazzolo, and Sortino 364 

21. Terranova to Syracuse, by the 

Coast.367 

22. Terranova to Syracuse, by Cal- 

tagirone .372 

23. Caltagirone to Catania .. .. 375 

24. Caltagirone to Catania, by 

Lentini .377 

25. Syracuse to Catania, by Lentini 378 

26. Syracuse to Catania, by Agosta 384 

27. Catania to Messina .. .. 447 

.515 

































MAP AND PLANS 


- M- 

Palermo . To face page 9 

TEMPLES OF SELINUS. 1G9 

TEMPLES OF GIRGENTI. 198 

SYRACUSE . 325 

CATANIA . 387 

ETNA AND ITS LAYA CURRENTS. 411 

MESSINA. 465 

MAP OF SICILY . At the end. 












INTRODUCTION. 


►OU¬ 


TAGE 

§ A. General Topography .. .. vii 


§ B. Geology . ix 

§ C. Mineralogy. xii 

§ D. Climate . xii 

§ E. Political Divisions .. .. xiv 

§ F. Population .. xiv 

§ G. Agriculture. xv 


PAGE 


§ H. Mines. xx 

§ I. Fisheries . xxi 

§ J. Manufactures . xxii 

§ K. Commerce.xxiii 

§ L. Antiquities and Art .. .. xxiv 

§ M. Chronological Tables .. .. xxix 


§ A. General Topography. 

Sicily, the first island in the Mediterranean, rivalling Sardinia in size, and 
far surpassing it in importance and the place it has occupied in history, 
lies between lat. 36° 38' and 38° 18° N., and between long. 12° 25' and 
15° 40' E. It has the form of an irregular triangle. This peculiarity was 
early observed by the Greeks, and conferred on the island the name of 
“ Tkrinacria as Homer has it, or of “ Trinacria” as generally given by 
subsequent writers ; converted into Triquetra by the Romans ; the three 
angles or promontories—rpeis- ajcpcn —being Pelorus to the N.E., now Capo 
Faro; Pachynus to the S.E., now Capo Passaro; and Lilybceum on the 
W., now Capo Boeo, near Marsala. The north side of the island is 215 m.; 
the east side, 145 m. ; and the south side, 190 m. in length. The cir¬ 
cumference, taking the sinuosities of the coast into account, is estimated 
at 624 m. ; the area is about 10,556 square miles. Sicily lies to the S.W. 
of Italy, at the very toe of the hoot, the promontory of Pelorus being little 
more than 2 m. from the mainland, separated by the channel which in 
ancient times was called Fretum Siculum, hut is now known as the Straits 
of Messina. Cape Passaro is distant 56 m. from Malta ; and Capo Boeo 
stretches out towards the African coast, being only 80 m. from Cape Bon, 
in the territory of Tunis. 

Mountains. —The greater portion of Sicily is more or less mountainous. 
In the centre of the E. coast rises, in lonely grandeur, the great volcano of 
Etna, to the height of nearly 11,000 feet, towering far above all the other 
mountain chains, from which it is completely isolated. Its circumference 
at the base, as defined by its natural boundaries, the sea, the Simeto, and 
the Cantara, is at least 120 m. From Cape Faro a chain of mountains 
stretches along the coast, towards Etna; hut at Taormina it turns off to 
the W., extending quite across the island, though much nearer to the 
northern than to the southern shore, and rising into an elevated group in 
the centre of its course. The range from the Faro to Taormina was of old 
called the Neptunius Mons, but is now known as the Peloric chain : it 

















Viii § A. GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY. Illtrod. 

attains, in Monte Dinnamare, the height of 3260 ft. That which crosses 
the island westward from Taormina, anciently the Nebrodes, now goes by 
the name of the Madonian Mountains. In the Pizzo di Palermo it 
reaches the altitude of 6328 ft. Toward the W. it breaks up into irregular 
and often detached masses ; and on the coast shows a series of bold head¬ 
lands, some of which, as Monte Pellegrino (1963 ft.) and Monte S. Giuli- 
ano (2184 ft.), are quite isolated. About the centre of the range a chain of 
lofty hills, broken by deep valleys and precipitous ravines, branches off 
to the S.E. through the heart of the island, sinking in the Val di Noto 
into table-lands, which gradually shelve down to the sea at Cape Passaro. 
From the Madonian range, the great watershed of the island, inferior chains 
diverge to the south, with a gradual sinking of the ground, so that while 
the northern and eastern coasts, where the mountains impend in abrupt 
headlands over the waves, present some of the most romantic and pictur¬ 
esque scenery in Europe, the western and southern, where the high ground 
meets the shore in long easy slopes, are comparatively monotonous and 
tame. 

Plains .—There is little level ground in Sicily; but here and there on 
the coast, where the mountains recede from the sea, there are wide tracts of 
low, level land, generally of great fertility. The largest is the great Plain 
of Catania, the Campi Leontini of antiquity, fabled as the native place of 
wheat, and the spot where Ceres first taught man the practice of agricul¬ 
ture. The other plains are those of Palermo, fondly termed the Conca 
d’Oro, or Golden Shell, and of Castellamare, on the northern coast, and 
those of Licata and Terranova on the southern; the latter renowned of old 
as the Campi Geloi. 

Rivers .—The rivers of Sicily are very numerous, but small and unnavi- 
gable. The principal are the Fiume Grande, on the north; the Simeto 
or Giarretta, the Cantara, and the Anapo, on the east; the Salso, the 
Platani, and the Belici, on the southern coast. There are, moreover, a 
multitude of small streams, which in the hot season are nearly or entirely 
dried up, but, after heavy rains, swell suddenly into furious impassable 
torrents. Insignificant as for the most part they are, the rivers of Sicily 
make a conspicuous figure in history. “ Rivers have played in this island 
the same part as passes in Italy or Palestine. The Himera, the Crimisus, 
the Cacyparis, the Asinarus, have been to Sicily what Antrodoco and the 
Caudine Forks have been to the Italian Peninsula .”—Grant Duff. 

Lakes. Sicily has few lakes. The largest, called the Bivieredi Lentini, 
varies from 10 to 20 m. in circumference, according to the season. The 
Lago di Pergusa, in the heart of the island, is the renowned Lake of Enna, 
where Pluto is fabled to have seized the blooming Proserpine. The Lago 
de Palici, in the S.E., is of volcanic formation, and presents such singular 
phenomena as to have been regarded with superstitious awe by the ancients. 
The other lakes are the Biviere di Terranova, the Lago Cantaro, near Capo 
Granitola, and small ones in the neighbourhood of Montallegro and 
Randazzo. 

Harbours .—-The harbours of Sicily are Palermo, on the N.; Trapani, on 
the W.; Messina, Agosta, and Syracuse, on the E. The long stretch of 
the southern coast is without a port. Thus, while the other sides of the 
island are not perilous for navigation, the southern, from its little elevation 


Introd. § B. GEOLOGY. ix 

and its exposure to the fierce gales from the west and south, is extremely 
dangerous in winter. 

Forests .—Sicily is not a well-wooded country. The prejudice against 
small birds, which has denuded of trees the vast corn-plains of the Castilles, 
has produced the same effect in the corn-bearing districts of Sicily. Yet 
forests of fine trees here and there exist, chiefly in the wooded zone of Etna, 
where the “ Chesnut of a Hundred Horses,” and other vegetable giants, 
attest the marvellous luxuriance of growth to be attained in this soil and 
climate. In the mountains above Caronia, on the N. coast, is an extensive 
forest, covering a tract of 84 square miles. This, as well as the Bosco di 
Ficuzza, near Mezzojuso, is the property of the crown. Other wooded 
districts are to be found in the mountains of Corleone and Gibelmanna, 
and in the neighbourhood of Troina, Piazza, Biscari, and Noto. 

§ B. Geology. 

The earliest formation in Sicily is the Neptunian or Peloric range, which 
is composed of .primary rocks, principally gneiss, mica-schist, and clay-slate, 
through which granite and grawacke have in parts protruded ; the whole 
being overlaid by a compact grey fossiliferous limestone, which towards the 
S. of the range takes the form of marbles of great variety and beauty. 
Further N. the slate is quartzose, and contains metallic ores,—silver, 
copper, iron, lead, antimony. 

Vast masses of secondary rocks compose the Madonian chain, the con¬ 
tinuation of the Apennines, and the great backbone of the island, which 
runs parallel to the northern coast. From Capo Orlando to Cefalii these 
rocks consist of red sandstone, with beds of shale ; thence to Palermo 
and Trapani of a compact limestone, probably corresponding with the 
magnesian limestone of England. At Palermo and Termini this limestone 
is whitish or blue, fetid, and of no great hardness: at Cefalii it contains 
organic bodies. At Monte S. Giuliano it is accompanied by beds of chert, 
yielding jaspers ar,d agates. 

At the base of these limestone mountains lies a recent calcareous breccia, 
filling up the valleys between the older rocks, and covering the coasts, 
though in parts rising into hills of some hundred feet in height. It is 
composed of fragments of quartz and limestone, with sand, and an abun¬ 
dance of shells. The distinction between this and the more compact and 
earlier limestone is clearly marked by the vegetation ; the latter stony and 
sterile, bearing little more than a scanty pasturage, at the most nourish¬ 
ing only the hardy olive or cactus ; the former, of exuberant fertility, 
yielding those abundant harvests of corn and fruit for which Sicily has in 
all ages been renowned. 

The limestone on this N. coast in many places forms caverns, which are 
sometimes full of the fossil bones of extinct and existing animals. Such 
are the Grotta de’ Giganti, at Santo Ciro, near Palermo; the Grotta Perei- 
ata, near Mondello ; the Grotta Maccagnone, near Carini; and the Grotta 
S. Teodoro, near Acqua Dolce. 

Tertiary strata also form the coast from Trapani to Cape Passaro, and 
compose, in fact, the greater part of the island, comprising nearly all the por¬ 
tion south of the Madonian range. As far as Capo Bianco they form a wide 

a 3 


X 


§ B. GEOLOGY. 


Introd. 


stretch of low open country, having in parts the appearance of bays run¬ 
ning into the more elevated lands of the Apennine formation. On this coast, 
particularly about Marsala, is a white calcareous breccia, containing nume¬ 
rous shells. A similar breccia, though more arenaceous in character, forms 
the coast between Selinus and Sciacca ; and of it the temples on the former 
site were constructed. This breccia rests on a calcareous marl, devoid of 
shells, but replete with selenites. At Girgenti, the tertiary rocks, full of 
marine shells, repose on a white or blue clay, and form high plateaux, 
more than a thousand feet above the sea, sloping gently towards it, but 
sinking in abrupt precipices towards the land. These formations attain 
their greatest altitude at Castrogiovanni and Calascibetta, where the upper 
strata are composed of this breccia, resting*on a white calcareous stratum 
without shells, alternating with beds of marl, and this reposes on the blue 
clay which constitutes the bulk of the subjacent rock. Three-fourths of 
the fossil shells in this breccia are similar to those actually existing on the 
Sicilian coast. The blue clay in parts supports beds of gypsum or selenite, 
which are among the most striking features of the geology of Sicily. This 
formation also contains beds of rock-salt, found in most abundance at 
Alimena, N.E. of Castrogiovanni. The springs that issue from this stratum 
are always more or less brackish, so as often to be refused by cattle. 

It is in this central part of the southern coast, and among these beds of 
blue clay, that the sulphur, which forms the chief staple of Sicily, is found 
in great abundance. The sulphur district occupies about 2600 sq. m., 
or more than one-fourth of the surface of the island, and is a vast quadri¬ 
lateral, of which the angles are Capo Bianco and Terranova on the S., 
and Lercara and S. Filippo Argiro on the N. 

“ In no part of Europe,” says Sir C. Lyell , “ are the newer pliocene 
formations seen to enter so largely into the structure of the earth’s crust, 
or to rise to such heights above the level of the sea, as in Sicily. They 
cover nearly half the island; and near its centre, at Castrogiovanni, they 
reach an elevation of 3000 ft. They consist principally of two divisions, 
the upper calcareous, the lower argillaceous, both of which may be seen at 
Syracuse, Girgenti, and Castrogiovanni. The upper or calcareous member 
consists in some places of a yellowish-white stone, like the calcaire grossier 
of Paris ; in others, of a rock nearly as compact as marble. Its aggregate 
thickness amounts sometimes to 700 or 800 ft. It usually occurs in regular 
horizontal beds, and is occasionally intersected by deep valleys, as those of 
Sortino and Pantalica, in which are numerous caverns. The Sicilian beds 
probably belong to about the same period as the- Norwich Crag, although a 
geologist, accustomed to see nearly all the pleistocene formations in the N. of 
Europe occupying low grounds and very incoherent in texture, is naturally 
surprised to behold formations of the same age so solid and stony, of such 
thickness, and attaining so great an elevation above the level of the sea. 

“ The limestone passes downwards into a sandstone and conglomerate 
below which is clay and blue marl, like that of the Subapennine hills, from 
which perfect shells and corals may be disengaged; the clay sometimes 
alternates with yellow sand.” 

In the Yal di Noto the blue clay disappears, and the rocks are composed 
of fossiliferous limestone, repeatedly alternating with beds of volcanic 
matter. This curious district is thus described by Lyell :— 


Introd. 


§ B. GEOLOGY. 


XI 


“ South of the plain of Catania is a region in which the tertiary beds 
are intermixed with volcanic matter, which has been for the most part the 
product of submarine eruptions. It appears that while the clay, sand, and 
yellow limestone were in course of deposition at the bottom of the sea, 
volcanoes burst out beneath the waters, like that of Graham Island in 1831, 
and these explosions recurred again and again at distant intervals of time. 
Volcanic ashes and sand were showered down and spread by the waves and 
currents, so as to form strata of tuff, which are found intercalated between 
beds of limestone and clay, containing marine shells, the thickness of the 
whole mass exceeding 2000 ft. The fissures through which the lava 
rose may be seen in many places forming what are called dikes.” 

“ The modern geological date of the rocks in this region leads to a singular 
and unexpected conclusion, namely, that the fauna and flora of a large part 
of Sicily are of higher antiquity than the country itself, having not only 
flourished before the lands were raised from the deep, but even before their 
materials were brought together beneath the waters. The larger part of 
the island has been converted from sea into land since the Mediterranean 
was peopled with nearly all the living species of testacea and zoophytes. 
We may therefore presume that, before this region emerged, the same land 
and river shells, and almost all the same animals and plants, were in 
existence, which now people Sicily.” 

The most modern formation in Sicily, yet the most striking feature in 
its geology, is the region of Etna. This mountain, though much less 
visited than Vesuvius, presents volcanic phenomena on a far grander scale, 
and of more varied character, and thus offers a more interesting field to the 
scientific inquirer. The Val del Bove, a vast and profound chasm on its 
E. flank, is of peculiar interest, as laying open a great portion of the mass 
of the volcano, and furnishing materials for arriving at a knowledge of the 
process of its elevation. It is described at p. 433. Etna, though out- 
topping all his fellows, like a giant, is the youngest mountain in Sicily, 
and, geologically, of very recent formation. “ We can look back to the 
time when the marine strata, whereon the great mass of Etna rests, had 
no existence; and that time is extremely modern in the earth’s history. 
This alone affords ground for anticipating that the eruptions of Etna will 
one day cease. 

* Nee qiue sulfureis ardet fomacibus /Etna 
Ignea semper erit, neque tnimfv.it ignea semper' 

Ovid. Met .— 

are the memorable words put into the mouth of Pythagoras by the Roman 
poet. 

“ The foundations of Etna were probably laid in the sea, and were 
in all likelihood contemporaneous with the basalts and other igneous pro¬ 
ducts of the Cyclopean Isles and Aci Castello, which belong to the period 
of the fossil shells of Nizzeta and Cefali. When that fauna flourished, 
the area where Etna now rises was probably a bay of the sea, afterwards 
converted into land by the outpouring of lava and scoria?, as well as by 
the slow and simultaneous upheaval of the whole territory. During that 
gradual rise the ancient river-plain of the Simeto, in which were imbedded the 
remains of the elephant and other quadrupeds, together with certain marine 
strata found near the mouth of that river, acquired their present compa- 


Xli § C. MINERALOGY.-§ D. CLIMATE. Introd. 

ratively elevated position. The local eruptions of La Motta and Paterno 
took place about the same time, i.e. during or immediately after the depo¬ 
sition of the older alluvium, when also the leaf-bearing tuffs of Fasano 
were formed. In the course of the same long period of elevation, the cone 
of Trifoglietto, and probably the lower part of the cone of Mongibello, were 
built up. Still later, the cone last mentioned, becoming the sole centre of 
activity, overwhelmed the eastern cone, and finally underwent in itself 
various transformations, including the truncation of its summit, and the 
formation of the Yal del Love on its eastern flank. At length the phase 
of lateral eruptions, which is still in ftill vigour, closed this long succession 
of events,—changes which may have required thousands of centuries for 
their development.”— Lyell. 


§ 0. Mineralogy. 

Sulphur, gypsum, and rock-salt form the principal items in the mineral 
wealth of Sicily. Strontian is in many places associated with the sulphur. 
Bitumen abounds on certain sites in the centre of the island. Anthracite 
and petroleum are also met with. Alum is not wanting, though more 
abundant in the Lipari Islands than in Sicily. Porphyry, serpentine, and 
steatite are found; alabaster is quarried in some districts ; and the marbles 
of the island, for variety and beauty, rival those of any country of Europe. 
Cornelian and lapis-lazuli are met with ; agates and chalcedonies are abun¬ 
dant, the former of old giving their name to a stream on the S. coast; and 
of jaspers no less than 54 varieties are known. Amber is found at the 
mouth of the river Simeto. Silver, copper, lead, iron, and antimony exist 
in the Neptunian range. Medicinal springs, hot and cold, are numerous ; 
and for ages reputed of great efficacy in paralytic and cutaneous disorders. 
Sulphureous springs are found at Termini, Sciacca, Segeste, Cefala, All, 
and Mazzarino; and ferruginous, at Messina, Noto, Sclafani, Mazzara, 
and Santo Yito. 


§ D. Climate. 

Sicily enjoys one of the most delightful climates in Europe. In the 
hottest season the thermometer rarely rises above 90° or 92° Fahrenheit; 
and in the depth of winter seldom falls as low as 36°. The mean tempe¬ 
rature of the year at Palermo or Messina is aboul 64° ; though at Catania 
and on the southern coast it is as high as 68°. The mean height of the 
barometer, according to Admiral Smyth, is 29°'8. The annual amount of 
rain is about 26 in., while in England it is as much as 32 in. The number 
of days on which rain falls is about 64; in the British Isles it averages 
156. In Palermo it is calculated that there are in the course of the year— 
of brilliant days, 49 ; of fair, 107 ; of cloudy, 49 ; of variable, 42 ; of dull, 
78 ; of gloomy, 40. 

During the summer months the sky is beautifully blue, clear, and 
serene, and the heat is almost as great, yet hardly so oppressive, as in the 
tropics ; for it is tempered by the insular position, and by the sea-breeze, 
which springs up about 9 or 10 in the morning, and continues through the 


Introd. § d. climate. xiii 

hottest hours of the day. From May to September rain rarely falls ; the 
landscape is parched, and vegetation languishes. A few showers occur 
about the autumnal equinox, but the heavy rains do not commence before 
November, when they descend often in torrents, sometimes accompanied 
by thunder-storms. The winds then become boisterous, the atmosphere 
dense, the dews heavy, and the temperature chilly. Yet though the moun¬ 
tains are often arrayed in a hoary pall, snow is very rare in the cities of 
the coast, and frost is quite unknown. In bad weather little comfort is to 
be found within doors. The stone or brick carpetless floors, the bare walls, 
the lofty coved ceilings, the draughty doors and windows, are ill calculated 
to keep out the cold and damp ; and a brazier of charcoal in the centre 
of the room is a comfortless and unwholesome substitute for the snug 
fire-side of England. In the Trinacria at Palermo, alone in all Sicily, 
can the traveller enjoy the delights of a fireplace. The violent rains that 
deluge the island at this season are further productive of inconvenience 
to the tourist, by damaging the roads, and suddenly swelling the rivers and 
Jiumare , or mountain-torrents, so as to render them unfordable, it may be, 
for days together. Wet weather, however, is seldom of long continuance. 
In the worst season there are intervals of bright sunshine; and the new 
year almost invariably brings with it sunny and warm weather, chequered 
with occasional cold and wet in February and March. 

Winter, indeed, is but short-lived in Sicily. His breath may be chilly, 
but his grip is not hard, and it is difficult to recognise him by his attributes. 
Nature never loses her mantle of verdure. The golden-starred orange and 
the tall date in the valley or plain, the olive on the hill-slope, the glossy¬ 
leaved carob in the rocky glen, the cactus and aloe by the way-side, the 
oleander and tamarisk in the river-bed, the myrtle, laurel, cistus, arbutus 
on the mountain-side, the lentiscus and fan-palm on the wide moor, the 
cypress and stone-pine by the villa or convent, retain their foliage 
throughout the winter; while Flora never wholly deserts the gardens or 
the sunny slopes and meadows. There is a constant supply of fresh vege¬ 
tables all the year round—green peas and cauliflowers in December and 
January; artichokes in February ; beans and asparagus in March. Many 
of the productions of the tropics,—the banana, the bamboo, the sago, the 
Victoria Piegia, here flourish in the open air; and the date-palm attains its 
full size, though it fails to bring its fruit to maturity. 

“ The most prevalent winds are from the north and west, which are dry 
and salubrious, producing with the clearest sky the most refreshing sensa¬ 
tions. Those from the east round to southerly are heavy and loaded with 
an unwholesome mist, often accompanied with heavy rain, thunder, and 
lightning. At the time of the vernal equinox the force of the south-west 
wind is very sensibly felt along the shore from Trapani to Girgenti ; but 
as the sun advances the winds blow more from the northward, with fresh 
gales at intervals, which rarely continue longer than 40 hours. The most 
annoying wind is the scirocco, or south-east, which, coming from the 
deserts of Africa, is moderated by its passage over the sea, so that on the 
east coast, where it first arrives, its effects are inconsiderable, but, acquiring 
additional heat in its progress over the land, it becomes a serious inconve¬ 
nience as it advances. It generally continues 3 or 4 days, during which 
period wine cannot be fined, or meat effectually salted; oil-paint, laid on 


XIV 


§ E. POLITICAL DIVISIONS.—§ F. POPULATION. 


Introd. 


while it continues, will seldom harden, hut dough can he raised with half 
the usual quantity of leaven.”— Admiral Smyth. This wind is more dis¬ 
tressing at Palermo than elsewhere in the island ; an account of its effects 
is given at p. 10. Notices of the climate of the principal cities will be 
found in the course of the work. 

§ E. Political Divisions. 

Sicily, from Norman, and probably from Saracenic times, has been divided 
into three Yalli, or provinces,—the Yal di Mazzara, the Yal di Noto, and 
the Yal Demone. The first included all that portion of the island \Y. of 
the Fiume Grande, or Himera Septentrionalis, and of the F. Salso, or 
Himera Meridionalis. The Yal di Noto comprised the S.E. portion of the 
island, up to the Simeto; the Yal Demone, Etna, and the monntainous 
country to the N. This division continued till 1818, when the island was 
divided into 7 provinces, viz. of Palermo, Messina, Catania, Noto, Caltani- 
setta, Girgenti, and Trapani. Each province is subdivided into 3 or 4 
districts, 24 in all; and each district into numerous comuni, or townships. 
The province is governed by an intendente , or, as he is called since the 
annexation of the island to Italy, a prefect; the district by a sotto-inten- 
dente , or sub-prefect; and the comune by a sindaco, or mayor. “ The 
intendente presides over every department of the provincial administration, 
and regulates certain branches of the military force. The publication of 
the laws and decrees, the inspection of public works, and the superin¬ 
tendence of local authorities, are but a few of the many duties assigned to 
this functionary. The sub-prefect is to the district, and the syndic to the 
commune, what the intendente is to the province. The intendente is the 
head of a council of intendency, and of a provincial council; the sub- 
intendente is the head of a district council; and the syndic that of a decu- 
rionate. The council of intendency , which regulates all affairs and decides 
all suits concerning the province, consists of from 3 to 5 members, 
appointed by the King. The provincial council , which examines the 
accounts of the province, and frames the provincial budget, is composed of 
from 15 to 20 landholders, who meet once a-year, and sit for 20 days. The 
district council, authorised to lay proposals on behalf of the district before 
the provincial council, meets once a-year, and sits for 15 days. The de~ 
curionate assembles once a month to discuss the affairs of the commune. 
The civil administration is so constituted that a chain of correspondence is 
kept up between the syndic of every commune and the minister of the 
interior, through the intendente and sub-intendente.”— Goodwin. It 
should be added that the members of all three councils are appointed by 
the King, or by the intendente. 

§ F. Population. 

The population of Sicily has more than doubled itself since the accession of 
the Spanish Bourbons in 1734. In that year it amounted to about 1,000,000. 
At the close of the century, when Ferdinand I. took refuge from the 
French in his insular dominions, it reached 1,660,267 souls. °By 1832 it 
had increased to 1,936,033. The census of 1845 showed it to be 2,051,399 ; 


Introd. 


xv 


§ F. POPULATION.-§ G. AGRICULTURE. 

that of 1853, to have reached 2,231,020; and the last census, taken on 
the 1st January, 1862, proved the population to amount to 2,391 802 souls 
which is at the rate of 226 inhabitants to the square mile. 

lhe following r iahle shows the distribution of the population amono- 
the several provinces and districts :— 


Provinces 
or Prefectures. 


Districts or 


Caltanisetta 


Caltanisetta 
Piazza .. 
Terranova 


Catania 


Aci Reale 
Catania 
Caltagirone 
Nicosia .. 


Sub-prefectures. 


.. 90,135) 

.. 83,804 

.. 49,239) 

.. 104,937j 
.. 174,7881 
.. 90,278 

.. 80,457j 



Area 

Population. 

in Square 


Miles. 

223,178 

1,192 

450,460 

1,765 


Girgenti 


Bivona . 
Girgenti 
Sciacca . 


53,219) 

160,824} 

49,837) 


263,880 


1,377 


Messina 


Castroreale. 83,008) 

Messina. 186,7881 

Mistretta . 45,290) 

Patti . 79,675J 


394,761 


1,390 


Noto. 

Modica .. 



Noto 



Siracusa 

. 76,759) 

Palermo .. 

Cefalu .. 

. 76,734) 


Corleone 

. 56,611 


Palermo 

. 338,479) 


Termini 

. 113,105; 

Trapani 

Alcamo .. 

. 56,571) 


Mazara .. 



Trapani.. 



259,613 

584,929 


214,981 


1,484 


1,988 


1,360 


Total Population 


2,391,802 


10,556 


The population assigned to the several towns in the course of this work is 
that given by the census of 1st January, 1862. 


§ G. Agriculture. 

Sicily, in ancient times the granary of Rome—“ horreum Romanorum” 
—“cella panaria reipublicm”—still yields an abundance of grain. Of 
the 6,000,000 acres which the island is calculated to contain it has 










































xvi 


§ G. AGRICULTURE. 


Introd. 


been ascertained that no less than 3,500,000 are cultivated in corn. 
About 1,500,000 acres are devoted to pasture; 680,000 to vineyards, 
olive-grounds, orchards, gardens, and various other sorts of culture; 
170,000 acres are in forest, and an equal area lies waste, or is covered 
with habitations. The net rental of the entire surface is estimated, at 
2,750,000?.; and this total is divisible among the crown, the townships, 
the church, and the public, in the millesimal ratios of 2£, 12f, 75f, and 
909 respectively. 

“ The agricultural population consists of three great classes ; the Borgesi , 
or yeomanry; the Inquilini , or small farmers ; and the Contadini, or 
peasantry. In popular use, however, the rustics are divided into ‘ Hats/ 
or Borgesi, and ‘ Caps/ or Villani. 

“ The higher Borgesi are either small proprietors, or middle-men between 
the landlords and the tenants; the lower Borgesi are quit-renters or co¬ 
partners. The small proprietor ploughs and sows his own land ; the 
middle-man farms the property of others upon leases of 3 to 9 years ; keep¬ 
ing the greater part in his own hands, he lets out the rest to under-tenants, 
who pay their rent in kind. The quit-renters are holders of small properties 
on renewable leases. The copartners are farmers of small estates in part¬ 
nership with the landlords. In tillage, the landlord ploughs the field twice 
or thrice, furnishes the seed-corn, and makes advances of wheat for food. 
The farmer sows the seed, gathers the crop, and delivers the corn to the 
landlord, who keeps about two-thirds for himself, and gives the rest to the 
husbandman. In olive-grounds, vineyards, and orangeries, the tillage and 
pruning fall entirely on the copartner, who receives about two-fifths of the 
crop, and gives the rest to the landlord. 

“ The Inquilini are skilled labourers; owners of a few yoke of oxen or 
two or three mules, who till the ground in partnership with the middle-men. 

“ The Contadini are of three kinds—yearly servants, monthly servants, 
and day-labourers.”— John Goodwin. Of the yearly servants, the higher 
sort receive from 20?. to 30?. a-year, without provisions; the lower class 
from 3?. to 6?. a-year, besides food. The monthly servants receive some¬ 
what lower wages ; and the day-labourers earn 3 or 4 tai l at ordinary times, 
and 6 tail during the harvest. 

As there are few farmhouses in Sicily, the labourers live in villages, to 
which they return at sunset, sometimes walking 6 or 8 miles to their work. 
When their work is too far off, they leave home for the week, sleeping in 
straw huts, or in some tomb or cavern. “ In the southern and eastern parts 
of the island, beans and wheat are sown alternately. First, beans planted 
in November, in land twice ploughed in October, are got in in the following 
May ; then wheat is sown in November, to be reaped in the June and July 
following. In the interior, and on the northern and southern coasts, beans 
and wheat are followed by a year of fallow ; so that a white crop or a green 
crop is got in only once in three years.”— Goodwin. 

“ One finds the precepts of Virgil in some respects observed in Sicilian 
agriculture, contrary to modern, at least to our northern practice. For 
example, Virgil promises an abundant harvest to the man— 

‘ Qui proscisso quae suscitat aequore terga 
Rursus in obliquum verso perrumpit aratro.’ 

Georg, i. 97. 


Intrcd. 


§ G. AGRICULTURE. Xvii 

The land gets here, after the first ploughing, a ploughing at right angles, 
and another obliquely. Again, Virgil says— 

‘ Quid dicam, jacto qui semine comminus arva 
Insequitur, cumulosque ruit male pinguis arenas.’ 

Georg, i. 104. 

So we have seen immediately after the operation of sowing, along with the 
third ploughing, a labourer with a mattock breaking down the clods. 
Further, in some respects Virgil’s advice, if followed, would improve the 
aspect of Sicilian culture— 

“ Deinde satis fluvium inducit rivosque sonantes”— Georg, i. 106— 

—were the water saved and used.”— W. E. O. 

Nothing can be ruder than the instruments used by the Sicilian hus¬ 
bandman. The plough seems not to have been improved since the days of 
Triptolemus. It is composed of 2 pieces of wood ; the share, or arairum , 
and the pole, or temo , which projects 10 or 11 feet. To these are added 
the iron-point, or vomer , the wooden pin which fastens the pole to the share, 
and a nut to secure the pin. This is in fact the primitive plough of the 
Greeks—the nrjKrov aporpov of Homer and Hesiod. No earth-boards, or 
aures , to turn back the clods ; no coulter, to open a passage to the share. 
It is a much ruder instrument than the plough of Virgil’s time; and it does 
not furrow the soil deeper than the snout of a pig. The other instruments 
used are the zappa, a heavy short-handled hoe, which serves also the pur¬ 
pose of a pickaxe, and is perhaps the sarcidum of the Romans; the pala, or 
shield-shaped shovel; the vanga , or long-handled spade, which answers to 
the pala of the ancients, though this is rather a Calabrian than a Sicilian 
implement ; the falce , or sickle; the bill-hook ; and the folk. 

Grain is grown chiefly in the plains of Catania, Terranova, and Licata, 
and on the mountain slopes or in the bare valleys of the interior; little 
comparatively on the northern and eastern coasts. A good crop may be 
reckoned at more than 2,000,000 quarters of wheat, and at 1,000,000 qrs. 
of barley. The wheat is almost wholly of the bearded kind, too hard to be 
ground by English millstones. Nine-tenths of the wheat are consumed in 
the island, the rest exported. The usual yield is from 10 to 15 for one, 
but in extraordinary years the return may reach 28 for one. It is sown in. 
October and November, and reaped in June and July. The harley serves 
chiefly for horses and cattle. Large quantities are also grown for green 
provender, being cut in March and April. Oats are never given to cattle 
in grain, but in the shape of hay, which is cut in April and May. Bice, 
though it flourishes well in the low grounds, is grown only to a small 
extent, not sufficient for home consumption, and principally on the banks 
of the Verdura, near Ribera, and in the great plain of Catania. It produces 
about 6 cwt. per acre. 

Wine .—About 360,000 acres of land are devoted to the cultivation of 
the vine. The most esteemed and best known wines are those of Marsala; 
but excellent wines are also produced on the eastern coast, especially at 
Syracuse and on the slopes of Etna. Good wines are also made in the 
territory of Alcamo and in the vale of Castellamare, at Bagheria and 
Milazzo on the northern shores, and at Castelvetrano and Vittoria on the 


xviii § G. agriculture. Introd. 

southern coast. The vine flourishes indeed in every part cf the island, and 
it is chiefly the difficulty of transport that confines its cultivation in great 
measure to the coasts. There are 19 different varieties of grapes, black and 
white. The black grape is generally used for the press, the white for the 
table. The wine that is most exported, that of Marsala, is white, yet often 
made from a mixture of red and white fruit. The annual production varies 
from 60,000 to 80,000 pipes of strong wine, of which from 30,000 to 50,000 
pipes are exported, principally to England, France, and the United States ; 
a small portion finding its way to Malta and Italy. On the coasts the 
vintage generally commences in the last week of September; in the moun¬ 
tains, or in the interior, it is a week or two later. 

Oil. —The cultivation of the olive is of very ancient date in Sicily, and 
forms one of the principal sources of the wealth of the island. This tree 
covers about 125,000 acres of land, exclusive of those districts where it is 
grown over corn. The annual crop is estimated at 15,000 tons, of which 
two-thirds are consumed in the island, and one-third exported, chiefly to 
Fra. xe. The species cultivated is the olia latifolia , the same grown gene¬ 
rally in Central and Southern Italy, which attains a larger size and is more 
productive than the narrow-leaved species of Tuscany and the south of 
France ; but its oil is less delicate in flavour, and better adapted to manu¬ 
facturing purposes than to the table. This inferiority, however, is by many 
ascribed to the process of preparation ; and it is asserted that, with im¬ 
provements in this respect, the oil of Sicily will stand comparison with 
the best of France and Lucca. The peasantry have a superstitious reve¬ 
rence for the olive-tree, and will not destroy it, so that it attains a great 
age and vast size with a most gnarled, contorted growth. Many trees in 
various parts of the island are pointed out as traditionally dating from the 
days of the Saracens. The olive is almost confined to the mountainous 
shores of the northern coast, though it flourishes also in the Neptunian 
range from Messina to Taormina, at Caltabellotta, and on some sites in the 
Val di Noto. The gathering commences in October and November, and 
continues till December, or even January. 

Fruits. —About 80,000 acres in Sicily are planted with fruit-trees of 
various descriptions, a great source of wealth to the island. The principal 
fruits are oranges, lemons, and citrons, known by the generic term of 
Agrumi , the plantations of which cover about 19,000 acres. Several 
varieties of these fruits are cultivated—the China, the Bergamot, the Blood 
or Maltese, the sour or Seville orange; the sweet and sour lemon ; and the 
Florence and Imperial citron. An average-sized tree bears from 1200 to 
2000 fruits ; those of extraordinary size will yield 5000 or 6000 yearly. The 
gathering is commenced in September, and is continued to the end of the 
year. The choice fruits only are exported ; these are gathered with great 
care, wrapped in paper manufactured for the purpose, and packed in light 
boxes containing each 20 or 30 dozen. From Messina alone, half a million 
of boxes are annually exported to England, the United States, and the 
Continent of Europe. The fruit rejected as unfit for exportation is not lost. 
Essential oil is expressed from the rind, and citric acid from the pulp. Of 
this latter material from 20,000 to 22,000 salms are annually produced in 
the district of Messina alone. For exportation it is boiled down till all the 
watery parts of the juice are evaporated, and the acid, highly concentrated, 


Introd. 


§ G. AGRICULTURE. 


XIX 


becomes citrate of lime, which is extensively employed in calico-printing. 
Sicily enjoys a monopoly of this product. No portion of the fruit is wasted. 
Even dried orange-peel is shipped in large quantities to Germany and the 
north of Europe, to be added to beer, or converted into cordials. 

The almond is grown chiefly on the northern coast and around Girgenti, 
and its cultivation occupies 5300 acres. It forms an article of export. The 
chesnut covers about 6900 acres, principally on the slopes of Etna, where it 
attains an enormous size. Hazel-nuts are cultivated on 13,200 acres, on the 
northern slopes of Etna, and elsewhere in the island, chiefly around Piazza. 
The pistacchio nut is also grown, but to no great extent, mostly at Piazza, 
Caltagirone, and Bronte. The most abundant fruit, after the grape and 
orange, is the cactus opuntia , or Indian fig, which, besides forming the 
hedges in almost every part of the country, covers with its plantations nearly 
18,000 acres. It flourishes on the most sterile and unpromising places, where 
nothing else will grow, even on the face of the limestone cliffs, and is the 
pioneer of cultivation on the black and rugged surface of the lava-stream. 
Its fruit is greedily consumed by the Sicilian peasant, though not acceptable 
to more delicate palates. The other fruits are the fig, delicious when fresh, 
but too badly preserved to be fit for exportation, the walnut, the apple, the 
melon, the cherry, and the strawberry. The carob (ceratoria siliqua ), or 
locust-tree, which, with its broad masses of dark glossy foliage, forms so 
fine a feature in the rocky scenery of the island, yields a bean which is used 
rather as a vegetable than as a fruit, and is consumed principally by cattle. 
It is sometimes called St. John’s-bread, from the notion that its fruit was 
the locusts on which the Baptist fed in the desert, though its long pods 
were in all probability the husks referred to in the parable of the Prodigal 
Son. It is found in all the mountainous parts of the island, but cultivated 
mostly on the stony fields of the Yal di Noto, and is calculated to cover 
about 5200 acres. The fruit makes a good preserve, and yields an ardent 
spirit. 

The mulberry is cultivated more for its leaves than its fruit, principally 
in the north-eastern corner of the island, from Capo Orlando to Messina, 
and thence down the east coast to Taormina, though it is met with also in 
the plains of Palermo and Alcamo. On the southern coast it is rarely seen. 
It covers some 3800 acres. The red variety is chiefly cultivated in Sicily ; 
the white, in Italy. 

The cultivation of sumach occupies 26,700 acres, and its crops amount to 
some 30,000 tons yearly. It is grown chiefly on the northern coast, at 
Termini, Carini, Alcamo, Trapani, and in the plain of Palermo; also at 
Militello in the Yal di Noto, and at Girgenti. It is a shrub, 2 or 3 feet 
high, and its leaves, when dried and ground to a powder, are exported largely 
for taiming and dyeing purposes. 

The manna-ash {fraxinus ornus ), a tree indigenous to Sicily and the 
Lipari Isles, is much cultivated on the northern coast, about Cefalu, Geraci, 
Mistretta, Cinisi, and Carini. There is no prettier cultivation in Sicily than 
that of the manna-ash, when its cockades of white blossom stud the bril¬ 
liant green of its elegant foliage. It is calculated to cover nearly 8000 
acres. The harvest commences on 15th August, by which time the tree is 
full of sap. The bark is then scored horizontally, beginning at the bottom, 
and each day a fresh incision is made some 2 inches above the last, till the 


XX 


§ H. MINES. 


In trod. 


whole hark is scored, which is generally by the end of September. The 
juice exudes in the form of gum, and is caught in a cactus-leaf placed at 
the foot of the tree. This is “ manna in tears,” and is the best sort. When 
the juice runs down the bark and has to be detached with the knife, it is 
called “ manna in flakes,” which forms the larger part of the harvest. The 
liquorice-plant, or regolizia as it is called (Glycyrrhiza glabra), though it 
grows wild, is also extensively cultivated at Termini and Patti, as well 
as at Catania, Modica, Melilli, and other parts of the south-east coast. 
Hemp and flax are also cultivated to some extent, the former in the 
plains of Catania, and on the bank» of rivers, chiefly in the Yal di Noto. 
The spinello (Salsola soda ) and the cristallina or ice-plant (Mesembryan- 
tliemum crystallinum ) are much grown on the cliffs at Trapani, Girgenti, 
Terranova, and other sites along the southern coast. Their ashes make the 
soda of commerce, which used to be exported to some extent; but since 
alkali has been extracted from marine salt, this cultivation has been 
neglected. One of the most important branches of the agricultural in¬ 
dustry of Sicily, that of cotton, though it has existed in the island from 
time immemorial, may be said to be still in its infancy. It has been culti¬ 
vated hitherto to a very small extent—some 1800 acres only ; but the 
great demand of the last 3 years has so increased the cultivation, that the 
crop of 1863 is expected to reach 1,270,000 kilogrammes. Two varieties 
of cotton are grown, the Gossypium herbaceum, which attains the height 
only of 18 to 24 inches, and the Gossypium siamense, of much larger growth 
ancl better quality. The cotton, indeed, of Sicily was pronounced at the 
International Exhibition of 1862 to be equal to the best produce of New 
Orleans. The first quality is grown in the plain of Catania, below Bian- 
cavilla, and in the Yal di Noto ; cotton is also cultivated largely at Terra- 
nova, Licata, and Trapani. It is sown at the end of March, and picked in 
September and October. Saffron grows wild in many parts of Sicily, but 
it is also cultivated, and is an article of export. It gives its name— 
Zaffarana—to several spots in the island. 

§ H. Mines. 

Sulphur. —This is the most important branch of mining industry, and 
the chief source of wealth to Sicily. Sulphur is found in the blue marl which 
covers the southern part of the island; and the district which produces 
it extends over 2600 square miles, and contains about 150 distinct mines, 
which yield above 150,000 tons of sulphur annually. The richest mines 
are those of Gallizzi, Sommatino, and Favara, of which the yearly produc¬ 
tion has been 100,000, 80,000, and 60,000 cantars respectively. 

“ The visitor to a sulphur-mine usually descends by a plane or staircase 
of high inclination to the first level, where he finds the half-naked miner 
picking sulphur from the rock with a huge and heavy tool; boys gathering 
the lumps together, and carrying them up to the surface ; and if water be 
there, the pump-men at work draining the mine. A similar scene meets 
his eye in the lower or second level. Above ground the sulphur is heaped 
up in piles, or fusing in kilns.”— Goodwin. The sulphur thus obtained by 
fusion,, when hardened into cakes, is conveyed to the coast, where there are 
roads, in carts; and where no roads exist, on the backs of mules and asses. 


Introd. 


§ I. FISHERIES. 


XXI 


The number of persons employed in the sulphur-mines was estimated 20 
years since at 4400,—1300 pickmen, 2600 boys, 300 burners, and 200 
clerks and others ; to which, if 2600 carters and muleteers, and 1000 wharf¬ 
ingers, be added, there will be a total of 8000 persons, more or less, en¬ 
gaged in the extraction, preparation, and exportation of sulphur. But 
these numbers must have much increased with the great increase of pro¬ 
duction and export of late years, owing to the demand created by the 
vine disease. The quantity exported in 1856 was 1,709,647 cantars, or 
133,566 tons. The ports whence this material is exported are Girgenti, 
Licata, Terranova, Catania, Palermo, Messina, Siculiana, and Palma. Of 
these Girgenti ships by far the largest quantity—in 1861 as much as 
78,481 tons, valued at 459,000?. The value of the total quantity exported 
from the island in 1857 was 668,000?.; it now reaches nearly one million 
sterling. 

Salt .—Salt is produced to a great extent in Sicily, and is also largely 
exported, principally to Norway and Sweden. It is both marine and rock 
salt. The latter is found at Alimena, where there is a mountain of this 
mineral; also at Ragalmuto and Mussomeli, and with it the interior of the 
island is supplied. Sea-salt is made chiefly at Trapani, and, to a smaller 
extent, at Agosta and Syracuse. It constitutes the wealth of Trapani, as 
wine does that of Marsala; and there are no less than 35 saltworks in this 
district. The total quantity exported in 1852 exceeded 24,000 tons, 
valued at 15,300?. 


§ I. Fisheries. 

Tunny. —Sicily boasts the finest fisheries in the Mediterranean. That of 
Palermo alone employs nearly 1000 boats, and about 3500 hands; and its 
produce is valued at from 20,000?. to 25,000?. a-year. The principal fishery 
is that of the tunny (scomber thynnus ), which is captured much in the 
manner described by ancient writers. “ The average length of this 
fish is from 4 to 8 ft., with a girth of nearly the same dimensions: yet 
there are many of still greater size, and the females are always the largest. 
Notwithstanding its coarse appearance, the flesh is nutritious food, and 
esteemed peculiarly beneficial in dropsical complaints. This fish is gre¬ 
garious. The shoals enter the Mediterranean early in the year. In the 
progress eastward the shoal inclines over towards the European coasts, and 
the tunny is caught in great abundance during May, June, and July; but 
the fishing establishments of Sicily, called Tonnare, are more lucrative than 
those of more northern parts. The manner of catching them is similar to 
that practised by the ancients. Large nets are spread out in the shape of 
a parallelogram, about 1500 ft. long, 300 wide, and from 40 to 100 deep, 
divided into 4 quadrilateral spaces called rooms, having channels of com¬ 
munication with each other. These nets are moored east and west, at 
about a mile distant from the shore, across the known route of the fish, and 
secured vertically by a number of anchors and stones at the bottom, while 
the upper edge of the net is floated by large logs of the cork-tree. The 
whole is then connected with the shore by a stout single net of very wide 
meshes, called the wall, that arrests the progress of the tunny, and in¬ 
duces them to enter the outer room, called the bordonaro , which is thereon 
closed by the boatmen on the look-out. The fish, alarmed, and seeking to 


§ J. MANUFACTURES. 


Introd. 


XXII 


escape, then swim from side to side, and thus enter the next room, or bas- 
tardo , and thus successively into the piccolo , until they finally enter the 
corpo , or chamber of death. When the chamber is filled, which sometimes 
occupies 2 or 3 days, large flat-floored boats, constructed for the purpose, 
assisted by many smaller ones, close round, and, weighing the net, secure 
the prey with harpoons, and a species of sharp hook on a wooden staff, 
that is struck into the head to prevent the fish from floundering.”— Smyth. 
There are 20 tonnare in Sicily, which give employment to about 280 boats, 
and 600 men and boys. 

Pesce-Spada. —The fishery of the pesce-spada , or sword-fish, takes place 
in the Straits of Messina in July and August, and is an equally exciting 
yet less brutal sport than the capture of the tunny. It has been described 
at p. 511. It is calculated that no less than 175,000 lbs. of this fish are 
yearly consumed at Messina alone. 

Coral. —A peculiar description of fishing is carried on, for coral, on the 
western shore, near Trapani; also in the Straits of Messina, and on the 
southern coast, but chiefly off the African shore, near Cape Bon. It is 
calculated that the quantity annually procured is about 12 quintals, or 
2100 lbs. The value of coral varies enormously, according to the dimen¬ 
sions, colour, compactness, and smoothness of the material. It may be 
sold as low as one shilling a lb., or as high as ten guineas an ounce, nearly 
three times the price of pure gold. Yet this is by no means a lucrative 
branch of industry. The season is from April to July. The boats em¬ 
ployed have a crew of 7 or 8 men, and each boat is provided with a large 
wooden cross, to whose arms are attached strong hempen nets. This cross 
is sunk by means of heavy weights to the bottom of the sea, sometimes to 
the depth of 100 fathoms ; and as the boat glides gently along, the nets 
become entangled with the branches of coral, which are broken off and 
drawn to the surface. This is one of those rude occupations which seem 
hardly susceptible of improvement, and have been conducted in the same 
manner in all ages. 

§ J. Manufactures. 

Sicily is not a manufacturing country, and is not likely to be ever dis¬ 
tinguished for this branch of industry. Destitute of iron and coal, scantily 
supplied with fuel and water, with no navigable rivers or canals, and 
deficient in roads, she can never vie with nations more favoured in these 
respects. What little industry of this kind exists is almost confined to the 
preparation of silk, cotton, and leather. 

Silk. —The manufacture of silk was introduced into the island in 1147 
by King Roger, who brought the worm from Greece, when he captured 
several of her chief cities, and transferred many of the inhabitants to Sicily. 
Hence it extended to Venice, Florence, and the N. of Italy. It is now 
manufactured chiefly at Catania and Messina, and to a smaller extent at 
Palermo and Aci Reale. The fabrics are satins, gros de Naples, taffety, 
barege, and crape. Nearly 500,000 lbs. of raw silk are yearly produced, 
about 180,000 being exported, and the rest, retained for home consumption, 
are converted into about 13,000 pieces of silk stuffs, 16,000 lbs. of ribbons, 
and 24,000 lbs. of sewing silk. The quantity exported in 1852 was 
104,000 lbs., worth 78,0002. 

Cotton. —The weaving of cottons was attempted unsuccessfully in the 


Introcl. 


§ K. COMMERCE. 


XX111 


last century, but revived in 1818 at Catania, and is now steadily pursued 
for the supply of the wants of the island. The fabrics are nankeens, ging¬ 
hams, long cloths, duck, and mattressing. There is a steam-mill at Tra¬ 
pani and at Leonforte, and one at Palermo moved by horse-power. At 
Messina are two factories employing more than 1000 hands each. At Ca¬ 
tania, Terranova, and elsewhere, the weaving is done by hand-looms in the 
workmen’s cottages. It is calculated that the quantity produced in this 
way amounts annually to nearly 1,000,000 pieces, of 30 yards each. 

Leather is tanned at Palermo, Messina, and Catania. About 74,000 
hides, worth 103,600?., and 40,000 skins, chiefly of lambs and kids, worth 
9000?., were dressed in 1842. Since then the number has greatly increased ; 
160,000 skins having been exported in 1852. Sicilian leather is superior 
to the Neapolitan, but not equal to the French or English. 


§ K. Commerce. 

The foreign trade of Sicily has made large advances of late years. In 1840 
the value of the exports and imports together amounted to more than 
2,000,000?. In 1850 they had increased to 2,600,000?. ; in 1852 to more 
than 3,000,000?., the exports forming three-fifths, and the imports two- 
fifths of the whole ; and there has since been a considerable improvement, 
owing chiefly to the increased production of sulphur and cotton. The 
articles of export are shown in the following Table, which gives the quan¬ 
tities and value of the several exports in 1852 :— 


Exports. 


Sumach. 

345,021 cwts. 

£. 

392,860 

Sulphur .. 

2,025,987 ,, 

361,909 

Oranges and lemons . 

801,107 boxes. 

191,151 

Other fruits. 

68,725 cwts. 

105,465 

Oil. 

1,127,943 galls. 

163,105 

Wine and spirits. 

1,334,337 ,, 
104,000 lbs. 

105,827 

Silk. 

78,000 

Liquorice paste . 

23,429 cwts. 

54,207 

Essences.„. 

192,741 lbs. 

42,678 

Linseed. 

21,868 qrs. 

41,454 

Eags . 

55,995 cwts. 

37,677 

Manna 

3,637 ,, 

34,895 

Com, grain, and pulse. 

30,746 qrs. 

33,721 

Argols and cream of tartar. 

19,358 cwts. 

27,536 

Lemon-juice. 

162,000 galls. 

24,300 

Fish, salted. 

11,266 cwts. 

17,601 

Salt. 

24,047 tons. 

15,333 

Barilla . 

29,748 cwts. 

11,359 

Cheeses. 

5,759 ,, 

8,520 

Skins . 

159,500 

5,804 

Seeds . 

16,227 cwts. 

3,842 

Cantharides. 

47 ,, 

1,180 

Miscellaneous. 

• • • • 

46,298 



1,807,922 






























xxiv § L. ANTIQUITIES AND ART. Introd. 

About three-eighths of these exports, as regards value, are taken by 
Great Britain. 

The imports consist of colonial produce, cottons, woollens, silks, linens, 
earthenware, hardware, timber, hides and leather, tobacco, iron, copper and 
tin, wax, salt fish, &c. About five-twelfths of these imports, as regards the 
value, come from Great Britain and her colonies. 

The principal foreign countries with which Sicily maintains commercial 
relations are Great Britain, France, and the United States. The trade with 
these employs 1500 vessels. We give a synopsis of the comparative value 
of the trade which these countries carry on with Sicily, and the amount of 
shipping they respectively employ 


Value of Trade. 



1850. 

1855. 

1856. 


£. 

£. 

£. 

Great Britain . 

1,051,000 

1,050,000 

2,448,000 

France. 

355,000 

450,000 

1,070,000 

United States . 

328,000 

281,000 

764,000 


Tonnage. 



1850. 

1855. 

1856. 

Great Britain . 

67,000 

134,000 

180,000 

France. 

17,000 

135,000 

130,000 

United States . 

34,000 

40,000 

71,000 


The commerce with England and France has of late years been carried 
on principally in screw-steamers. In 1854, 27 ; in 1855, 37 ; in 1856, 74 
such vessels entered the port of Palermo; and the number entering all the 
ports of Sicily has, since 1854, increased sevenfold, and bids fair to become 
still larger. 

§ L. Antiquities and Art. 

The rival of Italy in her delicious climate and magnificent scenery, Sicily 
far surpasses her in one point of interest—in the grand relics of Hellenic 
architecture she retains. None of them, it is true, can vie with the Par¬ 
thenon in beauty, yet in number they exceed even those of Greece. “ It is 
not a little singular that colonial Sicily should possess now the remains of 
a greater number of splendid temples than we find in the mother country; 
for there are more temples here than we can trace the existence of in the 
whole Peloponnesus, or in the whole of Greece exclusive of that peninsula.” 
No city of Greece, indeed, save Athens, can show such magnificent remains 
























Introd. 


§ L. ANTIQUITIES AND ART. 


XXV 


of ancient art as are yet extant at Agrigentum, Selinus, and Segeste. 
Selinus alone possesses 7 temples, now all prostrate, shattered to frag¬ 
ments, yet presenting the most wonderful mounds of ruins in the world. 
One of them was of enormous dimensions, inferior in size only to the 
Temple of Diana at Ephesus, and to that of J upiter Olympius at Agrigentum. 
Of the ancient fanes of this latter city traces of no less than 10 are yet visible ; 
one, that of Concord, being the best preserved Greek temple out of Hellas, 
and rivalling in perfection the Theseum of Athens. There are remains 
also of other buildings on this site, and numerous tombs hollowed in the 
rocks; one only of architectural construction now standing above ground. 
The grandeur of ancient Segeste is attested by a Doric temple in excellent 
preservation, less a ruin than a structure never completed ; and by a spacious 
theatre. Syracuse, in sjute of siege after siege, and of retaining a popula¬ 
tion through all periods of her history, can still show the traces of three of 
her ancient temples; two now represented by mere fragments, the third in 
tolerable preservation, incorporated with the Cathedral. She can also boast 
of a theatre, the largest of such structures in Sicily ; an altar of vast size and 
unique proportions ; her renowned fountain of Arethusa ; baths ; aqueducts 
of many miles in length, which 5 centuries before Christ supplied the city 
with water, and have performed that office to the present day ; tombs carved 
in the rocks ; and large portions of her ancient fortifications. The quarries, 
ever memorable as the prison-house of the vanquished Athenians, now 
belie their ancient horrors by the display of the fairest flowers and choicest 
fruits. But the most wonderful relic of this celebrated city is the Castle of 
Eurvalus, the most complete and best preserved fortress of Greek construc¬ 
tion now in existence. Acrse, a colony of Syracuse, has also a theatre, an 
odeum, numerous sepulchres, and mysterious figures sculptured in the 
cliffs. An unique monument of Greek art is the structure on the head¬ 
land of Cefalu, which presents the only instance of Pelasgic masonry 
extant in Sicily. Scattered remains of Greek antiquity occur on other 
sites along these shores, where the arts flourished with scarcely less 
vigour than in the mother country. All the Greek temples of Sicily, 
without exception, are of the Doric order, the island having been colonized 
principally by that race, and some of them are among the earliest instances 
of that style extant, rivalling the venerable temple at Corinth in antiquity. 
If we may trust Serradifalco, “ there are no monuments of Greek imi¬ 
tative architecture which, historically or artistically considered, can be 
said to be earlier than those of Sicily.” Amor patria? even induces that 
writer to claim the invention of the Doric order for his native land rather 
than for Greece or Asia Minor. Certain it is, that of Hellenic plastic art, 
Sicily, in the metopes from Selinus, can show some of the most archaic 
examples in existence, long prior in the progress of art, if less in point of 
time, to the celebrated sculptures of iEgina. Though some of these Doric 
temples of Sicily may date so far back as the 7th century b.c., none of 
them we know can be later than the 5th. Many were probably commenced 
after the great victory over the Carthaginians at Himera in 480 b.c. ; and 
all must have preceded the capture of Segeste, Selinus, and Acragas by 
that people in 409-5 b.c., when one temple at least on each of those sites 
was still incomplete. The interest of the remains of the temples of Selinus 
and Acragas is enhanced by the fact that, retaining traces of colour, they 
[6Yc%.] b 


XXVI 


§ L. ANTIQUITIES AND ART. 


Introd. 


illustrate the principles of the polychrome decoration of architecture as 
practised by the Greeks. “ After Etna, the temples are certainly the great 
charm and attraction of Sicily. I do not know that there is any one 
among them which, taken alone, exceeds in interest and beauty that of 
Neptune at Pa3stum ; hut they have the advantage of number and variety, 
as well as of highly interesting positions. At Segesta the temple is en¬ 
throned in a perfect mountain solitude; and it is like a beautiful tomb of 
its religion, so stately, so entire; while around, but for the one solitary 
house of the keeper, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, to disturb the 
apparent reign of Silence and of Death, At Selinus the huge fragments on 
the plain seem to make an eminence themselves, and they listen to the 
ever young and unwearied waves which almost wash their base, and mock 
their desolation by the image of perpetual life and motion they present, 
while the tone of their heavy fall upon the beach well accords with the 
solemnity of the scene. At Girgenti the ridge visible to the mariner from 
afar is still crowned by a long line of fabrics, presenting to the eye a con¬ 
siderable mass and regularity of structure, and the town is near and visible ; 
yet that town is so entirely the mere phantom of its former glory within its 
now shrunken limits, that instead of disturbing the effect it rather seems to 
add a new image and enhance it. The temples enshrine a most pure and 
salutary principle of art, that which connects grandeur of effect with sim¬ 
plicity of detail; and retaining their beauty and their dignity in their 
decay, they represent the great man when fallen, as types of that almost 
highest of human qualities, silent, yet not sullen endurance.”— W. E. Gr. 

We have spoken hitherto only of the monuments of antiquity above 
ground, but untold treasures of Greek art exist below the surface. The 
figured vases drawn from the Siculo-Greek tombs are among the most 
beautiful specimens of ancient ceramography extant. Those from Girgenti 
and Terranova especially are pre-eminent in beauty—of a severe, and even 
somewhat dry type, it may be, yet charming the eye with the truth 
and purity of design, with exquisite simplicity, grace, and expression. 
The vase-painting of the Doric cities on the southern coast of Sicily 
approaches in character more nearly to that of Nola and Vulci, and in 
some respects still more closely to that of Greece proper, than to the art 
as exhibited in most of the Greek colonies of Southern Italy. The re¬ 
dundance of floral decoration, the multitude of figures, the voluptuous grace, 
and the richness of costume and elaborate ornamentation which charac¬ 
terize the painted vases of Magna Grsecia, may be panting; but rarely, 
on the other hand, is the taste offended by those evidences of the decline 
of art which so strongly mark that style. Excavations are not systema¬ 
tically carried on in Sicily; they are, indeed, forbidden by law, yet vases 
are occasionally to be purchased. But the tourist should be on his guard 
against the exorbitant prices generally demanded, and still more against 
modern imitations, which are sometimes so well executed as to deceive an 
unpractised eye. 

There is another class of Greek relics in which Sicily is peculiarly rich, 
viz. coins, which are found on all her ancient sites in abundance, not un- 
freq.uently in large numbers together, as if buried in troublous times. It 
must be remembered that the coins of Sicily, especially of Syracuse, were 
the most beautiful specimens of numismatic art that the ancient world 


Illtrod. § L. ANTIQUITIES AND ART. Xxvii 

ever produced : those of Athens could not rival them ; modern mints have 
in vain essayed to approach them. Here, again, we must caution the 
traveller. Large quantities of false coins are now offered for sale in Sicily, 
and too often entrap the unwary; for coins are now so easily imitated 
by mechanical or chymical processes, that it requires a highly practised 
eye to detect the fraud. 

There are few monuments which can be confidently referred to the 
Sicani, the Siculi, or the other early inhabitants of Sicily. It is impos¬ 
sible to determine if the existing fortifications of Eryx are to be ascribed 
to the Elymi, the earliest occupiers of the mountain, or to the Cartha¬ 
ginians or Syracusans, who subsequently held it. Though certain glens 
in the Yal di Noto, whose cliffs are honeycombed with caves, have been 
claimed as “ rock cities,” the abodes of the primeval inhabitants of the island, 
who dwelt in caverns because the art of constructing houses had not been 
invented, there is no foundation whatever for such an opinion. The 
experienced antiquary cannot fail to recognise a sepulchral origin for these 
supposed Troglodyte dwellings, and cemeteries of Greek construction in 
these so-called “ rock cities.” 

Sicily ought to be rich in Punic remains, but few can be pointed out 
as indisputably of that origin. Such, however, are the fortifications of 
Motya, in the island of S. Pantaleo, and a fragment of the walls of the 
ancient Lilybseum, now Marsala. Some of the remains in situ at Solanto 
may also be Carthaginian. A very few Punic inscriptions have been 
brought to light, and coins of the same origin are from time to time turned 
up by the plough ; but these are scanty traces of a domination which 
endured for 3 or 4 centuries, and sometimes embraced almost the entire 
island. The most striking monuments of Carthaginian rule in Sicily 7- are 
the desolate sites of Ilimera and Selinus, and the ruined temples of Acragas 
and Gela. 

Piome has of course left the impress of her heel on the shores of Sicily, 
yet her remains are scarcely so numerous as might be expected ; nor, with 
few exceptions, are they of a remarkable character. Among these excep¬ 
tions we may specify the amphitheatre of Syracuse, and the catacombs 
on the same site, though by many these are supposed to have had an 
earlier origin. Catania is the city most abounding in Roman remains, 
yet many of them are only in part rescued from the lava which has over¬ 
flowed them. Taormina can boast the picturesque ruins of her splendid 
theatre, commanding the most glorious view in all Sicily—Roman ruins 
on Greek foundations. At Tyndaris, on the N. coast, are a theatre of 
similar character, a gymnasium, and other remains. At Termini and at 
Girgenti are also some vestiges of Roman days. 

Of the Byzantine epoch very few monuments are extant. The purest 
in that style is a little chapel at Malvagna, in the valley of the Cantara. 
But the art of the Eastern Empire continued to influence the architecture 
of Sicily for centuries, even after the times of the Normans, who were 
indebted to this source for the most exquisite and gorgeous decorations, 
sculptured or mosaic, of their churches. 

The Moslems in Sicily, in the centuries of their domination, must 
have erected numerous edifices in character with their civilisation and 
luxurious habits. The tendency of modern research, however, has been 

b 2 


xxviii § l. antiquities and aet. Introd. 

to deny to the Saracens, and claim for the Normans, the construction of 
many architectural remains which are in the style peculiar to the former 
people. Thus the palaces of La Cuba, La Ziza, and La Favara, in the 
neighbourhood of Palermo, though of Arabian architecture, have been 
assigned, on the strength of inscriptions and chronicles, to the times of 
the Norman kings. But Mr. Gaily Knight, on the other hand, insists 
strenuously on their Saracenic origin, as evidenced by their character, 
plan, and construction. Other remains, as La Cubola and the Baths of 
Cefala, are undoubtedly of Moslem date. 

The Normans in Sicily adopted a style of architecture totally different 
from that which they employed in France and England, and even on the 
opposite coast of Italy. In those lands they never departed from the 
Romanesque type. In the eastern parts of Sicily their buildings were at 
first of the same character, but from the date of their conquest of Palermo 
they bowed beneath the artistic influence of the people they had vanquished, 
and in some instances, it may be, employed Saracenic workmen to raise 
purely oriental edifices, in others adopted a style which was a compromise— 
a mixture of their own forms of art with those previously established 
by the various races that had preceded them as masters of the island. 
From the Saracens they borrowed the pointed arch, the pendentive, the 
honeycomb ceiling, and the very inscriptions of that people as an orna¬ 
ment ; from the Byzantines their cupolas and mosaics; from the Romans 
their basilica form, their columns and capitals; from the Greeks their 
enrichments ; while all these styles were modified more or less by the 
introduction of the Norman element. 

“ The Greeks who formed so large a part of the population of Sicily 
were the architects and the sculptors, and consequently introduced 
Greek designs in the mouldings, executing them with that delicacy 

and peculiar method which belongs only to the Greek chisel.The 

Normans introduced little of their own; but some features they did 
introduce, for, before their arrival, nothing of the kind existed either in 
Sicily or Italy. These were grotesque heads amongst the foliage of capitals, 
or under the eaves; the billet-moulding, the dog-tooth moulding, and 
their favourite cheveron, or zigzag.”— G. Knight. 

The pointed arch in Sicily, introduced by the Saracens on their conquest 
in the 9th century, “ was never a vaulting or constructive expedient—it 
was simply,” says Mr. Fergusson, “ a mode of eking out, by stilting, the 
limited height of the Roman pillars, which they found and used so freely.” 
It is precisely the same arch as that used in the East and in Spain from 
an earlier date; it was, in fact, a settled canon of art and a usual form 
of Moslem architecture. “ There is no connexion, either ethnographically 
or architecturally, between the Sicilian pointed arch and the French, and 
beyond the accident of the broken centre they have nothing in common.” 
— Fergusson. 

The buildings which exhibit the Siculo-Norman style in all its com¬ 
pleteness are the Cappella Palatina, and the Martorana, at Palermo, and 
the Cathedral of Monreale: ihe first a perfect bijou in architecture; the 
second in similar style, but of still smaller dimensions, and injured by 
modem innovations; the last the grandest and the richest monument the 
Normans have left in Sicily. All these owe their chief charm to the 



Introd. 


§ M. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 


XXIX 


mosaics which cover their walls, and throw a golden and tinted glory over 
the interior; “ a decoration,” it has been truly said, “ unrivalled in its 
class by anything the middle ages have produced.” Mr. Knight ascribes 
these decorations to the Greeks of Byzantium rather than to those of 
Sicily, “ for the whole character and costume of these mosaics is decidedly 
Byzantine, and they afford in their long series an absolute gallery of 
Byzantine costume, constantly reproducing the prescriptive forms of the 
Greek Church, and the peculiar signs which distinguished the Greeks 
from the Latins.” 

“ The Saracenic pointed style lasted in full force in Sicily till the end 
of the 14th century. In the course of that time, under the Aragonese 
sovereigns, more and more enrichment was added to the mouldings, but 
enrichment of a Greek character. The Norman zigzag, however, still 
kept its ground. In the 15th century a change began to creep in, but 
taste had not yet taken any decided direction. Various novelties were 
attempted; sometimes the forms were circular, sometimes square, and 
sometimes elliptic. Amongst other novelties the pointed style of the 
North was introduced, with its projecting mouldings and a little of its 
tracery, but later in Sicily than anywhere else; and though something of 
its true spirit is caught in the reconstructions in the castle of Maniaces at 
Syracuse, yet in Sicily it always appears an exotic. In the second half 
of the 16th century all these varieties gave place to the Renaissance, and 
the Italian style was gradually introduced .”—Oally Kniglit. 


§ M. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 


THE GREEKS, b.c. 735—210. 

B.C. 

735. Naxos founded. 

734. Syracuse founded. 

730. Leontini and Catana founded. 

728. Megara Hyblsea founded. 

Zancle or Messana founded. 

690. Gela founded. 

664. Acrse founded. 

My la) founded. 

648. Himera founded. 

644. Casmense founded. 

628. Selinus founded. 

599. Camarina founded. 

582. Agrigentum founded. 

570-554. Plialaris, tyrant of Agrigentum. 

536. First settlement of the Carthaginians in Sicily. 
498-491. Hippocrates, tyrant of Gela. 

493. Hippocrates besieges Syracuse. 

491. Gelon, tyrant of Gela. 

488-472. Theron, tyrant of Agrigentum. 

485-478. Gelon, tyrant of Syracuse. 

480. Great victory of Gelon and Theron at Himera. 






XXX 


§ M. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 


Introd. 


B.C. 

478-467. Hieron I., tyrant of Syracuse. 

474. Naval victory of Hieron over the Etruscans oft’ Cumae. 

461-440. Ducetius, Prince of the Siculi. 

427-424. First expedition of the Athenians to Sicily. 

415. Second Athenian expedition to Sicily. 

413. Destruction of the Athenian armament. 

409. Himera and Selinus destroyed by the Carthaginians. 

406-367. Dionysius, tyrant at Syracase. 

406. Agrigentum taken by the Carthaginians. 

405. Gela destroyed by the Carthaginians. 

403. Dionysius destroys Naxos and Leontini. 

397. Dionysius captures Motya. 

396. Syracusan fleet defeated by the Carthaginians. Lilybaeum founded. 
395. Himilcon besieges Syracuse. 

395. Tyndaris founded. 

358. Tauromenium founded. 

357. Dion lauds in Sicily. 

356. Dionysius II. quits Syracuse. 

353. Dion slain. 

346. Dionysius returns to Syracuse. 

344. Timoleon lands in Sicily. 

343. Dionysius II. abdicates. 

340. Victory of Timoleon at the Crimisus. 

336. Death of Timoleon. 

317-289. Agathocles, King of Syracuse. 

310. Hamilcar besieges Syracuse, and Agathocles invades Africa. 

288-279. Hicetas, tyrant of Syracuse. 

286-281. Phintias, tyrant of Agrigentum. 

284. Gela demolished and Phintias founded. 

278-276. Pyrrhus subdues all Sicily save Lilybaeum. 

275-216. Hieron II., King of Syrat-use. 

264. The Romans invade Sicily. First Punic War. 

263. Treaty between Rome and Syracuse. 

262. Agrigentum taken by the Romans. 

260. First naval victory of the Romans off Mylae. 

256. Naval victory of the Romans near Heraclea. 

250-241. Siege of Lilybaeum. 

241. Naval victory over Hanno. Sicily divided between Rome and Syracuse. 
216. Hieronymus, last tyrant of Syracuse. 

214-212. Siege of Syracuse by Marcellus. 

210. Agrigentum taken. Sicily a Roman province. 

* 

THE ROMANS, b.c. 210— a.d. 466. 

146. Scipio Africanus II. restores to Sicily the works of art carried to 
Carthage. 

135-132. First Servile War in Sicily. 

1C3-100, Second Servile War. 

82. Pompey takes possession of Sicily. 

75. Cicero Quaestor at Lilybaeum. 

73-70. Verres Praetor of Sicily. 

42. Sextus Pompeius takes possession of Sicily. 

36. Octavianus becomes master of the island. 

20. Augustus visits Sicily, and establishes colonies. 


IntrocL 


§ M. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 


XXXI 


A.I). 

42. St. Paul lands at Syracuse. 

125. Adrian visits Sicily and ascends Etna. 

409. The Goths under Alaric attempt to invade Sicily. 

440. The Vandals under Genseric invade Sicily. 

4GG. The Vandals take possession and drive out the Romans. 


THE VANDALS AND GOTHS, a.d. 466-535. 

480. Sicily ceded by the Vandals to the Goths. 

535. Belisarius annexes Sicily to the Eastern Empire. 


THE EASTERN EMPIRE, a.d. 535-941. 

827. The Saracens invade Sicily. 

831. They take Palermo. 

843. Messina taken. 

878. Syracuse captured by assault. 

902. Taormina taken. 

941. The Saracens have entire possession of Sicily. 


THE SARACENS, a.d. 941—1072. 

1038. Maniaces invades Sicily, assisted by the Normans, but breaks faith 
with the latter, who quit the island. 

1061. Robert and Roger de Hauteviile invade Sicily, and take Messina and 
Troina. 

1071. The Normans take Catania. 

1072. Palermo, the capital, taken by Robert and Roger; the latter of whom 

assumes the title of Count of Sicily. 

1077. Trapani taken by the Normans. 

1085. Count Roger takes Syracuse. 

1086. He takes Girgenti and Castrogiovanni. 

1090. By the capture of Noto from the Saracens, the Normans complete the 
conquest of Sicily. 


THE NORMANS, a.d. 1072—1194. 

Counts of Sicily, House of Hauteville. 

1072. Roger, youngest son of Tancred de Hauteville. 

1101. Simon, eldest son of Roger, under the regency of his mother, Adelaide. 
1105. Roger, second son of Count Roger, afterwards King. 

Kings of Sicily and Naples. 

1130. Roger, inheriting the continental dominions of his uncle Robert Guiscard, 
assumes the title of King. 

1154. William I. surnamed “the Bad,” second son of Roger. 

1166. William II., or “ the Good,” son of William I. 

1189. Tancred, natural son of Roger, eldest son of King Roger. 

1194. William III., second son of Tancred, deposed by Henry VI. 


§ M. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 


Introd. 


xxxii 


THE SUABIANS, a.d. 1194—1266. 

House of Hohenstaufen. 

A.D. 

1194. Henry VI., Emperor of Germany, son of Frederick Barbarossa, claims 
the crown of the Two Sicilies in virtue of his marriage with Constance, 
daughter of King Roger. 

Viceroy. 

1195. Bishop of Hildesheim. 

1197. Frederick II., Emperor of Germany, only son of Henry VI. and Constance. 

1250. Conrad, second son of Frederick II. 

1254. Conradin, only son of Conrad, under the regency of his uncle Manfred; 

taken prisoner at the battle of Tagliacozzo, 1268, and executed at 
Naples the same year, by Charles of Anjou. 

Regent. 

1254. Manfred, Prince of Taranto. In 1258 he assumed the crown. 

1258. Manfred, natural son of Frederick II.; slain at the battle of Benevento, 

1266. 


HOUSE OF ANJOU, a.d. 1266—1282. 

King of Naples and Sicily. 

1266. Charles I., Count of Provence, 7th son of Louis VIII. of France, and 
brother of St. Louis, created King of Naples and Sicily by a bull of 
Clement IV. He lost Sicily in 1282, when the people rose against the 
French in the terrible massacre known as the “Sicilian Vespers.” 


HOUSE OF ARAGON, a.d. 1282—1505. 

Kings of Sicily. 

1282. Peter III. of Aragon, and I. of Sicily, chosen King by the Sicilians as hus¬ 
band of Constance, daughter of Manfred, and sole heiress of the House 
of Hohenstaufen. 

1285. James, surnamed “ the Just,” second son of Peter, succeeded in 1291 to 
the crown of Aragon, by the title of James II., at the death of his 
brother Alfonso, and left as 

Viceroy. 

1291. Frederick, his brother. 

1296. Frederick II., third son of Peter, elected King by the Parliament of 
Sicily. 

1337. Peter II., son of Frederick II., crowned King in 1321, during his father’s 
lifetime. 

1342. Louis, eldest son of Peter II., under the regency of John Duke of Ran- 
dazzo, his uncle. 

1355. Frederick III., surnamed “the Simple,” second son of Peter II. 

1377. Mary, daughter of Frederick III., under the regency of Artale Alagona. 

In 1385 she married Martin, son of Martin King of Aragon, and asso¬ 
ciated him with her on the throne of Sicily. 


Introd. 


§ M. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 


xxxiii 


A.I>. 

1391. Martin I. and Mary. At her death Martin succeeds to the throne. 

1402. Martin I. 

1409. Martin II., father of Martin I., and King of Aragon, by whose accession 
Sicily and Aragon were again united under one crown. 

Vicar and Lieutenant. 

1409. The Queen Bianca, of Navarre, widow of Martin I. 

1412. Ferdinand I., surnamed“the Just,” King of Aragon, son of John I. of 
Castille and Eleanor of Aragon, sister to Martin II. 

Viceroy. 

1415. The Infante Juan, Duke of Penafiel. 

1416. Alfonso Y. “the Magnanimous,” King of Aragon, son of Ferdinand the 
Just, who, by the conquest of Naples, and expulsion of Kene d’ Anjou, 
the last of the French dynasty, became King of Naples and Sicily. 

Viceroys. 

1416. The Infante Juan, Duke of Penafiel. 

The Bishop of Lerida, and Antonio Cardona. 

1419. Antonio Cardona, Hernan Velasquez, and Martin de Torres. 

1421. The Bishop of Catania, Arnaldo Kuggieri de Pallas, and the 

Baron of Saponara. 

1422. The first two with Hernan Velasquez. 

1423. Niccolb Speciale. 

1424. The Infante Pedro, Duke of Noto. 

1425. Niccolb Speciale. 

1427. The same with Guglielmo Moncada. 

1429. The same two with Giovanni Ventimiglia, Count of Geraci. 

1435. The Infante Pedro, Duke of Noto. 

Don Boggiere Paruta. 

1440 D. Giliberto Ceatelles and D. Battista Platamone. 

1441. D. Baimondo de Perellos. 

King of Naples and Sicily. 

1442. Alfonso I. “ the Magnanimous.” At his death Naples and Sicily were 
again divided, he having bequeathed Naples to his son Ferdinand, and 
Sicily to his younger brother John. 

Viceroy. 

1443. Don Lopez Ximenez de Urrea. 

King of Sicily. 

1458. John II. King of Aragon and Navarre, brother of Alfonso I. 

Viceroys. 

1458. Don Lopez Ximenez de Urrea. 

1459. Don Juan de Moncada. 

1461. Don Bernardo Kequesens. 

1462. Don Juan de Moncada. 

I 3 


XXXIV 


§ M. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 


Introd. 


1463. Don Bernardo Requesens. 

1465. Don Lopez Ximenez de Urrea. 

1475. Don Guglielmo Peralta and Don Guglielmo Pujades. 

1477. Don Juan Cardona, Count of Prades. 

1479. Ferdinand II. (Y. of Aragon) “ the Catholic,” son of John II. of Aragon. 

Viceroys. 

1479. Don Gaspar de Spes. 

1488. Don Hernan de Acuna. 

1495. Don Juan de la Nuza. 


THE SPANISH DOMINION, a.d. 1505—1713. 

Kings of Naples and Sicily. 

1505. Ferdinand “ the Catholic,” King of Spain, son of John II. of Aragon 
and Sicily. By the Treaty of Granada, 1500, Ferdinand and Louis XII. 
of France agreed to despoil Frederick of the kingdom of Naples, and 
to divide his dominions between them; but quarrelling over their 
prey, they came to blows, and Gonsalvo de Cordoba secured the entire 
kingdom for liis master Ferdinand. 

Viceroys. 

1505. Don Juan de la Nuza. 

1506. Don Raimondo de Cardona, Count of Alveto. 

1509. Don Ugo de Moncada. 

1515. Joanna, “the Mad,” daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, who abdicated 

in favour of her son Charles Y. 

1516. Charles, son of Joan of Castille and the Archduke Philip of Austria, and 

afterwards the Emperor Charles Y., who in 1554 abdicated in favour of 
his son Philip II. 

Viceroys. 

1517. Don Ettore Pignatelli, Duke of Monteleone. 

1535. Don Ferdinando Gonzaga, Prince of Molfetta. 

1547. Don Juan de Vega. 

1554. Philip II. of Spain, son of the Emperor Charles V. by Isabella of Portugal, 
and husband of Queen Maiy of England. 

Viceroys. 

1557. Don Juan de la Cerda, Duke of Medina Celi. 

1565. Don Garcia de Toledo. 

1568. Don Francesco Ferdinando Avalos de Aquino, Marquis of Pescara. 

President of the Kingdom. 

1571. Don Carlo d’ Aragona e Tagliavia, Prince of Castelvetrano. 

Viceroys. 

1577. Don Marco Antonio Colonna, Duke of Tagliacozzo. 

1585. Don Diego Henriquez de Guzman, Count of Albadelista. 


Introd. 


§ M. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 


XXXV 


A.D. 

1592. Don Henrigo de Guzman, Count of Olivares. 

1598. Don Bernardino de Cardenas, Duke of Mackeda. 

1598. Philip III. of Spain, son of Philip II. by his fourth wife, Anne of Austria, 
daughter of the Emperor Maximilian II. 

Viceroys. 

1G02. Don Lorenzo Xuares de Figueroa e Cordoba, Duke of Feria. 

1G07. Don Juan Hernandez Pacheco, Marquis ofVillena. 

1G11. Don Pedro Giron, Duke of Ossuna. 

1616. Don Francisco Lemos, Count of Castro. 

1G21. Philip IY. of Spain, son of Philip III. by Margaret of Austria, sister of 
the Emperor Ferdinand II. 

Viceroys. 

1622. Prince Emanuel Philibert of Savoy. 

1626. Don Antonio Pimentel, Marquis of Tavara. 

1627. Don Francisco Hernandez de la Oueva, Duke of Albuquerque. 

1632. Don Heman Afan de Ribera, Duke of Alcala. 

1637. Don Luis Moncada, Duke of Montalto— President. 

1639. Don Francisco de Mello de Braganza, Count of Asumar. 

1641. Don Alfonso Henriquez de Cabrera, Count of Modica. 

1644. Don Pedro Faxardo, Zuniga y Requesens, Marquez de los Yeles. 

1648. Don Juan d’ Austria, natural son of Philip IV. 

1651. Don Rodrigo Mendoza Roxas y Sandoval, Duca del Infantado. 

1655. Don Juan Tellez de Giron, Henriquez de Ribera, Duke of Ossuna. 

1660. Don Hernan de Ayala, Fonseca y Toledo, Count of Ayala. 

1663. Don Francesco Gaetano, Duke of Sermoneta. 

1665. Charles II. of Spain, son of Philip IV. by his second wife, Mary Anne of 
Austria, daughter of the Emperor Ferdinand III. He died without 
issue, and bequeathed the crown of Spain, Naples, and Sicily to his 
great-nephew Philip of Bourbon, Duke of Anjou. 

Viceroys. 

1667. Don Francisco Hernandez de la Cueva, Duke of Albuquerque. 

1670. Don Claudio Lamoraldo, Prince of Ligne. 

1674. Don Francisco Bazan de Benavides, Marquis of Bayona. 

1674. Don Frederico Toledo y Osorio, Marquis of Villafranca. 

1676. Don Anello de Guzman, Marquis of Castel Rodrigo. 

1678. Don Vincenzo Gonzaga, of the Dukes of Mantua. 

1678. Don Francisco de Benavides, Avila y Corellas, Count of Santo 
Stefano. 

1687. Don Juan Francisco Pacheco, Duke of Uzeda. 

1696. Don Pedro Colon, Duke of Veraguas. 

1700. Philip V. of Spain, grandson of Louis XIV. of France, claimed the crown 
in right of the bequest of Charles II., but it was also claimed by Leopold 
I. Emperor of Germany, for his son the Archduke Charles, as the heir 
of the elder branch of the House of Austria. The war that ensued, 
known as the War of the Succession, lasted for 13 years; and by the 
Peace of Utrecht, in 1713, the crown of Spain was confirmed to Philip ; 
Naples was made over to the Archduke Charles, then the Emperor 
Charles VI.,; and Sicily was separated from Naples and given to Victor 
Amadeus, Duke of Savoy. 


XXXVI 


§ M. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 


Introd. 


Viceroys during the War. 

1701. Don Juan Emanuel Hernandez Pacheco, Duke of Ascalon. 

1702. Cardinal Don Francesco del Giudice. 

1705. Don Isidor de la Cueva y Bonavides, Marquis of Bedmar. 
1707. Don Carlos Antonio Spinola, Marquis of Balbases. 


HOUSE OF SAVOY, a.d. 1713—1720. 

K/ng of Sicily. 

1713. Vittorio Amedeo, Duke of Savoy. By the Peace of Paris in 1720, Sicily 
was restored to the crown of Naples, and the island ot Sardinia was 
given to Victor Amadeus in exchange. 

Viceroys. 

1714. Count Annibale Maffei. 

1718. Don Giovanni Francesco di Bette, Marquis of Lede. 

1719. Don Niccolo Pignatelli, Duke of Monteleone. 

HOUSE OF AUSTRIA, a.d. 1720—1734. 

King of Naples and Sicily. 

1720. Charles VI., Emperor of Germany, second son of the Emperor Leopold I. 

Viceroys. 

1722. Fra Gioacchino Fernandez Portocarrero, Count of Palma. 

1728. Don Cristoforo Fernandez di Cordoba, Count of Sastago. 


THE SPANISH BOURBONS, a.d. 1734—1860. 

Kings of Naples and Sicily. 

In November, 1733, Spain, France, and England declared war against the 
Emperor Charles, with the view of wresting from him the kingdom of Naples 
and Sicily. Don Carlos, the younger son of Philip V. of Spain, by Elisabetta 
Farnese, landed in Tuscany at the head of a Spanish army, marched on Naples, 
where he was proclaimed King 15th May, 1734, and he was crowned in Palermo 
in the same year. 

1734. Charles of Bourbon, generally called Charles III., as he succeeded in 1759 
to the throne of Spain by that title, on the death of his elder brother 
Ferdinand VI., when he abdicated the throne of Naples and Sicily in 
favour of his third son, Ferdinand, then in his 8th year. 

Viceroys. 

1734. Don Josk Cartillo Albornoz, Duke of Montemar. 

1737. Don Bartolommeo Corsini, Prince of Gismano. 

1747. Eustaclie Duke of Vicfuille. 

1755. Don Giovanni Fogliani d’Aragona, Marquis of Pellegrino. 

1759. Ferdinand IV., third son of Charles III., by Amelia Walburga, daughter 
of Frederick Augustus King of Poland. During his minority (1759- 
1767) the kingdom was governed by a regency presided over by the 
krime Minister Tanucci. 


Introd. 


§ M. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 


XXXV11 


A.I>. 


Viceroys. 


1775. Don Marco Antonio Colonna, Prince of Stigliano. 
1778. Don Antonio de Cortada y Bru, 

1781. Don Domenico Caraccioli, Marquis of Villamaina. 
1786. Don Francesco d’Aquino, Prince of Caramanico. 
1798. Don Tommaso Ferrao, Prince of Luzzi. 


On the advance of the French troops under General Championnet into the 
Neapolitan territory, in December, 1798, Ferdinand, abandoning his continental 
dominions, took refuge on board Nelson’s ship, and was conveyed to Palermo, 
where he remained till the peace of Amiens in 1802 restored him to his Neapo¬ 
litan throne. 


Presidents of the Kingdom. 

1802. Don Domenico Pignatelli, Cardinal Archbishop of Palermo. 

1803. Don Giambattista Paterno. 


Lord-Lieutenant of Sicily. 

1806. Don Alessandro Filangieri, Prince of Cuto. 

In January, 1806, on a French army under Massena taking possession of 
Naples, and proclaiming Joseph Buonaparte king, Ferdinand again retired to 
Sicily, the possession of which was secured to him by the presence of an English 
military and naval force. From this time to his restoration in 1815, Ferdinand 
was King of Sicily alone, Naples being governed by Joseph Buonaparte and 
Joachim Murat, created kings by Napoleon. 

Vicar-General and Alter Ego. 

1812. H.R.H. Francis of Bourbon, Duke of Calabria. 

By the Treaty of Casalanza, 1815, Naples was restored to Ferdinand, who, 
by the provisions of the Treaty of Vienna, assumed the title of Ferdinand I., 
King of the Two Sicilies. 

f 

Lord-Lieutenants. 

1816. Don Niccolo Filangieri, Prince of Cutb. 

1817. H.R.H. Francesco Duke of Calabria, Vicar. 

1818. Carlo Duke of Avarna, and Gioachino Marquis Ferreri. 

1819. H.R.H. Francesco Duke of Calabria, Vicar. 

1820. Don Diego Naselli. 

Don Ruggieri Settimo. 

Don Antonio Ruffo, Prince of Scaletta, for the Valle di Messina. 
Baron Colletta, for the Valle di Palermo. 

1821. Don Vito, Marquis Nunziante. 

Don Pietro Gravina, Cardinal Archbishop of Palermo. 

Don Niccolo Filangieri, Prince of Cuto. 

1822. Don Antonio Luccliesi Palli, Prince of Campofranco. 

1824. Don Pietro Ugo, Marcliese delle Favare. 

1825. Francis I. Duke of Calabria, son of Ferdinand I. by the Archduchess 
Maria Carolina of Austria, sister of the Emperor Joseph II. 

1830. Ferdinand II., son of Francis I. by his second wife the Infanta Isabella of 
Spain. 


§ M. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES. 


Introd. 


xxxviii 


Lord-Lieutenants. 

A.D. 

1830. Don Vito, Marquis Nunziante. 

1831. H.R.H. Prince Leopold, Count of Syracuse. 

1835. Don Antonio Lucchesi Palli, Prince of Campofranco. 

1838. Don Onorato Gaetani, Duke of Laurenzana. 

1839. The Marquis Giuseppe de Tcliudy. 

1840. Field-Marshal Pietro Vial. 

Don Luigi Nicokide Majo, Duke of San Pietro. 

In January, 1848, in consequence of the misrule and tyranny of the last three 
kings, the citizens of Palermo rose in insurrection and drove out the Neapolitan 
forces. In a short time the whole of Sicily, with the exception of the citadel 
of Messina, was in the hands of the insurgents, and remained so till May, 
1849, when, by the aid of Swiss mercenaries, Ferdinand’s authority was re¬ 
established. From his bombardment of Palermo and Messina he received the 
sobriquet of “ Bomba.” 

Lord-Lieutenants. 

1849. Don Carlo Filangieri, Prince of Satriano. 

1855. The Prince of Castelcicala. 

1859. Francis II., son of Ferdinand II., by his first wife, Maria Cristina, 
daughter of Victor Emmanuel, King of Sardinia. 

Francis continuing to exercise the same system of oppression and cruelty 
which had rendered liis father's name execrated by his subjects and infamous in 
Europe, the Sicilians, encouraged by the successes of the French and Sardinians 
against the Austrians in 1859, and by the annexation of Lombardy, Parma, 
Modena, Tuscany, and the Legations to the new Kingdom of Italy, again rose in 
insurrection in the spring of 1860. The attempt would have been crushed, 
had not Garibaldi, landing at Marsala on the lltli May with a handful of Cacci- 
atori delle Alpi, defeated the Neapolitan troops at Calatafimi, Palermo, and 
Milazzo, driving them from ever} 7 part of the island, save the citadel of Mes¬ 
sina. Then crossing the Straits and marching triumphantly to Naples, he 
annexed the Two Sicilies to the new kingdom of Italy, under its present sove¬ 
reign Victor Emmanuel. 


PRELIMINARY INFORMATION. 




§ 2. Custom-houses 

§ 3. Money. 

§ 4. Weights and Measures 
§ 5. Steamers to Sicily .. 

§ 6. Railroads 


Page 


xxxix 

§ 18. 

xxxix 

§ 9. 

xxxix 

§ io. 

xli 

§ IT 

xli 

§ 12. 

xliii 


§ 13. 


Mail Coaches xliv 
Diligences . xliv 
Posting . .xliv 


Vetture . . . xliv 

The Lettiga . . xlv 
Mule-travelling xlvi 


The Giro, or Tour of the Island 
Inns and Accommodation .. 
Requisites for Travelling .. 
Seasons for Travelling 
Security of the Roads.. 
Cornpagni d’Armi 
Skeleton Tours. 


Page 

xlvi 

xlviii 

xlix 

1 

li 

lii 

lii 


►o*- 


§ 1. Passports. 

Under the Bourbons, his passport was a source of continual annoyance to the 
traveller in Sicily. Not only was it necessary that it should he completely 
en regie , hut there was always a doubt of his being allowed to land, or a 
prospect of his being placed under surveillance , should he happen to possess 
a name recorded in the black book of the police. To this was added the 
annoyance of a carta di sicurezza if he remained in a town, and of ever- 
recurring inquisition if he travelled about the island. Since the incorpo¬ 
ration of Sicily with the kingdom of Italy, all stringency on this score has 
been abandoned. On landing at Palermo or Messina the passport will 
probably be demanded; but it will be returned on the spot, or on the fol¬ 
lowing day, and will never again have to be produced. The traveller can 
leave the island for any Italian or French port without troubling himself 
about his passport; but should he intend to land at CivitaVecchia, he must 
obtain the visa of the Pontifical Consul at the port from which he sails. 


§ 2. Custom-houses. 

The officers of the Sicilian Dogana are in general civil and obliging 
enough, and not disposed to stretch their prerogative further than a sense of 
duty, relaxable by a fee, requires. Travellers who forward their luggage by 
sea to await their arrival at a Sicilian port, will find the formalities attend¬ 
ing its clearance at the Customs both tedious and vexatious, and they are 
advised to intrust this business to some agent recommended by their 
banker. Works of art and antiquities cannot be freely exported, and the 
tourist who purchases such articles should leave the shipping of them to 
similar hands. 

§ 3. Money. 

The currency of Sicily is in a state of transition. Since the annexation 
of the island to Italy in 1860, the decimal system, having the lira Italiana 
or f ranc as its unit, long in use in Piedmont, has been adopted as the official 
currency of the new kingdom. The old coinage has been called in, and the 
copper coins have almost disappeared, their place being supplied by sous, 
















xl 


§ 3. MONEY. 


but the silver coins of the Sicilian currency, the tari and its multiples up 
to the piastra, are still in circulation, jointly with those of the new kingdom, 
which are precisely equivalent to those of France. Though official accounts 
are kept in francs and centimes, and hotel-bills are sometimes made out 
in the same, the old currency is still generally used in the accounts of 
bankers, merchants, and shopkeepers. This is productive of much confu¬ 
sion and perplexity to the traveller. He should first learn the old currency, 
and then its relative value in the Italian or French system; and in this he 
will be greatly assisted by a-little book published by the Government, which 
will enable him to convert readily the coinage of the one currency into that 
of the other—‘ Tariffe Legali di Ragguaglio delle Monete Siciliane e Na- 
politane in lire nuove Italiane o franchi, e viceversa.’ It costs 1 tail, and 
is to be had at the shop of Domenico Cutrera, 400, Toledo, in Palermo. 

The old Sicilian currency was as follows :—• 


6 Piccioli = 1 Grano. 

2 Grani = 1 Bajocco. 

10 Grani = 1 Carlino. 

20 Grani = 1 Tarl. 


10 Tail = 1 Ducato. 

12 Tarl = 1 Piastra. 

30 Tail = 1 Onza. 


There are not coins in circulation answering to all these values. The 
picciolo, like the Spanish maravedi or ochavo, is merely nominal. The ducat 
and the ounce have also long ceased to exist. Yet the importance of such 
values in a decimal system has caused them to be retained by bankers and 
merchants in their calculations, though they are not represented in the ac¬ 
tual coinage. Such accounts are calculated either in ducats and grains, or 
more frequently in onze, tarl, and grani, but always paid in piastres. The 
term scudo, be it observed, so commonly applied to the dollar in the Roman 
State, is not understood in Sicily, where this coin is called a piastra. Pieces 
of 5 francs are now rapidly coming into circulation, as well as coins of 2 fr., 
1 fr., and ^ fr. 

The gold coinage is the Napoleon, or its Italian equivalent of 20 francs, 
with pieces of 10 and 5 francs. Gold is still so scarce in Sicily, that there 
is an agio of 10 centimes on every Napoleon. 

Travellers coming from Naples must be on their guard as to the relative 
value of the tarl, carlino, and grano, in Naples and Sicily. In both cur¬ 
rencies there are 10 grani to a carlino, and 20 to a tarl; but each of these 
values in the Neapolitan currency represents double the value of the same 
nominal coin in the Sicilian. Thus 


1 Neapolitan tan = 2 Sicilian tan = 85 centimes = about 8d. English. 

1 Sicilian tan = 1 Neapolitan carlino = 42 , , = about 4 d. ,, 

1 Sicilian carlino = § Sicilian tan =21 ,, = about 2d. ,, 

1 Neapolitan grano = 1 Sicilian bajocco =4 ,, 

1 Sicilian grano = 2 centimes. 

We will add, for the assistance of the traveller, 

f. c. 


1 tarl 

(Sicilian) = 

0 

42 

2 ,, 

— 

0 

85, or 17 sous. 

6 ,, 

— 

2 

55 

10 ,, 

(1 ducat) = 

4 

25 

12 ,, 

(1 piastre) = 

5 

10 

30 ,, 

(l ounce) = 

12 

75 



§ 4. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 


xli 


^ lira or franc = 

1 

2 lire 

5 ,, 

20 ,, or a Napoleon = 


Oz. tarl. grani. 
0 14 

0 2 7 

0 4 14 

0 11 15 

1 17 1 


At, the same rate the English sovereign should be equal to 58 tarl 16 grani, 
but its value, varying with the rate of exchange, is seldom so high, and 
sometimes sinks as low as 57 tail. It is generally, however, worth about 
58 tari and a few grani. For ordinary purposes the tan may be reckoned 
as equal to 4 pence, and the onza to 10 shillings English. 


§ 4. Weights and Measures. 

Since the annexation the metrical or decimal French standard has been 
introduced into Sicily as the official one of the Italian kingdom ; but the 
old weights and measures are still in general use. 

In long measure the palma , of 12 once, is equal to 10| inches English ; 
the canna, of 8 palmi, to 2J yards; the miglio , of 720 canne, to 1620 
yards English. The Sicilian mile is thus much shorter than the English, 
in the proportion of 81 to 88. It is equal to T4866 kilometre ; and a 
kilometre = *6726 of a Sicilian mile. 

The square canna is called a quartiglio. The tomolo is nearly equal to a 
rood, and the salma , or 16 tomoli , to about 4^ acres. Corn is sold by 
the salma , 1 T ' S being equal to an imperial quarter. In liquid measure 
the quartuccio is rather more than I5 pint; the quartarci , of 20 quartucci, 
is a palm cube ; the barile is over 7\ gallons ; the salma is 60 gallons ; and 
the lotte, which is a half-canna cube, contains 240 gallons. Oil is sold 
by the ccijiso — 2§ imperial gallons. Heavy goods are sold by the rotolo 
and cantdro or quintale. The rotolo is the weight of a quartuccio of olive 
oil at the temperature of 64° Fahr. It is equal to ’7934 kilogramme, or 
If lb. English. The cantdro , or 100 rotoli, is equal to 79*342 kilogrammes, 
or 175 1b. English. The Sicilian pound contains only 12 oz.; 100 lbs. 
Sic. = 70 lbs. avoirdupois, or 31*76 kilogrammes. 


§ 5. Steamers to Sicily. 

Sicily may be reached by steamboats from England, from Marseilles, 
from Genoa and Leghorn, from Naples, and from Malta. 

From, England .—Fine screw steamers of 1100 to 1400 tons sail from 
Liverpool every week, touching at Gibraltar, and either make the round by 
Marseilles, Genoa, Leghorn, and Naples, before reaching Sicily, or run direct 
from Gibraltar to Palermo and Messina on their way to Corfu, Ancona, and 
Trieste. This they do generally twice a month. The fare from Liverpool 
to Palermo or Messina is 16Z. 16s., provisions included, but not wines, &c. 
There is no second class. The accommodation these steamers offer to pas¬ 
sengers is comfortable, though not extensive ; the cabins in most of them 
are amidships, so that the movement of the vessel is little felt, and the 
disagreeable proximity to the screw avoided. Their days of sailing may 


xlli § 5. STEAMERS T0 SICILY. 

be ascertained on application to Messrs. Bibby and Sons, 21, Water-street, 
Liverpool, and to Messrs. Burns and Maciver, 1, Rumford Street, Liverpool. 
The direct run from Liverpool to Palermo is generally accomplished in 
12 days. 

From London, screw steamers of 900 tons are despatched by the London 
and Mediterranean Steam Navigation Company twice a week ; but they do 
not run direct to Sicily, making the round by Genoa, Leghorn, and Naples, 
before touching at Messina and Palermo. The voyage to Messina thus 
occupies 14 days, and to Palermo 16. On their return to England these 
vessels do not make the same round, but sometimes touch at the ports 
of Spain. Office, 70, Cornhill. 

Other screw-boats of smaller size, making the same round to Messina and 
Palermo, but never running to Sicily direct, leave London several times a 
month. Office, 38, Fenchurch-street. 

The tourist who likes the long sea voyage may reach Sicily more expe¬ 
ditiously by taking steam to Malta, from which there are boats to the eastern 
ports of Sicily twice a week. The Peninsular and Oriental Company’s 
steamers leave Southampton on the 4th, 12th, 20th, and 27th of every 
month, reaching Malta in about 9 da} r s. Fares, 1st class, 20/. ; 2nd class, 
12/. Merchant screw-steamers also leave London for Malta four times a 
month, performing the voyage in somewhat less than a fortnight. Fares, 
1st class, 15/.; 2nd class, 10/. Agents, Carr and Co., 9, Fenchurch Street; 
and Jackson and Sons, 2, Billiter Court. 

From Marseilles to Sicily .—The boats of the French Messageries Impe¬ 
rials leave Marseilles for Malta, touching at Genoa, Leghorn, Civita 
Vecchia, Naples, and Messina, every Thursday afternoon, reaching Messina 
the Tuesday morning following. On their return they leave Malta on 
Sunday afternoon, and reach Messina the following morning. Other boats 
of the same Company leave Marseilles every Saturday afternoon for Con¬ 
stantinople, touching at Messina only, which they reach early on Tuesday 
morning. On their return they call at Messina every Monday, and sail 
direct for Marseilles the same evening, reaching it early on Thursday 
morning. 

A boat of the same Company sails for Alexandria on the 9th, 19 th, and 
29th of every month, touching only at Messina, which it reaches early on 
the third day. On its return it touches at Messina on the 3rd, 13th, and 
23rd of every month, and sails direct to Marseilles. The mail-boat for Syria 
and Egypt leaves Marseilles every alternate Saturday afternoon, direct for 
Palermo, which it reaches on Monday afternoon, leaving the same evening 
for Messina, and reaching it the next morning. The fares from Marseilles 
to Messina or Palermo, by these direct steamers, are :—1st class, 220 francs ; 
2nd class, 154 francs (provisions included). Families of three or more 
persons named on the same passport obtain a reduction of 20 per cent, on 
these fares. On return tickets, available for four months, a similar reduc¬ 
tion is made; to families of three or more persons taking a return ticket 
a reduction of 30 per cent, is allowed. 

From Genoa and Leghorn .—Of late years, since the annexation of Sicily 
to the kingdom of Italy, direct steam-communication has been established 
between Genoa and Sicily. A boat of the Compagnie Marseillaise leaves 
Marseilles every week, touching at Genoa alone on its way to Messina; 


§ 6. RAILROADS. 


xliii 

professing to reach Genoa in 24 hours, and Messina in 50 more. Fares from 
Marseilles, 1st class, 207*70 francs ; 2nd class, 146 francs. From Genoa, 
1st class, 160 francs; 2nd class, 114*40 francs, provisions included. 

Another line of steamers has been established by the Society Rubattino, 
from Genoa to Palermo, touching at Leghorn and Cagliari, sailing every 
other Wednesday evening, and reaching Palermo on the Sunday afternoon 
following. • 

A boat of the Florio Company leaves Genoa every Tuesday night for 
Leghorn and Palermo, reaching the latter port at an early hour on Friday 
morning. Fares (including provisions) from Genoa, 1st class, 152 francs ; 
2nd class, 112 francs. 

From Naples .—Most travellers go to Sicily by way of Naples, from 
which there is frequent communication both to Palermo and Messina. 
The distance to both is the same, about 58 or 59 maritime leagues. The 
boats of the Valery Company, or of the Societk Florio, are to be pre¬ 
ferred. For Palermo a boat sails every day in the week, save Tuesday and 
Saturday, performing the voyage professedly in 17 or 18 hours. For Messina 
steamers leave Naples on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays ; 
but those of the Messageries and of Valery, which leave on the first three 
days, alone make the voyage direct, the boats of the other companies touch¬ 
ing either at Reggio, Paola, or Pizzo, thus lengthening the voyage, which 
should take only 17 or 18 hours, to 22 or 24. Fares, either to Messina or 
Palermo (including provisions), 1st class, 34*50 francs ; 2nd class, 22*50 
francs; servants, 11 francs; open carriages or horses, 45*50 francs each; 
covered carriages, half as much again. Children under 10 years of age pay 
half-fares. 

From Malta .—A boat of the Messageries Imperiales leaves Malta every 
Sunday afternoon for Messina, on her way to the Italian ports and Mar¬ 
seilles, reaching Messina in 16 hours. Fares, 1st class, 36 francs; 2nd class, 
24 francs. A Florio steamer sails from Malta every Monday afternoon, for 
Syracuse, Catania, and Messina, reaching these ports in 9, 19, and 26 hours 
respectively, including a stay of seven hours at Syracuse, and of two at 
Catania. 

For information respecting the steamers that run from or between the 
various ports of Sicily, see the several cities. 


§ 6. Railroads. 

Railways are projected along various parts of the coasts of Sicily, but 
only one short line of 9 miles, from Palermo to Bagaria, has yet been 
opened. 


§ 7. Roads and Modes of Travelling. 

Till within a few years the only roads in Sicily practicable for carriages 
were the high-road across the island from Palermo to Catania and Messina, 
with a branch round the back of Etna ; and a road from the capital to 
Trapani on the W. and to Termini on the E. Five years ago there was no 
carriage communication whatever between Palermo and the southern coast. 
The want of roads has for ages been a grievance complained of by the people, 


xliv § 7. ROADS AND MODES OF TRAVELLING. 

and acknowledged by the Government; and a tax, called the radiate , latterly 
of 3 per cent, on all landed property within a certain distance of the lines 
laid down for construction, was for many years levied by the Bourbons for 
the improvement of communications, but applied to the support of an ex¬ 
travagant military and police establishment, for the suppression of liberty 
and the maintenance of the most oppressive and odious tyranny of mo¬ 
dern times. The Bourbons, in truth, had no desire to increase facilities 
for travelling, confessedly dreading the spread of ideas unfavourable to their 
own policy. Of late years, however, public opinion had compelled even that 
most absolute and obstinate Government to move in this matter, and roads 
were opened from Lercara to Girgenti, connecting the latter city with Pa¬ 
lermo ; from Caltanisetta to Girgenti; from Catania to Syracuse, Noto, and 
Modica ; from Palermo to Corleone and Chiusa ; and from Messina to Patti. 
Since the annexation by Garibaldi, other roads have been completed from 
Trapani to Marsala, from Termini to Cefalu, from Modica to Bagusa and 
Vittoria, from Catania to Caltagirone, and from Caltanisetta to Licata. 

Mail-Coaches .—On all these roads a mail-coach service is now established, 
running generally three days a week. The fares are at the rate of 5 hajocchi 
or 21 centimes the mile, besides 5 hajocchi for the postilion at every relay. 
The corriera or mail-carriage is drawn by 3 horses, but additional beasts 
are put on for long and steep ascents. It accommodates only 3 passengers, 
the fourth seat inside being reserved for the conductor, and will carry very 
little luggage. Its rate of speed rarely exceeds 5 miles an hour, including 
stoppages, which are few and short. Travellers by mail in Sicily are either 
supposed to have no appetites, or to carry their provisions with them, as 
they will find no meals prepared at any post-house ; and have no time or 
opportunity to get more than wine, bread, and fruit on the road. Every 
one travelling by this conveyance should order the landlord of his hotel in 
the city from which he starts to put up a quant, suff. of cold meat and 
good wine for the journey. A stock of small change for the postilions 
must not be forgotten. 

Diliyences .—On some of the roads of Sicily there are diligences as well as 
mails, running on alternate days. They carry 3 passengers in the coupe , 
and 3 or 5 in the interior , one seat being reserved lor the conductor. 
The fares are the same as per corriera. The rate of progress is slower, and 
the only inducement the diligence pretends to offer is, that it does not 
travel by night; though this, considering the miserable accommodation in 
Sicilian country-towns, is but a questionable advantage. 

Posting. —The charge for posting is 6 tari a horse, of which you must 
take three, with 3 tari to the postilion, and 14 to the ostler, at every stage, 
in all amounting to 9 francs 45 centimes per post. As the post averages 
about 8 miles, the rate, including the tolls at the barriere , or turnpikes, 
which are also paid by the traveller, is about 1 franc 20 centimes per mile! 
The number of passengers taken at this rate does not exceed three; if there 
are four in the party, or an unusual quantity of luggage, 4 horses are re¬ 
quisite ; or, if the Director of the Post will allow 3 only to be attached, he 
has the power to charge at the rate of 3£. The regulations for posting in 
Sicily are about to be assimilated to those in the other parts of the Italian 
kingdom. See Handbook of Northern Italy. 

Vetture. —The veiture of Sicily are much like those of Italy. They are roomy 


§ 7. ROADS AND MODES OF TRAVELLING. xlv 

though not comfortable vehicles, seating 4 persons, and can be opened or 
closed at pleasure. The luggage is never placed on the roof, but fastened 
on a board behind, or in a net beneath the carriage. On fording the fiumare 
so often encountered in Sicily, the traveller must be careful that his port¬ 
manteaux are not left in the net. A vettura will travel from 30 to 40 miles 
or more a day. The charge is generally at the rate of 3 to 3s piastres a day 
for a carriage with 2 horses, and of 4 to Al piastres for one with 3 horses. 
The journey from Messina to Catania, 66 m., generally occupies 2 days, 
though it can well be done in 1£. That from Catania to Syracuse, 50 m., is 
generally made a matter of 2 days, though with good horses it can be ac¬ 
complished in one ; but the charge in such a case is increased, on account of 
the extra wear and tear of horseflesh. A vettura requires 5 or 6 days for the 
journey from Catania to Palermo. It is well to have a written agreement 
with a vetturino before starting, properly attested, though it must be con¬ 
fessed that this class of persons in Sicily, being comparative^ few and well 
known in the cities, are much more trustworthy and honourable than those 
of the same vocation on the mainland, especially at Naples. We must do 
the Sicilian vetturini the justice to state that, though they are fully alive to 
the advantages of a good bargain, we have never met with an instance of 
roguery, overreaching, or incivility among them. They always expect a 
buonamano at the end of the journey, and, though this is stipulated for, the 
amount is left to the traveller’s generosity and appreciation of their conduct. 
On a long day’s journey, where there is danger of being benighted, the tra¬ 
veller should see that the vetturino has candles or oil for the carriage 
lamps. He should stipulate that the sum he agrees to pay is to cover the 
tolls at the bar'riere, or catene, as they are called, and all other expenses of 
the road. In bargaining with a vetturino for a carriage from one town to 
another, the traveller has nothing to do with the return. The vetturino 
rarely fails to fill his carriage on his way back, though to less advantage, it 
may be, to his purse. A return carriage may be had for \ or § less than the 
usual charge. 

Carriage-roads being still rare in Sicily, confined to the centre, and to the 
northern and eastern coasts, he who would make the tour must be prepared 
for much rough and tedious work in the saddle. Through the greater part 
of the island communications are kept up by mere bridle-paths over rugged 
mountains and deserts of heath, or corn. On such tracks progress is neces¬ 
sarily very slow : and the horse is less serviceable than the mule. The 
traveller has, however, his choice between the saddle and the lettiga. 

The Lettiga , the lectica of the Homans, whatever its ancient form, is now 
a narrow carriage, with room for two persons only, who sit opposite to each 
other ; it is mounted on two stout long poles, on the principle of the palan¬ 
quin or sedan-chair, though borne not by men, but between two mules, one 
in front and one behind, the poles being attached to their saddles like shafts. 
The carriage is gaudy outside with painted figures of the Virgin and saints, 
or souls in purgatory ; but the inside is generally shabby and dirty. A 
third mule laden with the luggage, and ridden by the lettighiere , takes the 
lead, and another muleteer walks at the side, regulating the pace of the 
mules and goading them on with a long spiked pole. The pace is from 3 
to 3£ miles an hour. The motion is very unsteady and unpleasant, resem¬ 
bling, from the centre of gravity being thrown too high, that of a boat at 


xlvi § 8. THE GIRO, OR TOUR OF THE ISLAND. 

sea; besides which, the sloping position the vehicle assumes on ascending or 
descending throws the one passenger into the other’s lap; and the ear is 
eternally deafened by the clang of innumerable bells with which the mules 
are decorated, and without which it is said they will not travel. There is 
also considerable danger of upsetting on very rugged ground. Such a 
conveyance is suited only to females, the invalid or infirm ; yet it is 
used in some districts of Sicily by all conditions of men. The cost is 
regulated by the price of mules and labour, with some addition for the 
vehicle. 

Mule-travelling. —When the tourist quits the high-roads of Sicily, he 
has no alternative but the lettiga or the saddle, and no Englishman will hesi¬ 
tate in his choice. The mules of Sicily are generally tall beasts, of great 
endurance, but slow pace. They are accustomed to creep with long strides, 
in Indian file, at the rate of 3 or 3J m. an hour; and this mode of progress 
for many hours a day is very tedious and fatiguing. The motion at first is 
most disagreeable. The rider’s body is worked backwards and forwards at 
every step of the beast, and so incessantly shaken and jolted, that every 
portion of it suffers fatigue ; yet after a few days the stiffness wears off, and 
the fatigue is less felt. Uneasy as the motion is, it is singular that it is 
greatly conducive to drowsiness. 

“ The acquaintance which it gives you with this race is one of the cha¬ 
racteristic features of Sicilian travelling. The mule seems to have no sense 
of fatigue, of kindness, or of emulation J ; a light or a heavy load, a long or a 
short distance, a good or a bad road, provided only the pace be not rapid, are 
all without the slightest effect upon the physical composure of the mule. The 
wiry heast works in his own way, and in no other, resenting punishment, 
but hardly otherwise affected by it, and still less accessible by any other 
means of influence. Michael calls his mules ‘ Porco! ’ when they stumble. 
But they really seem like Frankensteins of the animal creation. Sympathy, 
however, they have ; and with a faint yet wild and unnatural neighing they 
will sometimes recognise relationship.”— W. E. G. 

In hiring mules the traveller should stipulate for a saddle as the word is 
understood in England, or he will find himself mounted on a rude pack- 
saddle of unnatural breadth and minus stirrups, a seat of which he will 
retain a feeling recollection long after he has dismounted. Ladies’ saddles 
are to be had in the large cities, and must be expressly stipulated for. The 
hire of mules varies in price with the season. In the winter, when there is 
little demand for their services for agricultural purposes, they may be had 
for 8 or 9 tail a day; but in the seasons of ploughing, and of gathering in 
the crops, they cannot be hired for less than 12 or 15 tail each. 

§ 8. The Giro, or Tour of the Island. 

There are two modes of accomplishing the tour of Sicily. The first is to 
hire mules with a muleteer at a fixed price each a day, the traveller pro¬ 
viding for himself at the inns. The other is to take a guide, who will 
provide mules, meals, and beds for a certain sum per diem. 

Those who are accustomed to Sicilian travel, and know the people and 
the language, can journey at a much cheaper rate by adopting the former 
plan, or by hiring fresh mules from town to town. In this case the traveller 


§ 8. THE GIRO, OR TOUR OF THE ISLAND. 


xlvii 


should stipulate that the beasts are to be entirely at his disposal, to go 
whither, and halt when and where he pleases; that he is to pay only half 
price for them on those days on which they rest; that they should (to on 
an average about 30 m. a day, and on occasion as much as 40 m.; and he 
should stipulate the number of days of return to be paid for, and the rate, 
from the town where he intends to give them up. For the days of return, 
the price is usually at the rate of f of that fixed for working days. It is 
customary, when mules are hired at Palermo and dismissed at Messina, to 
pay for 2 days only of return at working prices. The muleteer values his 
own services at the same rate as those of a mule. The price stipulated for 
is understood to cover the tolls at the catene , and all the expenses of the 
mules. 

To those travellers who study comfort rather than economy in a Sicilian 
tour, and would escape petty annoyances as far as possible, we recommend 
the second plan. Professional guides are to be found at Messina as well as at 
Palermo ; but as most travellers make the latter their starting-point for the 
giro , we refer them to p. 8 for information respecting the guides, who are 
always to be found or heard of at the “ Trinacria.” The guide engages to 
find the necessary number of mules, and to replace them, if need be, by 
others on the journey ; to pay the muleteer, the tolls, and all expenses of 
the road ; to take the traveller to the best hotels, to give him coffee in the 
morning before starting, a breakfast of so many dishes at the halting-] >lace 
at midday, and a dinner of so many more at night, with wine of the country 
ad libitum; in short, to pay every expense, save the buonamano to the 
muleteers, and fees to local valets de place, at a certain rate of payment 
daily. The tariff has risen somewhat of late years on account of the 
advanced price of provisions, of mules, and of labour throughout the island. 
In the spring of 1863 it was as follows :— 

For one person alone . 6 piastres a-day. 

For two persons. 4 piastres a da}/ each. 

For a party of three . 4 ducats a-day each. 

For a party of four . 3 piastres a-day each. 

With a further reduction in proportion according to the number of travellers. 
The guide expects a buonamano for himself, in addition, at the conclusion 
of the tour ; and he asks for a written certificate on being discharged. He 
also expects 2 days’ notice of discharge, as he lays in a stock of pro¬ 
visions at every town. The traveller is at liberty to dismiss his guide 
when and where he likes, on paying return-fare to Palermo. It is well, 
however, to fix beforehand the number of days to be calculated for the 
return from each of the ports where the traveller is likely to give up his 
mules. From Girgenti, it should not be more than 2 days ; from Catania 
or Messina, 3 ; and from Syracuse, 4 days ; for it should be remembered 
that the mules by taking the scorze make the distance much less than by 
the high-road. The return-money is paid only for the mides, at the rate 
of 8 tail a day for each beast. The guides are all cooks, and serve up 
a far better dinner than the traveller would be able to procure by ordering 
it at a country hostelry. For his own security, it will be well for the tourist 
to have a written agreement drawn up with his guide, containing all the 
necessary stipulations. He should also let the guide know the precise route 






xlviii § 9. INNS AND ACCOMMODATION. 

he wishes to take, or the latter may consult his own convenience rather than 
his employer’s. 

For the route generally taken in the giro, see ‘ Skeleton Tours.’ 

§ 9. Inns and Accommodation. 

The hotels in the chief cities of Sicily—Palermo, Messina, Catania, and 
Syracuse—will well bear comparison with those of cities of corresponding 
size on the mainland of Italy. The second-rate towns, however,—such as 
Trapani, Marsala, Girgenti, Licata, &c.,—afford but poor accommodation 
for the traveller; whilst the inns in the towns of the interior are with few 
exceptions filthy in the extreme, and destitute of everything which an Eng¬ 
lishman regards as comfort. But comfort, as Byron says, is not to be ex¬ 
pected by folks that go pleasuring. Brick floors unswept and covered with 
filth; walls foul with tobacco-juice, vermin, and obscenities; sheets rarely 
clean, and often swarming with hungry occupants; towels that may have 
served a generation of muleteers ; table-cloths with the stains of a thousand 
meals; water scarce, and soap never to be seen ; all the appliances of the table 
of suspicious cleanliness, and cookery only to be stomached by those whose 
confidence equals their appetite ;—such are some of the features of Sicilian 
wayside locande. To these may often be added a roof which fails to keep 
out the rain, windows that will not close, a door without a fastening, and, to 
crown the whole, a landlord without a conscience. In Sicilian countrv inns 
the traveller may expect less to eat than to be eaten. He may, however, 
sometimes avoid one cause of sleeplessness by drawing his bed clear from 
the wall. 

This is the dark side of the picture. Think not there is no sunshine to 
compensate for this gloom. He who, with youth, health, and enthusiasm, 
enters on the tour of Sicily, will little heed these discomforts. The pro¬ 
verbial lot of the poor man who marries for love is reversed for him. He 
may have uncomfortable nights, but he will enjoy glorious days. Eagerly 
does he spring from his couch in the grey twilight at the call of his guide, 
drinking in the pure mountain breezes with his cup of coffee, and joyfully 
does he enter on his day's travel, forgetting the petty annoyances of the 
night. The grand or wild outlines of the scenery, enhanced to sublimity 
whenever Etna’s giant crest of snow rises on the view; the balmy, fragrant 
atmosphere; the gorgeous sunshine; the tints of the landscape, ever 
varied by the rich carpets of wild flowers, or the shifting effects of light and 
shade ; the sapphire vault overhead— 

“ Dolce color d’oriental zaffiro 

the amethyst sea flecked with snow-white sails—such nature alone is 
enough to fill his soul with admiration, and to quicken his pulse with 
joyous excitement. A delightful episode in one’s life is this short tour 
through Sicily, and its enjoyments will be long fresh in the memory, 
while its discomforts are soon forgotten. He who has made it will fondly 
cherish in after years reminiscences of plains overflowing with wine and 
oil, of valleys dark with orchards, where the luscious gold of the orange, 
or the purple honey of the fig, tempted him to linger; of breezy wastes 
sprinkled with the dwarf-palm and myrtle, where he crushed out fragrance 


§ 10. REQUISITES FOR TRAVELLING. xlix 

at every step; of mountain ranges robed in glory or shrouded in purple 
gloom. He will recall with ever-renewed delight the castle of feudal times 
cresting the mountain peak, the pine-girt convent gleaming from the 
wooded slope, the tower-capped headland defying the waves, the mysterious 
cavern-pierced glen, the temples of old crowning the cliffs in a majestic 
succession of ruins, or strewing the ridges in mighty mounds. Even the 
naked and rugged lava-stream, dreary and forbidding as it is in its 
wonderful reality, will brighten in the view of memory, and the sublime 
horrors of the mighty volcano will assume a charm in the recollection. 
Not so the towns and villages he traverses on his tour; they will rarely 
be remembered with pleasure. Seldom, indeed, have they any attraction 
for the traveller beyond that of affording him a resting-place for the night; 
and he rejoices in the morning to quit the squalor, idleness, and misery 
which pervade them. Yet remains of mediseval art occasionally arrest his 
attention, and the habits of the rural population at all times furnish an 
interesting subject of contemplation. 

“ Nothing can be more palpable than the whole anatomy of a Sicilian 
village to the hastiest passer through it. Every door is open ; every inha¬ 
bitant without, or at it, or in sight through it. A shop or two of wares 
indicated by flags projecting—no name or writing of any kind on any 
house; some wine-stores; some mills at work; always bread and some 
little fruit exposed; a solitary school of six boys, a master, and a rod, 
while there are 600 in the street; women spinning and knitting, a few 
here and there weaving; children in every degree of approximation to 
nakedness ; and a large proportion of the population unemployed;—such 
are the features presented. I never saw a country with so little of what is 
wi'itten in any form exposed publicly to view.”— W E. G. 

The tourist will be fortunate if, in such quarters, he finds anything more 
substantial than bread, eggs, and wine. In the Sicilian country Jocanda , 
as in a Spanish venta , the reply to the first question of the hungry traveller 
is, “ What you have brought with you.” Guests other than carters and 
muleteers are so rare, that no provisions are kept for chance customers; and 
if the tourist arrive late in the day, his prospect of going supperless to bed 
is considerable. Should he travel with a guide on the terms just detailed, 
he will be spared all anxiety on this score ; but if he is catering for himself, 
he should never omit an opportunity of replenishing his saddle-bags. The 
bread of Sicily is excellent, very like that of Spain, made of the same long- 
bcarded wheat, and baked in the same fashion. In the most miserable 
villages it is often superlative. The wine is far more generous than that of 
Italy, France, or Germany, and it is rare to find a hamlet without drinkable 
wine. Meat is generally to be had in the towns ; but it is seldom other 
than lamb or kid. Fowls are dear, and rarely fat. Wild duck and other 
game are sometimes to be procured in the cool season. Goat’s milk is to 
be had in the towns for the morning’s coffee, but not at a later hour. Mac- 
caroni is generally to be purchased, and the ewes’ milk cheese of the country, 
in default of a better, must be substituted for Parmesan. 

§ 10. Requisites for Travelling. 

As so few comforts are to be met with in Sicilian travel, the tourist must 
endeavour to supply the deficiency by carrying what he can with him. 

[%%.] c 


1 


§ 11 . SEASONS FOR TRAVELLING. 

First, as to dress. The importance of thick-soled shoes should be borne in 
mind, in a land of few roads, rugged mountain-paths, and beds of lava ; 
yet it is necessary that the nails be not prominent, or there is danger of 
slipping on the flagged pavements, or in climbing rocky steeps. A light 
waterproof cape, to keep off rain, will be found of great service. A plaid, 
too, is invaluable as a cloak in cold weather, as a blanket on occasion, and 
as a cloth to soften the saddle, which is often distressingly rough. Leather 
leggings are useful in wet weather. Those who would not trust too much 
to Sicilian sheets should provide themselves with a pair sewn into a 
bag, with a string round the open end to tighten round the neck when in 
bed. The assaults of the vermin may thus be delayed, if not absolutely 
defied. 

Tea, which can be purchased at the large cities, should not be forgotten 
in a Sicilian tour, for “ nothing,” it has been truly observed, “ is productive 
of so much comfort, in proportion to the space it occupies, as tea.” A small 
metal teapot should not be omitted. Teacups are not to be found en route , 
but the traveller soon learns to relish his tea out of a tumbler. lie should 
make it himself, or teach his guide, for tea is not comprehended in Sicily ; 
and if he sends the pot for hot water, it will probably be returned with the 
leaves scalded, but the tea poured off. A little brandy will be found useful 
in the tour of Sicily. It can be procured only in the large cities. Coffee 
is everywhere to be had at the caf£s, but it is weak and muddy, and the 
traveller would do well to carry a small spirit-lamp, and make his own. 
Butter is rarely met with in Sicily, and the traveller who makes the giro 
should take with him a pot of the excellent butter of Olivuzza, and some 
English or Parmesan cheese for his maccaroni. He who would avoid the 
necessity of using the crockery and plate at the country locande should 
carry a small canteen, which, in the space of little more than a foot cube, 
will contain everything he will require for the table. 

A circular box measure of 50 ft., and a pocket-compass, must not be for¬ 
gotten by those who wish to study the remains of ancient architecture. 

§ 11. Seasons foe Travelling. 

The season for travel in Sicily is from October to May. Few Englishmen 
would select the summer months for a tour through the island, though 
the lands of Southern Europe, and the outdoor life of their inhabitants, are 
to be seen to most advantage at that season. Summer, too, is the best time 
for the ascent of Etna. But in general the English tourist, unless “ pulveris 
atque solis patiens ” from a long residence in hot climes, will prefer the 
cooler months. In September the autumnal rains commence, but after the 
first few showers, and during October, there is a delightful season for travel; 
it is the season of the vintage and cotton-crop, of rich tints on the foliage, 
and richer sunsets ; a season with all the brightness of summer, without its 
oppressive heat. Travelling is more expensive, however, than ordinary, 
owing to the great demand for mules and labour. November is generally 
a wet month, and, besides the usual inconveniences attending such weather, 
in Sicily there is this in addition, that the rains suddenty swell the fiumare 
into furious torrents, and the traveller runs the risk of being detained for 
days at some wretched wayside inn, until the waters subside and the streams 
become fordable. December is better, though inclined to be wet, stormy 


§ 12 . SECURITY OF THE ROADS. 


li 


and cold. January is a delightful month, charmingly bright and pleasant; 
spring indeed seems to come in with the year, for the almond-trees, which 
abound on the southern coast, are then in full blossom. The days, how¬ 
ever, are inconveniently short for making the tour of the island. In Febru¬ 
ary and March the weather becomes again somewhat unsettled, with showers 
in the former, and cold, stormy winds in the latter month, but with frequent 
intervals of fine weather. April is not the changeable season it is in England, 
but fair, bright, and warm as an English June. The cost of travelling is 
then increased by the demand for labour to prepare the ground for the 
sowing of cotton. May is still brighter and warmer; and these two months 
are the most delightful season for the tour of Sicily. The country is then 
seen in all its glory. The rocky hillside, the barren heath, the corn-slope, 
and grassy meadow are then all “painted with delight;” such a gorgeous 
mantle of rainbow hues surely Nature never cast on any land but this; 
and the tourist is at no loss to comprehend why the poets of old represented 
Proserpine as gathering garlands of wild flowers in the fields of Sicily. 


§ 12. Security of the Hoads. 

Whatever the faults of the late Bourbon Government, it had at least this 
merit, that it kept the roads throughout its dominions as secure for the tra¬ 
veller as those of Northern Europe. On the mainland this was ensured by 
throwing the responsibility of keeping the roads safe on the several comuni , 
or towns. In Sicily it was effected by the system of rural police, called 
Companies at Arms, of which we shall presently speak. That Sicily is not 
so secure now as it was under the former regime , is not owing to the same 
causes as disturb the continental portion of the old kingdom. Brigandage 
is not carried on here under the mask of political disaffection. There are no 
bands of reactionists in Sicily in arms against Victor Emmanuel. Those 
who have taken to the road are of that class which is ever looking out for 
opportunities of robbery and violence, and which has found them in the 
unsettled state of the island since the expulsion of the Bourbons. When 
we hear in mind the complete subversion of the old political system, under 
which everything was done with the strong hand, and the police claimed 
the monopoly of committing outrages against person and property, the sud¬ 
den transition from the most abject political slavery to constitutional liberty, 
the almost entire change not only of measures, but of men, that has since 
been introduced, it will hardly be matter of surprise that the police ma¬ 
chinery has not yet been got into such thorough working order as under the 
Bourbons. The activity of the new Government in apprehending malefac¬ 
tors has been neutralised by its remissness in securing them. At Christmas, 
1862, a large number of offenders, not less, it is said, than 127, contrived 
to effect their escape in one night from the gaol at Girgenti, and the roads 
were at once rendered insecure, and outrages were daily reported. That 
was an exceptional state of things, however, and one that, with the increase 
of vigilance on the part of the authorities, every clay tended to remedy. 
Another cause of insecurity in Sicily under the new dynasty is to be found 
in the conscription, which has now for the first time been enforced, and has 
had the natural effect of driving a number of youths to the mountains. 


lii 


§ 13 . SKELETON TOURS. 


These renitenti are generally maintained by tlieir friends, and are then 
harmless ; but necessity has occasionally driven them to deeds of violence 
that are foreign to their character. 

The reports of robberies in Sicily during the past year have lost nothing 
by circulation. Though it cannot be denied that such things have occurred, 
there is little doubt that they have been exaggerated and multiplied by the 
fears of the people. Certain it is that even at the most perilous season, 
and in the most disturbed districts, English travellers met with perfect im¬ 
punity. The outrages have been confined to the mountainous districts of 
the interior, and to the southern coast. Not an instance was reported as 
occurring on the roads connecting the great cities on the eastern coast of the 
island, or in the neighbourhood of Etna. 

Travellers who would avoid all risk of such accidents may visit the chief 
cities and their environs with perfect security, and may even make the tour 
of the island by the steamers which periodically perform it, touching at the 
principal ports. 

Compagni d'Armi .—The security of the roads in Sicily is still left to the 
keeping of the Companies at Arms. This body of rural police was estab¬ 
lished in 1812, during the English occupation of Sicily ; for at that time, 
as for ages previous, the island was so overrun with bandits that stringent 
measures for their suppression were imperatively demanded. To each of 
the 24 districts of Sicily a squadron of horse was assigned, by the name 
of a “ Company at Arms,” under the command of a captain appointed by 
the Government, but who selected his own men. This system of police 
was abolished after the disturbances of 1837, and replaced by Neapolitan 
gendarmes , who were driven out with the troops in the revolution of 1848, 
and the Compagni, being restored, were confirmed in 1849, on the re¬ 
establishment of the royal authority. The captains receive 32 tail, the 
lieutenants 10 tan, and the privates 8 tail a day, paid monthly. One 
quarter of this sum is kept back till the end of the year, in order to meet 
all contingent demands ; for both officers and men are held responsible for 
all highway robberies committed within their respective districts between 
sunrise and sunset, and the captains have further to give security of 2000 
onze to the Government on the same account. Out of their slender pay 
the men have to purchase and keep a horse, and find their uniform ; but 
the Government provides them with carbine, sword, and pistols. By living 
in the country towns and villages they learn all the bad characters ; and if 
a robbery be committed, they know where to look for the property. It is a 
singular system of police, peculiar to Sicily, which, by the identity of inter¬ 
ests secured by the common responsibility, has in ordinary times ensured 
the safety of the roads. 

§ 13. Skeleton Tours. 

The tour of the island may be very well accomplished in a month, pro¬ 
vided the traveller does not stay more than a day or two in any place. The 
following is the usual tour; the hours show the time required to accom¬ 
plish the distance on mules. The asterisks mark the sites where the 
tourist should sleep. It is usual to start from Palermo, and proceed as 
follows:— 


§13. SKELETON TOURS. 


Tiii 


, 

1 Miles. 

Hours. 

■■ 1 

Miles. 

Hours. 


' - 1 

H. M. 



H. 

M. 

Palermo . 

.. 

• • 

♦Syracuse (2 days) .. 

22 

6 

0 

Partenieo 

19 

5 30 

♦Lentirii. 

32 

9 

0 

♦Alcamo. 

13 

3 30 

♦Catania (1£ day) 

18 

4 30 

Segeste .. ,. 

9 

2 30 

Etna (2 days) 


• • 

♦Trapani .. ,. 

. 22. 

6 0 

♦Giardini . 

33 

9 30 

Eryx . 

•• 

.. 

Taormina 

• . 

• • 

♦Marsala . 

18 

5 0 

♦Messina (1J day) .. 

33 

10 

0 

Mazzara . 

12 

3 30 

♦Spadafora 

17 

5 

0 

Campobello 

8 

2 15 

Milazzo . 

7 

2 

0 

♦Castelvetrano ,. 

4 

1 0 

Barcellona 

8 

2 

15 

Selinus (1 day) 

8 

2 30 

*Tindaro . 

12 

3 30 

♦Sciacca . 

22 

6 0 

Patti . 

6 

2 

0 

Monte Allegro .. 

22 

6 0 

♦Brolo . 

14 

4 

0 

♦Girgenti (l£ day) .. 

20 

5 30 

St. Agata 

18 

5 

0 

♦Palma . 

14 

4 0 

♦Santo Stefano .. 

21 

6 

0 

Licata . 

12 

3 30 

♦Cefalu . 

24 

7 

; ° 

♦Terranova 

18 

5 0 

Himera. 

15 

4 

0 

Vittoria .. 

18 

5 0 

♦Termini. 

9 

2 30 

♦Rag usa. 

15 

4 0 

Solanto . 

• t 

• ♦ 

Modica. 

7 

2 0 

Bagaria. 

• • 

• • 

Ispica . 

Rosolini. 

♦Noto . 

La Pizzuta 

5 

8 

9 

• • 

1 45 

2 30 

2 30 

• • 

♦Palermo. 

25 

6 30 

Total miles 

! 

597 

• • 


Or 600 m. accomplished in 22 daj^s of actual travel, at the average rate of 
27 m. a day, exclusive of visits to objects a little off the road. This leaves 
8 or 9 days for rest, and the ascent of Etna, which will require two. This 
tour may be shortened by 2 days by omitting Trapani and Marsala, and pro¬ 
ceeding from Alcamo and Segeste, through Calatafimi, Vita, and Salemi, 
to Castelvetrano, 36 m., which may be accomplished in 10| hours, ex¬ 
clusive of the time spent at Segeste. 

The tour may also be greatly shortened, and rendered less expensive, by 
dismissing the mules at Syracuse, and proceeding to Catania and Messina 
by carriage or steamboat, returning thence to Palermo by steam. 

In the above table we have allowed the shortest possible time for seeing 
the various points of interest. Should the traveller wish to sketch, take 
architectural measurements, geologize, or botanize, he must devote much 
more than a month to the tour. 

By this tour, nothing is seen of the interior of the island, which is full of 
interest, antiquarian and picturesque. The west and south coasts in point 
of scenery are the tamest portions of Sicily, though they have a few spots 
of much attraction in that respect, as Trapani, Sciacca, Girgenti, Licata. 
But the tourist might well deviate from the beaten track, and leave the 
southern coast at Girgenti, thus :— 

Days. . 


Palermo to Alcamo.1 

Alcamo, by Segeste, to Castelvetrano . 1 

Castelvetrano, by Campobello and Selinunte, to Sciacca. 1 

Sciacca to Girgenti.1 





































liv 


§ 13. SKELETON TOURS. 


Days. 


Girgenti. Stay .. 2 

Girgenti, by Favava and Cannigati, to Caltanisetta. 1 

Caltanisetta to Castrogiovanni.1 


Here the tourist may dismiss his mules, as he is on the high 
road, and can proceed by carriage as far as Messina. 


Castrogiovjfnni and Calascibetta. Stay. 1 

Castrogiovanni to S. Filippo. ..1 

S. Filippo, by Centorbi, to Aderno. 1 

Aderno to Catania.1 

Catania. Stay, and ascend Etna, if the weather be fine. 3 

Catania to S} r racuse, by Lentini ., . 2 

Syracuse. Stay .2 

Return to Catania by steamer, a few hours, 

or by way of Agosta on mules. 1 

Catania to Giardini, with excursion to Taormina. 1 

Giardini to Messina. 1 

Messina and environs .3 

The northern coast to Palermo by land, 7 days, for which fresh mules 
must be hired at Messina; or by steamer, which touches at the most 

picturesque spots, and at Lipari.1 

Palermo and environs .5 


Classical Tour through Sicily. 

Palermo to Alcamo. 

Alcamo, by Segeste (temple and theatre), to Trapani ( Drepanum ) 

Visit to Monte S. Giuliano ( Erxgx —walls and site of temple) 

Trapani to Marsala, visiting S. Pantaleo (. Motya ) on the way 

Marsala ( Lilybceum ) to Castelvetrano . 

Excursion to ancient quarries at Campobello, and to Selinunte (Selinus — 

7 temples). 

Castelvetrano to Sciacca (Thermos Selinuntincc —baths in Monte S. 

Calogero). 

Sciacca, by Hcraclea Minoa, to Girgenti . 

Girgenti ( Agrigentum —temples and tombs). Stay, at least. 

Girgenti to Caltanisetta (ancient tombs on road). 

Caltanisetta to Castrogiovanni . 

Castrogiovanni ( Erma —site of temple and tombs), and excursion to the 

lake (Lacus Pergusa) . 

Castrogiovanni, by Asaro (Assoms), to S. Filippo (. Agyrium ) 

S. Filippo, by Centorbi ( Centuripos ), to Aderno ( Adranum ) 

Aderno, by Licodia (TEtna) and Paterno ( Hybla ), to Catania ( Catana) 
Catania, by Palagonia, Mineo (Menas), and Lago de’ Palici (Lacus Pali- 

coi'um'), to Caltagirone . 

Caltagirone to Terranova (Gela —remains of temple) . 

Terranova, by Camarana (Camarinci and lake), to Scicli ( Casmence) 

Scicli to Modica ( Motyca ), Ragusa (Ilybla Minor), and Cava d’lspica 

(“rock-city”) . 

Modica to Noto, the Asinarus , La Pizzuta, and Helorus . 

Noto to Syracuse, crossing the Erinceus and Cacyparis . 

Syracuse and environs . .. 

Excursion to Palazzolo ( Acres —theatre, odeum, tombs), and Pantalica 
(“ rock-city,” Ei'bessus), returning by the Anapus . 


31 

Days. 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

2 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 


2 


i 
































§13. SKELETON TOURS. 


lv 


J)ays. 


Syracuse, by Megara Hybloea, to Lentini ( Leontini ) . 1 

Lentini to Catania.-. £ 

Catania (theatre, amphitheatre, baths, &c.) and Etna (Tower of the 

Philosopher) .3 

Catania, by Capo Schiso (Naxos), to Giardini and Taormina ( Tavro- 

menium —theatre, naumachia, tombs, &c.). 1 

Giardini to Messina (Zancle or Messana) . 1 

Messina and environs .2 

Messina to Milazzo (Myles) . 1 

Milazzo, by Tindaro ( Tyndaris —theatre, gymnasium, &c.), to Patti .. 1 

Patti, by S. Marco (Agathyrnum), to Sta. Agata. 1 

Sta. Agata, by S. Fratello ( Aluntium ) and Caronia ( Calacte ), to Santo Stefano 1 
Sto. Stefano, by Tusa (Alassa) and Pollina (Apollonia), to Cefalu .. .. 1 

Cefalu ( Cephakedium —Cyclopean structure on mountain), by Himera, to 

Termini . 1 

Termini (Thermae Ilimerenses —amphitheatre, tombs, aqueduct, &c.), by 
Solanto (Soloes), to Palermo ( Panormus) . 1 


Mediaeval Tour through Sicily. 

The remains of Saracenic, Norman, and Gothic architectnre are so nu¬ 
merous in Sicily, that it would require several tours to include every object 
of interest. We will endeavour, however, to sketch out one which shall 
comprise all the most remarkable sites. The time we have allowed is that 
required to see the mediaeval antiquities only of the several sites, leaving 
out of consideration the other objects of interest:— 

Days. 

Palermo and environs, including Monreale, Baida, Monte Caputo, &c. .. 5 


Palermo, by Calatubo, to Alcamo. 1 

Alcamo, by Calatafimi, to Trapani. 1 

Trapani and Monte S. Giuliano, to Marsala. 1 

Marsala, by Mazzara, to Salemi . 1 

Salemi to Giuliana. 1 

Giuliana, by Caltabellotta, to Sciacca . 1 

Sciacca to Girgenti. 1 

Girgenti, by Favara and Naro, to Caltanisetta.. .. 1 

Caltanisetta, by Pietraperzia and Barrafranca, to Piazza . 1 

Piazza to Castrogiovanni and Calascibetta . 1 

Castiogiovanni, by Leonforte, to Nicosia. 1 

Nicosia, by Troina, to Bronte. 1 

Bronte to Maniace and Randazzo . 1 

Randazzo, by Malvagna, Castiglione, and Caltabiano, to Giardini .. .. 1 

Giardini, by Taormina, Savoca, Fiumedinisi, Abbey near Itala, Scaletta, to 

Messina . 1 

Messina and La Badiazza. 1 

Messina to Syracuse by steamer . 1 

Syracuse to Catania by steamer .1 

Catania, by Motta and Paterno, to A demo . 1 

Aderno, Ponte Carcaci, S. Filippo, to Nicosia. 1 

Nicosia, by Sperlinga, Gangi, Petralia, to Polizzi . 1 

Polizzi, by Caltavuturo, Sclafani, Collesano, to Cefalu. 1 

Cefalu to Termini. 1 

Termini, by Caccamo and Ciminna, to Villafrate. 1 

Villafrate, by Diana, Baths of Cefala, and Misilmeri, to Palermo .. .. 1 


30 
































lvi 


§13. SKELETON TOURS. 


Geological Tour through Sicily. 

The following tour is substantially that sketched by Dr. Daubeny, as one 
that will give the geologist as complete a view as possible, in a short time 
of the physical structure of the island. The objects en route have in many 
instances been added. 

Days. 

Palermo—Bone-caverns of S. Ciro and Mondello, Grotto at Baida. Caves 

in the cliffs beneath M. Pellegrino . 1 

Palermo, by Sferracavallo and Carini (bone-cave), to Alcamo. 1 

Alcamo to Trapani, by Segeste (hot springs). 1 

Trapani (Monte San Giuliano) to Marsala . 1 

Marsala (recent breccia well seen here), by quarries of Campobello, to 

Castelvetrano .1 

Castelvetrano, by ruins of Selinus, to Sciacca. (Near Sciacca, Monte S. 

Calogero, with the Baths of Daedalus). 1 

Sciacca to Monte Allegro (beds of selenite), visiting the sulphur-mines of 

Cattolica . 1 

Monte Allegro to Girgenti . 1 

Girgenti, by Le Maccalube (air volcanoes), Comitini (sulphur-mines), and 

Le Grotte, to Caltanisetta. 2 

Caltanisetta (mud-volcano at Terra Pilata), by sulphur-mines of Gesu 
Longo, and extinct crater of Capo d’Arso, to Castrogiovanni .. .. 1 

Castrogiovanni, excursion to Alimena (mines of rock-salt) . 1 

Castrogiovanni, by vale of Enna, to Caltagirone .. . 1 

Caltagirone, by Vizzini (bed of oysters between beds of lava), to Palazzolo 1 

Palazzolo by Kagusa (bituminous rock), to Modica. 1 

Modiea, by Cava d’lspica (artificial caves), to Pachino.1 

Pachino, to rocks of Capo Passaro, return, and proceed to Noto .. .. 1 

Noto to Syracuse (quarries, and caves in clitls of Acradina). 1 

Syracuse to Sortino (caves of Pantalica) and Monte Sta. Venera .. .. 1 

Sortino to I.entini. . 1 

Lentini to Minco (Lago Naftia) and Palagouia (lavas). 1 

Palagonia to Catania . 1 

Catania to summit of Etna and return. 2 

Catania by Cyclopean Isles, and Aci Ileale (La Scalazza, and Grotta delle 

Colombe) to Zaffarana. 1 

Zaftarana to Val del Bove, and return to Catania. 1 

Catania, by Motta and Paterno, to Aderno . 

Aderno to Salto del Pecoraro, return and proceed to Randazzo .. .. 1 

Raudazzo, by F. Freddo and mud-volcanoes, to Giardini . 1 

Giardini, by Taormina, Fiumedinisi (mines), and Ali (hot springs), to 

Messina . ..1 

Messina to Milazzo (examine the promontory) .1 

Milazzo to Giojosa, by Tyndaris . 1 

Giojosa to Santa Agata. 1 

Santa Agata, by S. Fratello (bone-cavern), to Cefalu . [ 

CefalA to Termini (hot springs) . 1 

Termini to Palermo, by Bagaria (recent breccia) . 1 




























HANDBOOK 


FOR 

TRAVELLERS IV SICILY. 


PALERMO. 

GENERAL INFORMATION. 


Hotels . 

Lodgings . 

Trattorie. 

Cafes . 

Passports . 

Bankers .. 

Consuls. 

Physicians . 

Surgeons . 

Chemists . 

Booksellers . 

Printsellers . 

Photographer. 

Pianoforte Makers .. 

Musicsellers. 

Tailors . 

Modistes. 

Boot and Shoe Makers . 
Sellers of Catanian Silks 

Hatters. 

Glovers. 

Tobacconists. 

Jewellers . 


Page 

2 

3 

4 
4 
4 

, 4 
4 

, 4 
4 

4 

5 
5 

. 5 
5 

, 5 
, 5 
5 
5 
5 
5 
5 

, 5 


Page 

Watchmaker.5 

Optical Instrument-seller .. .. 5 

Confectioner.5 

Embroideress.5 

Seller of Old Lace. 5 

Seller of Wools for Embroidery .. 5 

Seller of English Gunpowder .. 5 

Teacher of Italian . 5 

Teacher of French. ,, 5 

Teachers of Music. 6 

Makers of Marble Tables .. .. G 

Sellers of Sicilian Costumes .. .. 6 

Collector of Specimens of Natural 

History, Geology, &c.6 

English Church . 6 

Conveyances. G 

Railway. 6 

Mail-coaches.6 

Steamers.7 

Electric Telegraph Office .. .. 7 

Post Office . .. .. 7 

Valets de Place and Guides for the 
Tour of the Island . 8 


Few tourists visit Palermo who do 
not approach it by sea. 

The approach from this side is 
wonderfully fine. It is thus described 
by Goethe :—“ At three o’clock in the 
afternoon we got into the harbour, 
where the most lovely and enchanting 
view met our e} r es: the city lying to 
the N., at the foot of a high mountain, 
beneath a sun just past its meridian 
lustre ; the side of the buildings 
opposite to us in shadow, clearly de¬ 


fined and illumined by the reflected 
lights. On the rt. Monte Pellegrino, 
with its graceful forms in the most 
intense light; on the 1. the wide, out¬ 
stretched shore, with its bays, promon¬ 
tories, and headlands. What farther 
gave the most delicious character to 
the scene was the young green of the 
graceful trees, whose tops, lit up from 
behind, waved to and fro, sparkling 
over a background of dark grey build¬ 
ings, like large clusters of vegetable 

B 














































q 


PALERMO—HOTELS. 


glowworms. A transparent atmo¬ 
sphere gave a blue tone to all the 
shadows. The air was soft, warm, 
and fragrant ; the wind tepid and 
balmy. ... No words can express the 
aerial brilliancy which floated around 
the coasts as we approached Palermo. 
The clearness of contour, the softness 
of the whole, the tender blending of 
tones, the harmony of heaven, earth, 
and sea—he who has once seen it pos- 
sesses it for life. Now I understand 
Claude Lorraine, and have some hope, 
even in my northern home, of being 
able to bring before my mind some 
faint shadowy images of this delicious 
abode.”'— Translation by Mrs. Austin. 

Here is another picture drawn by a 
French pencil:—“ From the deck of 
our steamer we could trace the bay 
as it penetrated inland, bounded by 
verdant shores. At the extremity of 
this gulf, between the leafy eminences 
of Oiivuzza and La Flora, rose Pa¬ 
lermo, with its crowded shipping, and 
those rounded domes and slender 
spires which give it something of the 
character of an eastern city. The 
sombre masses of green in the more 
distant parts of the landscape indi¬ 
cated the site of the groves of orange, 
lemon, and earob-trees, which ter¬ 
minate the Conca d’ Oro. Glancing 
upward along the mountain slopes, 
we descried Monreale, with its ancient 
cathedral, while high above, in the 
remote background, rose the magnifi¬ 
cent mountain range, which encircles 
this rich landscape as in a frame, and 
stretches for many miles into the in¬ 
terior of the island. Rising in six 
distinct slopes, these mountain chains 
exhibit, at an altitude of more than 
■1000 ft. above the sea, their rugged 
sides and sharply-defined peaks, still 
covered, when we first saw them, with 
the winter’s snow. Sloping downward 
in a semicircle, as if to embrace 
and defeud the open valley at their 
base, these Alpine ranges project on 
either side, at 10 m. distance from one 
another, far into the sea, terminating 
on the 1. in Capo Zaffarana, which 
protects with its compact masses the 
palaces of Bagaria, and on the rt. in 
the Capo di Gallo, whose bright lime- 


I stone summit glittered in the light 
1 more than 1800 ft. above our heads ; 
and in Monte Pellegrino, among whose 
precipices winds the steep road lead¬ 
ing to Santa Rosalia’s Cave. Sheltered 
by these colossal bulwarks, the surface 
of the bay reflected as in a mirror the 
image of Palermo la Felice slumber¬ 
ing in a balmy atmosphere.”— A. Do 
Quatrefages. 

Skirting the base of the beetling pre¬ 
cipices of Monte Pellegrino, with the 
statue of the tutelar saint, Rosalia, on 
the verge high above your head, you 
pass the lighthouse, and cast anchor 
in the port. When the vessel has 
obtained pratique, you are at liberty 
to land, having first obtained a printed 
receipt for your passport. Your lug¬ 
gage is then conveyed to the Do- 
gana, or Customs, on the beach hard 
by, the boat fare to which for each 
passenger, including luggage, is 2 tari. 
Here vehicles are usually in waiting 
to convey you to the hotels, wliich arc 
1J m. distant, the fare for a carriage 
with a single horse being 2 tari ; for 
one with 2 horses, 4 tari, with some¬ 
thing additional for luggage. Or, if 
the sea be smooth, you can cross to 
the Marina in a boat, the hire with 
luggage and porterage to the hotel 
being 2 tari for each passenger. In 
either case at the city gates you will 
be stopped by a doganiere, not in¬ 
quisitive, but importunate, whose re¬ 
quest for “a bottle” may be satisfied 
by a tari, or even by half that amount. 
Sometimes at the Sanita, or landing- 
place, you encounter another official, 
who also expresses his desire to drink 
your health, and, if anxious to save 
time, you will satisfy his thirst. 

Hotels .—The “ Trinacria,” 14, Via di 
Butera, is without question the first 
hotel in Palermo and in Sicily. It 
stands in the best position in the city, 
commanding an enchanting view of 
the sparkling bay with its grand boun¬ 
daries, Monte Pellegrino and Capo 
Zaffarana, of the Lipari Isles dim and 
grey on the horizon in front, and even 
of Etna, whose snowy crest may bo 
seen when free from clouds, though at 
the distance of much more than 100 m., 




PALERMO—HOTELS—PRIVATE LODGINGS. 


3 


soaring over the intervening mountains 
beyond the isthmus of Bagaria. From 
the terraced roof of the inn. the view 
of the city and the encircling moun¬ 
tains is also superb. The Trinacria 
was erected a few years since expressly 
for an hotel, and contains more than 
50 bedrooms, besides spacious and 
well-furnished sitting-rooms on every 
floor, all of which, as well as the bed¬ 
chambers overlooking the sea, have 
fireplaces, and are carpeted. The cui¬ 
sine is excellent; table-d’hote from 4 
to 5 p.m., according to the season. Hot 
and cold baths may be had in the 
hotel. Salvator Ragusa is a model 
landlord, ever at his post, unfailing in 
his attentions to his guests, and in his 
endeavours to make arrangements for 
their comfort and convenience. Hav¬ 
ing travelled with English families in 
his younger days, he not only speaks 
our language fluently, but understands 
our wants and how to provide for them. 
Under such auspices the Trinacria is 
one of the most comfortable and best- 
regulated hotels south of the Alps, 
and an admirable winter abode for 
invalids, who, besides the enjoyments 
of sea-air and glorious scenery from 
its windows, can take exercise on the 
terrace overhanging the Marina. We 
specify these facts, as the visitor to 
Palermo is dependent almost wholly 
on the hotels, private lodgings being 
nearly unknown. The charges in the 
Trinacria are moderate, considering 
the accommodation. The price of 
apartments varies according to the 
size and story, but a bedroom and sit¬ 
ting-room overlooking the sea may be 
had for less than 2 dollars a day. 
Bedrooms from 4 to 8 tari, according 
to the story. Firewood, 8 tail the 
basket. Dinner at the table-d’hote, 8 
tar'i; in apartments, 12 tari. Break¬ 
fast, with eggs and. cold meat, 4 tari. 
Service, 2 tari a day. A warm bath, 
6 tari. Servants’ board, 1 dollar a day 
each. 

“ Hotel de France,” kept by the 
widow Giachery and Sons, is well 
situated on the spacious Piazza Ma¬ 
rina, between the Palazzo de’ Tribu- 
nali and the Zecca, and, though it does 
not command a view of the sea, the 


precipices of Monte Pellegrino and the 
mountain-crests around Palermo arc 
striking and cheerful features. This 
hotel has been greatly improved of 
late years, °and is now a comfortable 
house, much resorted to by bachelors. 
By some it is preferred to the Trina¬ 
cria as a winter residence, on account 
of its more southerly aspect, but the 
winds from the mountains, to wliicli it 
is exposed, especially the keen and 
prevalent maestrale, are very trying at 
that season to invalids. The house is 
clean, the apartments well furnished, 
the attendance good. Baths, hot and 
cold, are to be had. A table-d’hote at 
4J p.m. The charges to a transient 
guest are not lower than at the Trina¬ 
cria; but he who intends to remain 
some time may make a more econo¬ 
mical arrangement. 

For those who study economy, or 
desire a central situation, the “ Albergo 
di Sicilia,” 84, Via Pizzuto, kept by 
Signora Ceccia di Marco, offers advan¬ 
tages. It has handsome, clean, and 
well-furnished apartments, at a cheaper 
rate than at the other hotels, and its 
charges are altogether more moderate. 
There is no table-d’hote, but dinners 
are served at a stipulated rate per 
head—“ secondo i piatti." The cuisine 
is Sicilian, but good. 

The other inns of Palermo are of 
inferior character, and frequented 
chiefly by natives. “ Albergo dell’ 
Universo,” 383, Toledo; “ La For- 
tuna,” in the Toledo, close to the 
Finanze ; “Albergo di Londra,”in the 
Via de’ Cartari, Toledo ; “ Albergo Bel¬ 
vedere,” in the Piazza di S. Francesco 
d’Assisi; “ Leon d’Oro,” Piazza de’ 
Latterini. 

Private Lodgings , as already stated, 
are very rare in Palermo. The season 
being limited to the winter months, it 
is not generally found worth while for 
so short a period to furnish houses in 
a style to satisfy the requirements of 
foreigners. Yet such things are to be 
found. The best are those kept by 
Nicola Ragusa, 68, Strada Sta. Oliva, 
outside the Porta Macqueda, and near 
the Giardino Inglese. To families in¬ 
tending to make a lengthened stay at 

b 2 









4 


PALERMO—CAF^S—PASSPORTS—BANKERS—PHYSICIANS. 


Palermo, and having tlieir own ser¬ 
vants, this house may offer advantages 
in point of economy; but most tra¬ 
vellers will find the Trinacria Hotel 
more convenient and comfortable, and 
hardly more expensive. Lodgings may 
also be had in the Villa Marinez, in 
the English Garden; in the houses of 
M. Du Chaillot, Porta Eeale, and of 
the Rev. Dr. McGoran, Palazzo Lin- 
guagrossa, in the Borgo. A few apart¬ 
ments, furnished in a style to satisfy 
Sicilian wants, are to be found in the 
Piazza Marina, the Via Butera, and 
the Cassaro Morto, and the prices de¬ 
manded are generally in conformity 
with Sicilian views of foreigners’ 
purses. In letting lodgings it is cus¬ 
tomary to demand payment in advance. 

Trattorie .—“ Ville de Paris,” “ Villa 
di Roma,” both in the Toledo; “ Trat¬ 
toria dTtalia,” Piano San Francesco ; 
besides a crowd of smaller ones, where 
the announcement, “ Si fa mangiar a 
partito ,” gives you to understand that 
dinners are sent out at stipulated rates. 

Cafes. —Numerous enough in Pa¬ 
lermo, but generally small and mean 
compared with those of Florence, 
Rome, or Naples. The best are in 
the Toledo—Caffe Oreto ; del Peloro ; 
del Bruno; del Norte ; dell’ Europa; 
di Garibaldi, in the Via Macqueda. At 
the Caffe di Sicilia, which is also a 
restaurant, playbills and notices of 
vessels about to sail are posted. At 
the Caffe del Bruno the best ices are 
to be had. The local papers, as well 
as the journals of Turin, Milan, and 
the other cities of Italy, are to be seen 
in these houses. A cup of coffee 
costs 3 grani; cafe au lait, 12 grant; 
cup of chocolate, 16 grani; a small 
sherbet, 10 grani, and a large one 
20 grani, or 1 tari. There are also 
sundry clubs, or Casiui—“circles of 
good friends,” as they are called— 
open only to their members, though 
strangers are apt to mistake them for 
cafes. 

Passports.-^- On landing at Palermo 
the traveller is asked for his passport 
by the police, and he must reclaim it 


within 21 hours; after which he may 
travel freely through Sicily without 
any further demand for this document. 
Englishmen, however, leaving Palermo 
for Malta by any vessel, or for Mar¬ 
seilles in the steamers of the Messa- 
geries Imperiales, require the visa of 
the British Consul, which costs 6 tan. 

Bankers. — Messrs. Gardner and 
Rose, Via di Butera ; Messrs. Morison 
and Seager, opposite the Reali Fi¬ 
nalize ; Messrs. Whitaker and Ingham, 
Monte di Sta. Rosalia; and Messrs. 
Thomas, Brothers, at the corner of tho 
Via dell’ Alloro. The last firm are 
McCracken's agents, and are particu¬ 
larly attentive and obliging to all who 
have demands on them. 

Consuls. — British, John Goodwin,. 
Esq., Palazzo Campofranco, Piazza Val- 
guarnera, consul for all Sicily. Ameri¬ 
can, Signor Monti, Via Butera. French y 
M. Leon Pillet, Villa Montevago. 

Physicians. —Palermo has not, like 
the capital cities of Italy, the advan¬ 
tage of resident English medical men. 
Yet some of the native practitioners 
enjoy a very fair reputation for skill. 
Among the first are Dr. Nicola Cer- 
vello ; Dr. Galatti; Dr. Giovanni Raf- 
faele, renowned for his skill as an 
accoucheur; Dr. Pantale'o, also an 
accoucheur; Dr. Michele Pandolfini, 
Professor of Pathology in the Royal 
University; and Dr. Salvadore Cacd- 
pardo, also a professor in the same 
University. Those most patronized by 
the English are Dr. Moseuzza, and 
Dr. Cacioppo; both of whom speak a 
little English. 

Surgeons. — The most skilful are 
Signore Giovanni Gorgone, Professor 
of Clinical Surgery in the University 
of Palermo ; Signore Monteforte ; Si¬ 
gnore Morici; and Signore Cataliotta : 
all of whom have studied at Paris. 

Chemists. —There are many, but 
those most to be relied on are Monte- 
forte, 478, Toledo; Caputo, 516, Toledo; 
Florio, Strada de’ Materazzari, or Largo 
di S. Giacomo la Marina. 







PALERMO—TRADESMEN—TEACHERS. 


5 


Booksellers. —All in the Toledo ; Pe¬ 
ptone Lauriel, Brothers, 367, near the 
Piazza Bologni; Landro, 178; Di 
Marzo, 179; Salvatore Biondo, 187; 
Gioacchino Biondo, 234; Giovanni 
Firenze, 216; Orazio Fiorenza, 389, 
■opposite S. Giuseppe, who has a good 
collection of old works on the history 
and antiquities of Sicily. 

Pnntsellers ,—Redone, 367, Toledo, 
who has some good coloured prints of 
views in Sicily, published by Delarue, 
10, Rue J. J. Rousseau, and Bulla, 
18, Rue Tiquetonne, Paris; Seonduto, 
Toledo; Sandrum, Toledo. 

Photographer. —Sack, under the Sto. 
Spirito, near the Porta Felice. Here 
photographic views of Sicily may be 
purchased. 

Pianoforte Makers. —Stancampiano, 
327, Via Nuova ; Ragoriese ; both let 
out instruments on hire. 

Music-sellers. — Sandrum, near S. 
Giuseppe, Toledo ; Deposito di Musica, 
near the Pizzuto. Visitors who rely 
on music as a winter amusement would 
do well to bring a stock of printed 
music from Naples. 

Tailors. —Numerous; but Delisi, and 
Calvi, both in the Toledo, are the best. 

Modistes. —Madame Philippe, Strada 
Macqueda; Donna Carmela, and Si¬ 
gnore Melazzo, both in the Toledo. 
In Sicily business in this important 
line is not confined to the fair sex, but 
male artistes abound; some expert 
enough to measure without manipu¬ 
lation, and who, like skilful generals, 
come, see, and conquer all difficulties 
at a glance. 

Boot and Shoe Makers. —For men’s 
boots, Patti, in the Toledo ; for wo¬ 
men’s, Malta, near the Piazza S. Fran¬ 
cesco, can be recommended. 

Sellers of Catanian Silks. —Antonino 
Chiarenza, 125 ; Antonino Pareti, 138; 
Giuseppe Pareti, 155 ; and Giuseppe 
Fragala, 129, Toledo. The silks of j 


Catania are sold at 32 tan the canna, 
2 palms 5 oncie wide. 3j canne are 
required for a plain chess ; 5 canne for 
one with flounces. 

Hatters. —Cesare La Farina, 410, 
and Calasetti, 417, Toledo. 

Glovers. —The gloves of Sicily have, 
or ought to have, some reputation. 
The best are sent to Naples, where 
they are sold as Neapolitan; and vast 
quantities of kid-skins are exported 
annually to Marseilles, where they 
become “ French kid.” The best 
glovers in Palermo are Santoro, 214, 
Toledo, near the cli. of S. Salvatore ; 
Societa de’ Guantaj, 81, Toledo; 
and Giovanni Figlia, 94, Via de’ Cin- 
torinari. The price is three tari or Is. 
a pail*. 

Tobacconists. —Giuseppe Piazza, 61, 
Toledo ; Salvatore Pelos, 398, Toledo. 

Jewellers. —Paparopoli; Raimoncle; 
and Gambino, Via degli Orefici. 

Watchmaker. —Giuseppe Basili, 368, 
Toledo. 

Optical Instrument-seller. —Gins. La 
Barbera, 213, Toledo. 

Confectioner. —Guli, Toledo. 

Embroideress. —Donna Anna, Piazza 
Sta. Teresa. Beautifully embroidered 
dresses, handkerchiefs, &c., of cambric 
or muslin, are worked at Palermo, and 
may be purchased at reasonable prices. 

Seller of Old Lace. —Donna Nitta, 
Salita Sant’ Antonio. This roba can 
also be obtained at the Trinacria Hotel. 

Seller of Wools for Embroidery .— 
Corona, Toledo. 

Seller of English Gunpowder. —Giu¬ 
seppe Briuccia, 29, Piazza de’ Lat- 
terini. 

Teacher of Italian.— Signor Sesto. 

Teacher of French. —M. Forget, near 





G 


PALERMO—ENGLISH CHURCH—CONVEYANCES. 


tlie Fonderfa, opposite the Reali 
Finanze. 

Teachers of Music. —Signor Gerace ; 
Sig. Antonio Fell, Via de’ Cintorinari; 
Sig. Lo Casto. 

Mahers of Marble Tables. —Fran¬ 
cesco, Pietro, and Salvatore Lopez, all 
in the Cassaro Morto ; Francesco can 
be highly recommended. These tables 
present good specimens of the beau¬ 
tiful marbles and agates of Sicily in 
inlaid work, arranged with more sym¬ 
metry than taste ; the artists, however, 
will follow any pattern that may be 
given to them. The tables vary in 
price, according to size and materials, 
from 80 up to 100 dollars. A very 
handsome one may be had for 50 or 
60 dollars. Pretty chess-tables of 
marble and verd antique, about 2 
feet in diameter, may be bought for 
about 20 dollars. Knife-handles of 
Sicilian agate cost 6 dollars the dozen. 

Sellers of Sicilian Costumes. —Filippo 
Cozzo, and Gabriel Marino, both in 
the Cassaro Morto ; Giacomo Napoli, 
in the Toledo. The little terracotta 
figures of Sicilian peasants, monks, 
nuns, &c„ which are made here, may 
be had at 1 dollar each coloured, or 
10 tan plain. Travellers who intend 
to visit Caltagirone may reserve their 
purchases until they have seen the 
more artistic, though much dearer, 
statuettes made by Buongiovanni of 1 
that town. 

Collector of Specimens of Natural 
IIistor?j, Geology,&c. —Domenico Reina, 
of Bocca di Falco. 

English Church. — Divine service, 
according to the Church of England, 
is performed every Sunday, at 11 
o’clock, at the British Consulate, Pa- j 
lazzo Campofranco, Piazza Valguar- 
nera. The cli. receives no support! 
from the Foreign Office, and is entirely 
dependent on voluntary subscriptions. 
The Chaplain is the Rev. Charles 
Wright, M.A. 

Conveyances. —Carriages in Palermo 1 


can be hired by the course or by the 
hour. For the course, or from any 
one spot to any other within the walls, 
without stoppages, the fare is 1 tan for 
a single-liorse vehicle, and 2 tari for 
a carriage with two horses. By the hr., 
the tariff for a carriage with 1 horse 
is 3 tari for the first, and 2 for every 
subsequent hr., or part of an hr.; for 
a 2-horse carriage the charge is in¬ 
creased to 4 tari and 3 tari respectively. 
For excursions without the gates a 
separate bargain should be made, but 
a carriage can generally be taken by 
the hour at the same rates, unless the 
excursion involve the steep ascent to 
Monreale or San Martino. A 2-horse 
carriage for the Olivuzza, Ziza, Ca¬ 
puchin Convent, Cuba, and Monreale, 
an excursion of 5 or G hours, may be 
had for I5 piastre, not including the 
barriera. Good saddle-horses are not 
to be hired in Palermo. Those who 
would mount must seek donkeys, 
which have been in fashion here since 
the days of the Saracens, and are as 
commonly used as in the cities of the 
East. Nor is such a monture con¬ 
sidered infra dig. For the ass is not 
here the stunted low-caste animal we 
know in England, but a tall aristocratic 
beast, handsome, sleek, fleet, and up to 
any weight. The charge for an excur¬ 
sion which does not occupy more than 
half the day is 4 tari each beast; for 
the entire day 6 tari. 

Bailway. —There is but one short line 
yet opened in Sicily—that to Bagaria. 
This was opened on 28th April, 1863. 
The fares are—1st class, 1*45 lira; 2nd 
class, 105; 3rd class, 0’75. 

For a cittadina, or carriage with one 
horse, from any part of the city to the 
station, the tariff is 1 tari 10 grani; 
for a carriage with 2 horses, 2 t. 10 gr. 
These are the maximum fares; passen¬ 
gers are at liberty to bargain for less, 
if they can. 


Mail-coaches. —Office, Palazzo Sam- 
buca, Y ia Alloro. The corriera leaves 
for the following places every Tues., 
Thurs., and Sat., at 6 p.m., travelling 
Gy night as well as by day, and 
reaches them in the time specified. 






rALERMO—STEAMERS—POST OFFICE. 


Palermo to Catania in 34 hrs.; other 
coaches continue the route to Messina 
46 hrs., Syracuse, Noto, Modica, and 
Bagusa— 


Palermo to Caltanisetta in . 

Hours 
. . 20 

99 

Girgenti . . 

. . is 

99 

Corleone . . . 

. . 9 

99 

Chiusa . . 

. . 11 

99 

Termini . . . 

. . 4 

99 

Cefalu . . 

. . 8 

99 

Trapani . 

. . 14 

99 

Marsala . 

. . 20 

99 

Mazzara . 

. . 22 


The fares are at the rate of 5 bajocchi 
or 21 centesimi the mile, besides 5 
baj. for the postilion at every stage. 
The corriera has room for 3 passen¬ 
gers only, the conductor occupying 
the 4th seat inside. 

Steamers .—Boats leave Palermo for 
Naples every Sun., Mon., and Frid., at 
5 or 6 p.m., and every Tues., Tliurs., 
and Sat., at 4 p.m., professedly accom¬ 
plishing the distance in 17 or 18 Ins., 
but often taking 22 or 24. Those of 
the Compagnia delle due Sicilie, which 
leave on Sun., are least to be de¬ 
pended on, and have inferior accom¬ 
modation to those of the Compagnia 
Valery or Societa Florio. Fares (in¬ 
cluding food), 1st class, 34-50 frs.; 
2nd class, 22-50. 

A boat runs to Leghorn and Genoa 
every Frid. at 5 p.m., performing the 
voyage to Leghorn in 38 lirs., that to 
Genoa in 61. Fares to Genoa (in¬ 
cluding food), 1st class, 152 frs.; 2nd 
class, 112. 

A steamer of the Messageries Im¬ 
periales leaves Palermo for Marseilles 
direct every other Tues., doing it in 
50 hrs. Fares (food included), 1st 
class, 220 frs.; 2nd class, 154. 

Boats leave for Messina every Tues., 
touching at various points on the 
northern coast and atLipari. Tourists 
who are not in a hurry, and wish to enjoy 
the great natural beauties of this coast 
and of the Lipari Islands, should take 
advantage of these steamers. They 
continue their route from Messina to 
Catania, Augusta, and Syracuse. A boat 
runs direct to Messina every Frid. at 
5 p.m. , and extends its voyage to Catania, 
Syracuse, and Malta. One of the Mes- 


( 

sageries Imperiales boats runs direct 
to Messina every other Monday. The 
direct line takes from 11 to 13 hrs. 
Fares (food included), 1st class, 25 frs.; 
2 nd class, 18. 

From Palermo to the island of 
Ustica there is steam communication 
twice a month—every 1st and 3rd 
Sund. at midnight, in 5 hrs.; fares, 
1st class, 7 - 50 frs.; 2nd class, 5. Be- 
turns on the Mond. at 9 a.m. 

A boat leaves Palermo every Frid. 
at 8 a.m. for Trapani and Girgenti; 
one week touching at Mazzara and 
Sciacca on the way, and on alternate 
weeks at Marsala and Sciacca. This 
last boat continues to Licata and Syra¬ 
cuse, and is in communication with 
the steamer which leaves the latter 
town for Malta. Fares to Trapani, 
1st class, 12 frs.; 2nd class, 8-50: to 
Sciacca, 24‘50 and 16'50 : to Girgenti, 
30-50, and 20-50. 

From Palermo to Tunis a steamer 
runs every other Sund., touching at 
Trapani, Favignana, and Pantellaria, 
and performing the distance in 34 hrs. 
Fares to Tunis, 1st class, 47"50 frs .; 
2nd class, 31 50. The boat returns to 
Palermo on the following Wed. even¬ 
ing, giving visitors two entire days to 
see Tunis and the ruins of Carthage. 

Steam-boat Offices at Palermo .— 
Messageries Imperiales, Via Alloro.— 
Societa Florio, Piazza S. Giacomo la 
Marina.—Compagnie Valery, 5, Piazza 
Santo Spirito.—Compagnia delle Due 
Sicilie, Morrison, Seager, and Co. 

For further particulars respecting 
steamers see the Preliminary Informa¬ 
tion. 

Electric Telegraph Office, Piazza 
della Vittoria.—Open from 9 a.m. to 
5 p.m. Palermo is now in telegraphic 
communication with all the chief 
towns of Sicily, as well as with Malta, 
Italy, and the rest of the Continent. 

Post O ffice, Piazza dell a Mar torana.— 
The rates of postage have been much 
reduced since the annexation of Sicily 
to the kingdom of Italy. The system 
of postage-stamps, or francobolli, has 
been introduced; and a letter may be 
sent to any part of the kingdom for 









8 


PALERMO—VALETS DE PLACE—GUIDES FOR THE GIRO. 


] 5 centimes; to Rome for 40; to 
England for 60. Letters not stamped, 
or overweight, are charged double. 
The Post-office is open for the delivery 
or payment of letters from 8 a.m. to 
5 P.M. 

The mail for England leaves Pa¬ 
lermo by way of Naples every Tues., 
Thurs., and Sat., and comes in on the 
same days. The mail by way of 
Genoa and Leghorn leaves every Fri., 
and arrives every Thurs. The direct 
mail by way of Marseilles leaves every 
alternate Tues., and returns every 
alternate Monday. Letters intended to 
he forwarded by this route must be 
marked “ via Marseilles.'" They will 
reach England in 4 days, while if sent 
by way of Genoa they will be 6 days, 
and if by way of Naples 7 or 8 days 
on the road. 

Valets cle Place and Guides for the 
Tour of the Island. —The guides, when 
not making the giro, act as valets de 
place for Palermo. The traveller must 
not rely on them for correct historical 
or antiquarian information. He can 
expect little more of them than that 
they should take him to the buildings 
he wishes to see. 

Tiie guides for the giro or tour are, 
Giuseppe Lazara, Giuseppe Agnello, 
Salvatore Porcelli, and Antonio Di 
Giorgi. Lazara is now old, but still 
goes the round with travellers. He 
is intelligent and obliging, an ex¬ 
cellent cook, and a liberal caterer. 


In 1838 he had the honour of attend¬ 
ing the present Chancellor of the 
Exchequer on a tour round Sicily, 
who thus speaks of him in his Journal: 
“ Giuseppe Lazara is an able and ad¬ 
mirable servant, and I feel to-night as 
if I had lost my crutches. The tra¬ 
veller who visits Palermo and makes 
the giro cannot do better than engage 
G. L. as his guide.”— W. E. G. 

Agnello is highly recommended by 
those who have employed him. He 
is quiet and unobtrusive, yet attentive, 
and a very fair cook. He speaks only 
Italian. 

Porcelli speaks French, is very civil 
and zealous, and a good cook, but is 
said, by some who have employed 
him, to be grasping. 

Di Giorgi also speaks French, is 
very attentive to his employers, and 
if inferior in any way it is only as a 
cook. 

To those who study economy and 
are content with the services of a 
muleteer, Giuseppe Campo of Misil- 
meri can be recommended ; or Ando- 
lina of the same town, wdio, if required, 
will also do duty in the cuisine. Giu¬ 
seppe Tommasini of Carini is also an 
excellent muleteer, civil, attentive, 
and trustworthy. A note by post will 
bring any of them at once to Palermo 
to receive instructions. 

For particulars respecting the “ Tour 
of the Island,” see that article in the 
Prelimin ary Information . 





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( 9 ) 


DESCRIPTION OP PALERMO. 


CONTENTS. 


. Page 

Climate. "9 

Situation . 11 

History and Antiquities .. .. 13 

Walls and Fortress . 15 

Grates .. 15 

Streets.17 

Population. 19 

Rioni .19 

Foro Borbonico or Marina .. .. 20 

Piazze or Squares . 21 

Churches .25 

Public Buildings. 66 


Page 

Private Palaces. 92 

Theatres .95 

Festival of Santa Rosalia .. .. 95 

Environs of Palermo. 97 

The Port .114 

Monte Pellegrino .116 

Excursion to Monreale .. .. 119 

Excursion to S. Martino .. .. 131 

Excursion to Baida .137 

Excursion to Segeste.130 


Excursion to Bagaria and Solunto 140 


Climate. 

The climate of Palermo is one of 
the most delightful in Europe. In 
the latitude of 38° 6' 44'' the winters 
cannot be severe; and the lofty moun¬ 
tains around the city shelter it, to a 
great extent, from the keen cold blasts 
of that season. In truth the tempera¬ 
ture is so mild that green peas, cauli¬ 
flowers, and artichokes are in season 
in January and February; the date- 
palm and many other tropical produc¬ 
tions flourish in the open air ; the 
almond lias been known to blossom 
at the end of December; and in the 
plain of Palermo roses and geraniums 
never fail. The summer heats, on the 
other hand, are greatly tempered by 
the breezes from the N.E., which blow 
regularly during the hottest part of the 
day, and render Palermo much more 
endurable at that season than Naples, 
Florence, Genoa, and other cities of 
Italy. The annual mean temperature 
is 64° 4' Fahr., or higher by about 4° 
than that of Nice, by 5° than that of 
Rome, and by 14° than that of London. 
It has been found, from the observa¬ 
tions of 20 years, that the mean tem¬ 
perature of the hottest month, August, 


is 76° 6 r ; that of February, the coldest, 
only 52°; that in the spring months 
the mean temperature is 59° 3', in the 
summer 74° 7', in the autumn 66° 8', 
and in the winter 53° V. The maxi¬ 
mum heat in summer varies widely, 
from 86° to 107°. The greatest de¬ 
gree of cold, during 20 years, has been 
found to be not more than 32° 5', nor 
less than 40°. Snow never falls on 
more than two or three days during 
the winter, generally in February, and 
is dissolved by the next sun; but a 
winter often passes without a fall of 
snow. Of rain there falls during the 
year rather more than 22 inches, the 
greater part in January, March, and 
December. From April to September 
but very little falls, and in July a 
shower is veiy rare. The total num¬ 
ber of days on which rain falls during 
the year is 131, but of these only 64 
can be called wet. Storms are rare, 
and the winds are seldom violent. T11 
summer the prevailing wind is the 
Greco, or that from the N.E., to which 
quarter alone the city is exposed; and 
this blows constantly from April to 
September during the day, common c- 
ing in the morning between 8 and 10 
o’clock, and continuing until between 

n 3 




























10 


PALERMO—CLIMATE. 


3 and 5 p.m., refreshing the air and 
making the heat endurable. To this 
succeeds a lull till an hour or two 
after dark, when the land - breeze 
springs up, which continues through¬ 
out the night. In winter the Greco is 
very cold and keen, but fortunately it 
is of rare occurrence at that season. 
The prevailing winds are then from 
the W. or S.W. The latter, called 
Libeccio, is most frequent; it brings 
dark and cloudy weather, but the 
clouds thus generated are sometimes 
dispersed ! by the W. wind, and often j 
dissolved in rain. Steady and conti¬ 
nuous rains are generally brought by 
the E. wind. Another wind, which is 
Very annoying in winter, is the Maestro, 
or that from the N.W., which causes 
great and sudden changes from fair to 
cloudy, from dry to damp, and from 
warm to cold, so as to oppress the 
spirits and be extremely trying to in¬ 
valids and persons of delicate consti¬ 
tutions. The N. wind is cold but 
healthy, and not frequent. As the 
Greco refreshes and invigorates, so the 
Scirocco eneiwates and relaxes, but for¬ 
tunately it is of rare occurrence in the 
height of summer, when its effects 
would be most felt; and in no case is 
it of long continuance, often lasting 
only from morning to evening, and 
rarely, if ever, more than two or three j 
days. It is most frequent in spring 
and autumn. It is ushered in by a 
thin veil of white mist in the upper 
regions of the atmosphere, followed 
by puffs of warm air, which increase 
in heat and frequency until the wind 
attains its full force. It raises clouds 
of dust, whirling it aloft in eddies, 
dulling the atmosphere and obscuring 
distant objects. It dries up the foli¬ 
age, and, by sweeping the blossoms 
from the trees, often mechanically pro¬ 
duces a blight. On the human frame 
it causes ennui and lassitude, irritates 
the nervous fibre, contracts the skin, 
checks perspiration, and impedes respi¬ 
ration. On this subject, however, many 
extravagant stories of its effects have 
been told by travellers. It is a mistake 
to suppose that the heat is augmented 
by it to any great degree. Through 20 
years it has been found that during the 


Scirocco in the height of summer the 
heat has not exceeded 95°, and at 
other seasons is rarely increased more 
than 2°, though one’s sensations would 
lead one to suppose that the difference 
was much greater. Its effects vary in 
different individuals. While it relaxes 
the strong, it has often a contrary in¬ 
fluence on those' of weak constitutions, 
bracing then* nerves and animating 
their spirits. The Scirocco is more 
violent in its effects at Palermo than 
in any other part of Sicily. 

Palermo, as a residence, is very salu¬ 
brious, equally so at all seasons, and 
is less exposed perhaps to epidemic 
disorders than most cities of Europe, 
though the cholera, in 1837 and 1854, 
committed fearful ravages. A ten¬ 
dency to malaria, which formerly ex¬ 
isted in the neighbourhood of the 
Oreto, giving rise to intermittent and 
remittent fevers, has quite disappeared 
since the embankment of that river. 
In summer the prevailing disorder is 
gastric fever, often succeeded by ty¬ 
phoid. As a winter residence for the 
invalid, Palermo has advantages over 
such places of resort lying more to the 
N. At this season the climate is 
somewhat humid and heavy, and has 
a tendency to depress rather than ele¬ 
vate the spirits. In this it differs 
materially from that of Pisa or the S. 
of France, which is always exciting; 
and it is on this account much more 
beneficial in cases of great nervous 
excitability, for the atmosphere is not 
charged with that amount of electri¬ 
city which in dry spots is found so 
distressing by people of that tempera¬ 
ment. On the other hand, it does not 
suit all forms and stages of pulmonary 
disease. “ In some,” to quote an expe¬ 
rienced medical authority, “it would 
prove useful, in others exceedingly pre¬ 
judicial. Where cavities are formed, or 
where phthisis has advanced to the 
second stage, it would tend to keep 
up relaxation and chronic irritation, 
whereas it would tend to allay irrita¬ 
tion where such was active. In such 
cases, or where the nervous system 
plays the chief part in disease, the 
climate of Palermo may be safely re¬ 
commended, as it must earnestly be 
— •» 











PALERMO—SITUATION. 


11 


deprecated where relaxation exists. It 
is a climate which, from the want of a 
bracing element in the air to rally the 
system, must not be trifled with by the 
invalid. Where much mucous irri¬ 
tation or debility exists, cold is readily 
taken and not easily removed. Atmo¬ 
spheric changes are sometimes frequent 
and rapid in the course of the day. A 
bright calm morning will usher in a 
boisterous and rainy noon, which will 
again be followed by a fair and quiet 
evening. This unsettled weather in 
February and March produces bron- 
cliial and chest affections, and is trying 
to rheumatic invalids. Yet the differ¬ 
ences of temperature are less apparent 
in Palermo than in most other places 
of winter resort—Nice, for example— 
whether thermometric changes or per¬ 
sonal sensations be considered. The 
climate in this respect, indeed, may 
be said to approach closely to equa¬ 
bility. Dining the winter the ther¬ 
mometer never descends many degrees 
below 50° Fahr., either early in the 
morning or late at night. Among 
other advantages to invalids in winter 
and spring, two deserve favourable 
mention : viz., the frequent obscura¬ 
tion of the sun by thin clouds, by 
which the air is cooled and nervous 
irritation allayed; and the general 
mildness of March and April, where¬ 
by invalids are prepared for the genial 
warmth of May. I believe that, with 
care, the invalid will vegetate more 
easily at Palermo than in any place to 
the northward, provided the climate 
is not decidedly unsuitable to him. 
There are few days on which he can¬ 
not take exercise. He can get out 
many more days than at Nice, Pisa, or 
Rome.” 


Situation. 

Palermo lies on the south-western 
shore of its beautiful bay, near the foot 
of Monte Pellegrino, on a slope gently 
rising from the sea. “ This beautiful 
city stands near the extremity of a 
kind of natural amphitheatre, formed 
by high and rocky mountains; the 
country that lies betwixt the city and 


these mountains is one of the richest 
and most beautiful spots in the world. 
The whole appears a magnificent gar¬ 
den, filled with fruit-trees of every 
species, and watered by clear foun¬ 
tains and rivulets, that form a variety 
of windings through this delightful 
plain. From the singularity of this 
situation, as well as from the richness 
of the soil, Palermo has had many 
flattering epithets bestowed upon it, 
particularly by the poets, who have 
denominated it Conca d’Oro, the Golden 
Shell, which is at once expressive both 
of its situation and richness. It has 
likewise been styled Aurea Vallis, 
Hortus Sicilia?, &c.; and to include all 
these together, the lasting term of 
Felix has been added to its name.”— 
JBnjdone. The appellation of “ Golden 
Shell ” is supposed by some to be 
derived from its basin-like form, by 
others from the profusion of orange- 
groves which adorn it, and all the 
year round are laden with fruit. The 
plain of Palermo is about 25 m. in 
circumference, hemmed in by a grand 
chain of mountains of bold and varied 
forms. It stretches up to the N.W. be¬ 
tween the cliffs of Monte Pellegrino 
and the craggy slopes of Monte Billemi, 
till it meets the sea hi the rocky bay of 
Sferracavallo, and opens again towards 
the N. in the little sandy bay of Mon- 
dello, which separates Monte Pelle¬ 
grino from Capo di Gallo. On the W. 
it is bounded by the steep cliffs of 
Baida and of Bocca di Falco. On the 
S.W. it meets the valley of the Oreto, 
and to the S. and E. is enclosed by the 
high mountain walls of Falcone and 
Grifone. These heights are more or 
less distant from the city, the nearest, 
Monte Pellegrino and Monte Grifone, 
being 2^ m., and the most remote, 
Monte Billemi and Monte Catalfano, 
8 or 9 m. distant. The plain contains 
no towns save those of Monreale and 
Parco, overhanging the valley of the 
Oreto, and but few villages; yet its 
wide surface is everywhere studded 
with villas, which gleam out in gay 
colours from its dark orange and olive 
groves. “The plain of Palermo is a 
perfect garden of delight, and may 
challenge comparison for richness and 








12 


PALERMO—SITUATION. 


beauty witli any similar scene in the 
Mediterranean ; and in gazing on it we 
cannot wonder that by Saracen and 
Norman alike it was regarded as an 
earthly paradise, and was adorned by 
them with the utmost refinement of 
horticultural and architectural splen¬ 
dour.”— Bartlett. 

The plain is watered by the Oreto , 
a small stream which rises at Misil- 
canduni, about 10 m. inland, above 
Monreale, and falls into the sea about 
i m. E. of Palermo. By the ancients 
it was called Orethus, but the Saracens 
gave it the name of Abbas or Habbes, 
which it retained to the time of the 
Suabian kings. 

A great part of modern Palermo 
stands on what was originally the bed 
of the sea. The ancient name of the 
city, composed of Tlav and opixos', suf¬ 
ficiently indicates its character, even 
had Diodorus not informed us that 
it had “ the best port in all Sicily,” 
which description will by no means 
apply to it at the present day. The 
size of the Carthaginian fleets, which 
at different times were stationed here, 
demonstrates that the little Gala 
(from the Arabic Jealah, a hollow), 
which is the only vestige of the 
natural port of Palermo, must have 
formed but a very small portion of the 
ancient harbour. “ Modern Palermo is 
so entirely changed from what it was 
in former times, that even when you 
are on the spot you can hardly credit 
what history relates, and what still ex¬ 
isting traces at length compel you to 
believe. In former tunes, and as late 
as the 14tli century, the sea, after form¬ 
ing a large harbour, where the small 
port of Gala continues to exist, was 
divided by a peninsula into two dis¬ 
tinct branches, each of which pene¬ 
trated into the heart of the present 
city. The ancient city, which occupied 
this peninsula, was subdivided into 
3 wards, each of which had walls of its 
own. On the opposite side of both the 
harbours were suburbs, of which the 
largest, distinguished by the name of 
Chalesa, was to the east. The pre¬ 
sent Marina at that time formed a part 
of Chalesa, and was divided by the 
waters from the city itself. On the 


contrary side of the peninsula the sea 
nearly washed the feet of the present 
cathedral. The traces of ancient build¬ 
ings which are known to have stood 
on the brink of the waters, the names 
of streets, the various levels of different 
parts of Palermo, still reveal the course, 
the banks, and the beds of either 
creek .”—Gaily Kniglit. The sea, en¬ 
tering by the present Gala, extended 
on the one side as far westward as the 
Papireto below the cathedral, and on 
the other covering the present Piazza 
Marina, as far to the S. as the eh. of 
S. Michael Arcangelo; while the ch. 
of S. Antonio, on the site of the Torre 
di Bay cl i, half way up the Toledo, 
marks what was then the point of the 
peninsula. It is probable that this 
double port was never deep, and that 
the streams Oreto and Papireto which 
fell into it brought down deposits from 
the hills, till the greater part of the 
harbour was choked, and houses gra¬ 
dually sprang up as the waters re¬ 
treated. The result is, that the Paler¬ 
mitans, having lost their natural port, 
have been compelled, at great expense, 
to create an artificial harbour by the 
construction of a mole at a considerable 
distance from the town. 

The original Greco-Phoenician city 
lay on the tongue of land between 
the two creeks. This was the Pakeo- 
polis or “ old town ” of Polybius, the 
El Cassr (“ castle or palace ”) of the 
Arabs, and is now the centre of the 
modern city. By the Saracens it was 
surrounded by lofty walls constructed 
of massive and regular masonry, not 
a vestige of which is extant. Even 
in Carthaginian times a suburb had 
sprung up around it, to which Poly¬ 
bius gives the name of Neapolis, 
“ the new town,” which had its sepa¬ 
rate enclosure of walls, so that, when 
this was taken by the Romans, the 
old town was still enabled to hold out 
against them. The outer enclosure 
was the Khalisa or Klialessah of the 
Arabs, who rebuilt it in the year 937. 









PALERMO-HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES. 


History and Antiquities. 

Panorama, though hearing a Greek 
name significant of its situation on a 
spacious harbour, was not a Greek 
city, but most probably of Phoenician 
origin. On the extension of the Greek 
colonies in Sicily some six or seven 
centuries before Christ, the Phoeni¬ 
cians, who had previously been scat¬ 
tered all round the coast of the island, 
were obliged to retire before the new 
comers, and to give up all their settle¬ 
ments except Panormus, Soloes, and 
Motya, which they, retained on ac¬ 
count of their proximity to Carthage. 
For some centimes Panormus re¬ 
mained in the possession of this race, 
and became the chief seat of the Punic 
power in Sicily—a pre-eminence it 
owed to the maritime advantages 
afforded by its port, which, we are 
told by Diodorus, was then the most 
excellent in all the island. As their 
chief naval station, it played an im¬ 
portant part in the struggles of the 
Carthaginians for dominion in Sicily, 
as well with the Greeks as with the 
Romans. When the successes of the 
elder Dionysius at Motya threatened 
their total expulsion from the island, 
Panormus was one of the 5 cities 
which alone remained faithful to their 
cause. It was never under Greek do¬ 
mination save for awhile when Pyr¬ 
rhus, king of Epirus, took it by as¬ 
sault, 270 b.c. ; but it very soon fell 
again into the hands of its old mas¬ 
ters, who made it their grand military 
and naval arsenal, and the centre of 
their operations during the First Punic 
War; and who, after it had been wrested 
from them in 254 b.c. by the consuls 
Atilius Calatinus and Cornelius Scipio, 
made desperate efforts to regain it. Un¬ 
der the Romans it enjoyed great privi¬ 
leges and immunities, and in the time of 
Cicero it was one of the chief centres 
of maritime commerce in the island. 
It was the last city in Sicily wrested 
from the Goths by Belisarius a.d. 535, 
and it remained subject to Byzantium 
till 831, when, after a year’s siege of 
unexampled horrors, in which almost 
the entire population was destroyed, 


1 O 

lo 

it fell into the power of the Saracens, 
who, charmed with the beauty of its 
position, made it the seat of their go¬ 
vernment, and raised it to a pitch of 
opulence and magnificence it has 
never since surpassed. In 1072, after 
a siege of 5 months, it was captured 
by the brothers Robert and Roger de 
Haute ville, who founded the Norman 
dynasty in Sicily. Robert Guiscard 
was so captivated with its charms that, 
while ho resigned all the rest of the 
island to his brother’s sovereignty, he 
could never bring himself to give up 
Palermo, nor was it united to the rest 
of Sicily till 1122, when Roger II. 
made it his metropolis. It was ever 
after the favourite residence of the 
Norman, Suabian, and Aragonese 
princes of Sicily, though not of Charles 
of Anjou; nor did it cease to be the 
abode of royalty until Sicily became 
a province of Aragon in the com¬ 
mencement of the 15tli century, since 
which period, though still the residence 
of the viceroys, Palermo has sunk to 
the condition of a provincial city, and 
only at intervals, few and far between, 
has been gladdened by the presence of 
its sovereign. 

Of the Phoenician, and even of the 
Roman city of Panormus, all traces 
have disappeared within the walls. 
A few fragments of classic times, in 
sculpture and inscriptions found on 
the spot, are preserved in the Palazzo 
Senatorio and the Collegio de’ Gesuiti ; 
but the catacombs outside the Porta 
d’ Ossuna are the only vestige in situ 
of the ancient Panormus, and they are 
of the low Empire and of Christian 
times. The Palermo of the Emirs lias 
also disappeared; and no local remains 
are known to be of higher antiquity 
than the Norman conquest. 

In remains of the Norman dynasty 
Palermo is not wanting. They consist 
chiefly of churches and convents, with 
a few other edifices. The earliest 
is the cliurch of 8. Giovanni de Le- 
prosi, without the walls, erected by 
Count Roger in 1072, the very year 
of the capture of Palermo from the 
Saracens. Next in point of antiquity 
come the churches of 8. Pietro a Ba- 
tjnarci ? completed in 1081, in the time 






14 


PALERMO—HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES. 


of Robert Guiscard, and of S. Giacomo 
la Mazara , founded by Count Roger 
about tbe year 1088—both unfortu¬ 
nately destroyed within the last few 
years. The loss of the latter is par¬ 
ticularly to be regretted, as it bore an 
Arabic inscription in Cupliic characters 
round the summit of its bell-tower, 
which appeared to be a formula in 
praise of the Norman princes, being 
almost identical with that on the roof 
of the Cappella Palatina, and on the 
celebrated Nuremburg dalmatica, the 
robe of honour wrought for King Roger 
by his Saracen subjects. 

The extant edifices of King Roger's 
time (1105-1154) are— 

The Ponte dell' Ammiraglio, outside 
the Porta di Termini, constructed 
by George Rocius of Antioch, 
Grand Admiral of Sicily in 1113. 

The church of San Giovanni degli 
Eremiti, completed before 1132. 

The church of the Martorana, with 
its campanile, founded by the said 
Admiral, probably in ill3, and 
completed in 1143. 

The beautiful Cappella Palatina, in 
the Royal Palace, built before 
1132, and consecrated in 1140. 

The older part of S. Giacomo la Ma¬ 
rina, erected before 1143. 

The convent of S. Salvadore, com¬ 
menced by Robert Guiscard in 
the previous century, but finished 
in 1148. 

The chapel in the palace of the Fa- 
vara, in the plain to the S. of the 
city—date unknown. The entire 
palace has been ascribed to King 
Roger. 

In the reign of William the Bad 
(1154-1166) were constructed— 

The Torre di Santa Ninfa, and the 
Sala Normanna in the Royal Pa¬ 
lace. 

The church of S. Cataldo, erected 
probably by Majonc da Bari, be¬ 
fore 1160. 

The church of La Magione, built by 
Mattea Ajcllo of Salerno—date 
unknown. 

During the reign of William the 
Good (1166-1189) were erected— 


The Cathedral of Palermo, founded 
in 1169 by Walter Offamilio, the 
English Archbishop, and conse¬ 
crated in 1185. 

The church of Santo Spirito, founded 
in 1173 by the same Archbishop. 

The Cathedral and Cloister of Mon- 
reale, founded by the King in 
1174, and finished in 1182. 

To this monarch have also been 
ascribed the construction of the Zisa, 
Cuba, and Cubola. 

The Suabiau sovereigus did little for 
the architectural decoration of Pa¬ 
lermo. One building only of the time 
of Frederick II. (1197-1250) is extant, 
the church of S. Antonio ; and one 
only of the reign of Manfred (1258- 
1266), the church of S. Francesco d' 
Assisi, which, though founded in 1255, 
was not completed till 1471. 

Of the hated Angevine rule (1266- 
1282) but a single architectural monu¬ 
ment remains—the church of S. Agos- 
tino, erected about the year 1275. 

The Aragonese dynasty is repre¬ 
sented by—the Palazzo de Tribunali 
1307-1320; the Spedale Grande, built 
in the year 1330, both in the reign of 
Frederick II.; the church of the Dis- 
persi, founded in 1345, in the reign of 
Louis; the convent and church of 
Baida in 1388, and Santa Maria la 
Catena, founded by King Martin at 
the close of the 14tli century, though 
the portico is of much later construc¬ 
tion ; S. Nicold (V Albergaria, com¬ 
menced by Queen Bianca in 1409. 

Under the subsequent Spanish mon- 
archs were erected— 

The church of Santa Maria di Ges'u , 
founded in 1426; the Gancia, in 1430 ; 
and the Chapel of the Spedale Grande , 
in 1433 ; all during the reign of Alonso 
the Magnanimous. The Palazzo Pie- 
tratagliata is also probably of the same 
period. The Archbishop's Palace, built 
by Simon of Bologna, in 1458, during 
the reign of John II. The Palazzo 
Paterno, erected between 1485 and 
1498; the Palazzo Patella, in 1495 ; 
the Palazzo Campofranco, about the 
same period ; the church of Lo Spasimo, 
in 1506 ; and of Le llipentite, in 1512 ; 
all in the time of Ferdinand the 




PALERMO—WALLS—CASTELLAMARE-GATES. 


15 


Catholic. 8. Francesco di Paola, 

founded in 1518; Santa Maria la 

Nuova, rebuilt in its present form in 

1520, in the reign of Charles V. 

♦ 


Walls and Fortress. 

Modern Palermo forms a quadrangle, 
almost a parallelogram, with more 
depth than frontage to the sea, and 
nearly 5 m. hi circuit. The city is 
Availed, but no part of its fortifica¬ 
tions at present extant is known to 
be more ancient than the time of the 
Aragonese kings, or the early part of 
the lltli century. When chosen by 
the Norman conquerors of Sicily as 
the seat of then- government it was 
strengthened by massive Avails, which 
were in part reconstructed by the Em¬ 
peror Frederick II. in the 13tli cen¬ 
tury. In 1328 Alberto Milite Avas 
charged with the restoration of the 
Avails and the construction of certain 
outworks. So far the defences are 
prior to the use of artillery. Soon 
after that discovery the bastions at 
the gates of Ossuna and of S. Giorgio 
Avere erected. In 1537 that near the 
cli. of Lo Spasimo, and one near the 
Porta di Carini on the opposite side of 
the city, were constructed. That S. 
of the gate of Sta. Agata dates from 
1570. The bastion of Aragona, near 
the Porta di Carini, Avas constructed 
beti\ r een 1572 and 1637. In 1648 the 
tA\ r o bastions which flank the royal 
palace were commenced by Cardinal 
Trivulzio, and in 1650 they Avere com¬ 
pleted by Don John of Austria—not 
the hero of Lepanto. The fortifica¬ 
tions are not iioav kept up, being in 
many parts built upon, and they serve 
as a protection only to the city-dues. 
Nor is Palermo better defended on the 
sea-side. The Forts of St. Erasmo 
and La Garita, Avhich once flanked 
the Marina, have been destroyed of 
late years. The old fortress of Castel- 
lamare , between the two harbours, 
which was originally constructed by 
the Saracens, rebuilt by the Normans, 
and adapted to modern Avarfaro by 
Charles V., though strong enough to 


aAve the town, is incapable of resisting 
an attack in force by sea. For ages 
past, indeed, it has been used only 
against the good citizens of Palermo, 
j It Avas converted into an Inquisition 
I under the Bourbons, for the imprison- 
J ment and torture of political offenders, 

, and fearful stories are current of the 
atrocities perpetrated in its subterra- 
; nean dungeons. From its batteries 
Palermo Avas bombarded in 1848 and 
1860 ; and on the liberation of the 
city by Garibaldi, the enraged inhabit¬ 
ants hastened to Avreak their vengeance 
on its Avails, which they endeavoured to 
: level with the ground, but they were 
eventually satisfied Avith the dismantle¬ 
ment of the land-front of the fortress. 


Gates. 


In the circuit of the Avails there are 
15 gates. On the N.E., or towards 
the sea, there are 4—the Porta de’ 
Greci and Porta Felice opening on the 
Marina, and the P. Doganella and P. 
Carbone on the Cala, or Little Port. 
In the N.W. face are 3—the Porta S. 
Giorgio, P. Macqueda, and P. di Carini. 
On the S.W., or land side, also 3— 
Porta d’Ossuna, P. Nuova, and P. di 
Castro; and the S.E. front has 5—P. 
Montalto, P. Sta. Agata, P. St. An- 
tonino, P. di Termini, and P. Keale. 
About half only of this number have 
archways, the rest being open, with 
flanking piers. FeAV liaA'e striking 
architectural features. 

Porta Felice .—The inscriptions on 
this gate record its history. It was 
] commenced by Marcantonio Colonna, 
Viceroy of Sicily, in 1583, from Avhose 
Avife, Donna Felice Orsini, it received 
its name. It Avas continued in 1602 
under the viccroyalty of the Duke of 
1 Feria, from Avliom it Avas named 
“ Felice Feria,” and Avas completed in 
1637 by the Viceroy Duke of Mont¬ 
alto, who encrusted it with marbles, 
and adorned it Avith columns and 
statues. In 1644 the fountains Avere 
added. The “ Felix Porta, aurem 
Conchas decor,” as it styles itself, is a 
handsome gate of yellow marble, after 






16 


PALERMO—GATES. 


the design, originally, it is said, of 
Bramante, and was finished by Pietro 
Novelli, called II Monrealese, the chief 
of Sicilian painters, and an excellent 
architect. Its piers are not united by 
an arch. Two columns of Roman 
Doric adorn the sea-front of each pier, 
having a hermes of white marble 
between them—on one side represent¬ 
ing Pan, on the other Pomona : below 
each is a fountain. On the entablature 
of each pier is the crowned eagle of 
Sicily, in white marble, bearing the 
royal shield on its body; and on the 
pilasters are the arms of the Colonna 
family, and of Palermo. At the outer 
extremities of the balustrade which 
crowns the entablature are statues of 
Sta. Cristina and Sta. Ninfa, virgin- 
martyrs and tutelars of Palermo. The 
gate rises to the height of 77 Eng. ft. 
and is 45 wide, the gateway measuring 
27 ft. The ceilings of the [chambers 
within the piers were frescoed by 
Novelli, but no traces of such adorn¬ 
ment now exist. 

Porta de' Greci. —A small plain gate 
in the city wall, so called from a 
colony of Greeks formerly inhabiting 
the neighbouring quarter. The scroll 
foliage on the pilasters and frieze in¬ 
side the gate marks it as of the period 
of the Renaissance. Above it is the 
modern palace of the Marcliese For- 
cella. Near this spot formerly stood 
a very ancient gate called Porta della 
Vittoria, which tradition marked as 
that through which Count Roger, the 
Norman, entered the city on his con¬ 
quest of it in 1072. 

Porta Nuova. —The most imposing 
gateway in Palermo, a lofty but heavy 
portal,, constructed in 1584 by the 
Viceroy Mareantonio Colonna, who 
gave it its now obsolete alias of Porta 
Austriaca, in honour of Charles V., 
who had entered Palermo on this side 
on his triumphant return from his 
African expedition. In 1668, having 
been nearly destroyed by an explosion 
of gunpowder in the barracks hard by, 
occasioned by a flash of lightning, it 
was rebuilt by Gaspare Guerci , archi¬ 
tect to the senate. Its present ap¬ 
pellation dates from that period. It 


subsequently suffered from the earth¬ 
quakes of 1693 and 1823. It was re¬ 
stored on the original plan, the lower 
part of which claims to have been de¬ 
signed by Michael Angelo, while the 
upper part, which is little in accord¬ 
ance with the grand though bizarre 
style beneath it, is said to be after the 
designs of Pietro Novelli. It is certain 
that that painter adorned the original 
gate with frescoes of the Virgin sur¬ 
rounded by saints and angels, traces of 
which were extant prior to the restora¬ 
tion of the gate in 1825. On the city 
side the arch is flanked by Corinthian 
pilasters, and its frieze is enriched 
with scroll ornament of coarse work¬ 
manship. The effect would be better 
were the parts in higher relief. In 
the attic above are 4 marble busts in 
medallions, and over all is a pavilion 
with open arches supported on slender 
Ionic columns, on which rests a heavy 
pyramidal roof. The height of the 
entire structure is 160 ft. The outer 
face of the gate presents another aspect, 
being massive and grand, with rusti¬ 
cated masonry, and 4 huge hermse of 
turbaned Saracens as Telamones up¬ 
holding the entablature. On the key¬ 
stone of the arch is a head of still 
bolder character. There is an air of 
hizarrerie about the whole, increased 
by the voussoirs and rustications being 
carved in imitation of cactus-leaves 
and various fruits. 

The Porta di Castro, which is im¬ 
mediately under the Royal Palace to 
the S., receives its name from the 
Viceroy Francesco Count of Castro, 
who erected it in 1620. It is con¬ 
structed of rusticated masonry, flanked 
with Corinthian pilasters, and has more 
architectural pretensions than most of 
its fellows. The district of the city on 
which it opens was anciently called 
Kemonia. 

The Porta Montalto has an arch of 
rusticated masonry. It owes its origin 
and name to “ D. Luis Moncada, Duke 
of Montalto and Alcala, the incom¬ 
parable Viceroy of Sicily in 1638.” 

Porta Saida Agata, the most ancient 
gate in the city, retaining its pointed 
arch. 





PALERMO—STREETS. 


17 


Porta di Termini, or di Garibaldi .—• 
This gate is memorable as that by 
which Garibaldi attacked and entered 
Palermo by a coup de main on the 
27tli May, 1860. While the Neapo¬ 
litans believed him in utter rout, fly- [ 
ing before their troops into the inte¬ 
rior of the island, he had made a 
flank-march from Piana de’ Greci to 
Misilmeri, and descended by the pass ! 
of Mezzagna upon the city. He 
had intended to make his attack by 
night, and to approach by the high¬ 
road, but he was unfortunately per¬ 
suaded by the Sicilian chiefs to alter 
his plans, and, owing to the ruggedness 
of the mountain-paths, it was daylight 
before he reached the walls. He thus 
failed to take the royal troops entirely 
by surprise, for they had advanced to 
the Ponte dell’ Ammiraglio to meet him. ! 
But he drove them in, and “ in spite 
of the cross-fire from the gate of St. 
Antonio, and the troops on the Marina, 
the wide road was passed and the gate j 
and barricade at the Porta di Termini 
carried. But it was only by a copious 
application of flats of swords, and 
every species of threat, that the Squadri 
could be induced to follow. A young 
Genoese of the carbineers, to encourage 
these wayward warriors, coolly took a 
chair and sat himself down in the 
centre of the street, under the cross-fire, 
and it had the desired effect; for when 
the Picciotti saw that every shot did 
not kill, they ran the gauntlet, and 
even assisted in throwing up a barri¬ 
cade. The loss was wonderfully small 
considering the cross-fire. As the 
Garibaldians advanced, the Squadri 
plucked up and followed, and the 
Palermitans began to move wherever 
the royal troops were driven back. At 
3 o’clock the Castello and men-of-war 
commenced bombarding the lower 
portions of the town, which were 
rapidly passing into the hands of 
Garibaldi. At 5 he had almost undis¬ 
puted possession of the lower half of 
the town, but the fire of the shipping 
and fort was not without great effect. 
Fires burst out in every direction. No 
spot was safe from their shells, and the 
wretched inhabitants began almost to 
repent the advent of their liberator. I 


Before night Garibaldi had possession 
of the entire town with the exception 
of the royal palace and its environs and 
the line of communication between it 
and the Mole.”— Captain Forbes, B.N. 


Streets. 

In the general arrangement of its 
streets Palermo is one of the most- 
irregular cities in Europe, retaining, 
like the old towns in the south of 
Spain, the Saracenic features of narrow, 
tortuous, labyrinthine alleys. But it 
has this peculiarity, that it is traversed 
at right angles by two long straight 
streets which intersect each other in 
the heart of the city, and divide it into 
four nearly equal parts, called rioni. 
Thus, in spite of the perplexing intri¬ 
cacy of its smaller streets and alleys, 
it is hardly possible for a stranger to 
be long at fault, as he cannot cross 
from one rione to another without 
being aware of it. The street which 
runs from the Marina backward 
through the city, from the Porta Fe¬ 
lice to the P. Nuova, is the Via Toledo, 
though that name is more properly 
confined to the upper half; the lower 
being known as the Cassaro, from the 
Cassr, the “ Castle,” or ancient city, 
which in Arab times it traversed. The 
Normans called it the “Via Mar- 
morea,” from its marble pavement. It 
derives its modern title of Toledo from 
Don Garcia de Toledo, viceroy of Sicily, 
who in 1565 had it widened and conti¬ 
nued from the ch. of S. Antonio, where 
it originally ended, to that of Porto 
Salvo. In 1581 it was carried down 
as far as the Marina by the Viceroy 
Marcantonio Colonna, who raised the 
Porta Felice as its termination in this 
direction, and the Porta Nuova at the 
opposite extremity. The lower por¬ 
tion towards the sea is known by the 
name of Cassaro Morlo, which, from 
the comparative paucity of shops and 
absence of activity and bustle, is not 
an inappropriate appellation. Since 
the annexation of Sicily to the kingdom 
of Italy, the entire street has received 
the name of Corso Vittorio Emanuele. 
It is more than a mile in length, 










18 


PALERMO-STREETS. 


but only 12 yards wide. It is longer 
and more regular than the Corso of 
Home; but cannot compete with its 
namesake of Naples in length, or with 
either in architectural beauty. Yet 
it is a noble street. As you stand at 
the Porto Felice, and 'look up to the 
Porta Nuova, through a long vista of 
palaces, churches, public buildings, and 
lofty, regular houses, it is impossible 
to withhold admiration from the To¬ 
ledo. The street which crosses it has 
also two names, the half to the S.E. 
being called Strada Nuova, that to the 
N.W. the Via Macqueda, though each 
name is often applied indifferently to 
the whole. This street is about a 
mile long and 14 yards wide. It de¬ 
rives its name of Macqueda from the 
Viceroy D. Bernadino de Cardines, 
Duke of Macheda, who commenced it 
in 1600, and made it cross the To¬ 
ledo at right angles, in order to place 
the entire city under the perpetual 
protection of the symbol of the Chris¬ 
tian faith. Like the Toledo, it is well 
paved and flanked with footpaths; it 
contains even more churches and pa¬ 
laces, but fewer shops, and less com¬ 
mercial activity. 

These two streets are the grand 
highways of traffic and pleasure in 
Palermo. The palaces and buildings 
are lofty and imposing, more remark¬ 
able for strength than beauty, and par¬ 
taking much of the heavy style of the 
middle ages. The gateways are flanked 
with columns, and surmounted by 
coats-of-arms; the rest of the ground- 
floor is let out into shops and cafes, 
with large open-arched fronts; and 
above is tier above tier of balconies 
of massive stone, grotesquely carved, 
or of less ponderous iron-work, filled 
with flowers, or shaded by striped 
blinds, which add colour and richness 
to the scene. “ The most remarkable 
feature of the city consists of the ranges 
of heavy overhanging galleries, en¬ 
closed with lattice-work, which occupy 
the topmost story, belonging to the 
numerous nunneries with which Pa¬ 
lermo abounds, constituting, at least to 
a Protestant, a very gloomy feature in 
its social as well as architectural con¬ 
dition.” 


Of the by-streets few are other than 
alleys—narrow, gloomy, and tortuous, 
! a tangled and bewildering maze, re¬ 
minding you that Palermo was a city 
of the Saracens. 

The shops are quite oriental in 
character, and, like those in the old 
Moorish towns of Spain, are very 
small and rarely glazed; though the 
figure of some beast, bird, or reptile 
in relief, and coloured to the life, in 
the head of each archway is no Mo¬ 
hammedan feature. “ Palermo, with a 
better finish, might be esteemed an 
elegant city ; but it presents an in¬ 
congruous mixture of pomp and po¬ 
verty, of fascinating gaiety and dis¬ 
gusting wretchedness, exemplified in 
noble ranges of palaces, disgraced at 
their bases by the stalls, shops, and 
‘ mezzanini,’ or lofts, of the lower 
orders; in gaudy equipages parading 
the same street with sturdy mendicants 
vociferously demanding food, or slug¬ 
gishly taking their siestas on the pave¬ 
ment, ridding each other of vermin 
between their naps. The vacant holes 
of scaffolding everywhere visible seem 
to indicate unfinished labours; the 
mixed architecture, and heavy cor¬ 
belled balconies, ever displaying wet 
linen, and the opera playbills pasted 
on boards suspended across streets 
already too narrow for the height 
of the buildings, ruin the perspective 
effect. Swarms of priests, nobles, 
officers, and other loungers, yawning 
on chairs before the coffee-houses, and 
the cobblers, tailors, coopers, carpen¬ 
ters, and artisans of every description 
at their respective employments out¬ 
side their shop-doors, complete the 
usurpation of the sides of the streets, 
driving foot-passengers to run the 
gauntlet among the numerous car¬ 
riages. The constant calling out this 
occasions on the part of the coachmen, 
who seek to distinguish every person 
by an appropriate appellation, added to 
the hurry of business, and the thirsty 
groups around the fantastically deco¬ 
rated iced-water stalls, conspire to 
confuse the whole scene.”— Admiral 
Smyth. 

The streets of Palermo are “ full of 
mendicants, whose appeals for charity 




PALERMO—POPULATION—RIONI. 


19 


are vociferous and unceasing, and the 
bustle caused by the antagonism of 
real business and determined laziness 
and lounging, though amusing at first, 
becomes wearisome when curiosity is 
once satisfied.”— Marquis of Ormonde. 

Another peculiar characteristic of 
Palermo is the number of giarre, or 
reservoirs of water, generally at the 
corners of the streets—tall square piers 
formed of an accumulation of earthen¬ 
ware pipes, with a reservoir at the 
top, by which the water of the nume¬ 
rous aqueducts is distributed through¬ 
out the city. Such is the admirable 
system of aqueducts bequeathed to 
Palermo by the Saracens, that every 
house is abundantly supplied with pure 
water, which in most cases is laid on 
even in the topmost story. The system 
of drainage is also most extensive and 
efficient. In spite of its narrow close 
alleys and cul-de-sacs, most unpromis¬ 
ing for cleanliness, Palermo is purity 
itself in comparison with Naples, Mes¬ 
sina, or that foulest sty, Imperial 
Rome. Palermo for the last few years 
has been lighted by gas, which also 
illuminates the Marina. 


Population. 

The population of Palermo in 1847, 
including the suburbs, was 178,355, 
and by the last census of 1st Janu¬ 
ary, 1862, had increased to 187,182. 
Though before the Saracenic conquest 
in 831 it was only 70,000, under that 
people it received its highest develop¬ 
ment, and is believed in the 10th cen¬ 
tury to have amounted to nearly 
300,000 souls. From that time it ap¬ 
pears to have gradually diminished, 
till at the commencement of the last 
century it barely exceeded 100,000. 
Since then it has been on the increase, 
but seems never to have passed its 
present limit. In 1837 it was greatly 
reduced by the ravages of the cholera, 
which raised the number of deaths 
from 4492 in 1836, to 27,604. At 
the commencement of that year the 
population, including the garrison, was 
176,752, of whom 87,723 were males 


and 89,029 females. The births were 
5568, and bore to the deaths the pro¬ 
portion of 1 to 5, and the deaths 
amounted to nearly one-sixth of the 
entire population. In the following- 
year the population was only 154,716; 
the marriages numbered 1846; the 
births were 5899, of which 5110 were 
legitimate and 789 illegitimate, or in 
the ratio of 13 to 2. The deaths in 
the same year were 4585 against 
27,604 in 1837, being 1 in 34 of the 
whole population. It was ascertained 
that, of the adult population of 1838, 
74 were high civil functionaries, 2042 
members of the legal profession, 9700 
employes, 6993 students and scholars,. 
25,711 labourers and artisans, 32,820 
proprietors and people in business, 
20,715 domestics, 3215 ecclesiastics 
male, 1972 ecclesiastics female, and 
5492 paupers. 


Rioni. 

The 4 rioni , or quarters, into which 
the city is divided, are of nearly equal 
size. They are called the Kalsa 
(Khalisa), the Loqgia, the Alber- 
garia, and the Capo, or Siralcadi; 
3 of which names have an Arabic 
origin. These rioni, or sections, are also 
known by the names of the 4 Virgin- 
Martyrs of Palermo, under whose 
protection they are supposed seve¬ 
rally to be placed. Thus the Kalsa is 
also the Sezione di Sta. A gala ; the 
Loggia, that of Sta. Oliva ; the Alber- 
garia, that of Sta. Cristina; and the 
Capo, that of Sta. Ninfa. Each rione 
has its crest or device. The first has 
a rose; the second the Austrian eagle ; 
a green snake on a golden field sym- 
j bolises the third; and a Hercules tear¬ 
ing open the jaws of a lion, the fourth. 
To facilitate the proceedings of the 
; siglit-seer, we will preface our descrip- 
‘ tion of the viclenda of Palermo by a 
| classification of them under their se¬ 
veral rioni, in order that he may see at 
a glance in which quarter ot the city 
any object is to be found. To begin 
with that section in which the hotels 
lie. The Rione Kalsa, or of Santa 
Agata, contains— 




PALERMO—LA MARINA. 


20 


The Marina, or Foro Borbonico; Pub- 
blico Parterre. 

Squares. —Piazza Marina; cli S. Fran¬ 
cesco; della Fiera Vecchia; di Santa 
Anna; Yalguarnera; Pretoria. 

Churches. —Chiesa di S. Anna; Ora¬ 
torio di S. Antonio di Padova; S. 
Carlo; S. Cataldo ; Santa Caterina; 
I Crociferi; S. Francesco d'Assisi; La 
Gancia ; S. Lorenzo ; La Magione; La 
Martorana; Monte Santo; S. Nicolo 
Tolentino; La Pieta; Confraternity 
degli Pollajuoli; Le Repentite; Lo 
Spasimo; Santa Teresa. 

Public Buildings. —Palazzo de’ Tri- 
bunali; Edificio del Lotto ; Regia 
Zecca; Palazzo Senatorio. 

Palaces.— Palazzo Butera; Campo- 
franco; Cattolica; Forcella; Moncada 
or Patemo; Patella ; Poero; Serradi- 
falco; Tasca. 

Theatres. —Teatro Bellini; di Santa 
Cecilia; del Principe Umberto; di San¬ 
ta Anna; di Garibaldi; dell’ Oreto. 

Rione della Loggia, or Sezione di 
Santa Oliva. 

Squares. —Piazza di S. Sebastiano; 
di S. Giacomo la Marina; di S. Do¬ 
menico ; di S. Giorgio; dell’ Olivella; 
della Fontanella; della Bucceria; della 
Carraffa. 

Churches. —S. Antonio; La Catena; 
I Dispersi; S. Domenico; S. Eulalia 
de’ Catalani; S. Giacomo la Marina; 
S. Giorgio; S. Maria la Nuova; S. 
Matteo ; L’Olivella and its Oratorio; S. 
Pietro Martire; Porto Salvo; Rosario 
di S. Domenico; S. Sebastiano; Yal- 
verde; LeVergini; S. Zita. 

Public Buildings. — Reali Finalize; 
Conservatorio del Santo Spirito; Spe- 
dale Militare; Castellamarc. 

Palaces. —Palazzo Ingham; Pietra- 
tagliata; Trabia. 

Rione del Capo, or Sezione di Santa 
Ninfa. 

Squares. —Piazza del Duomo. 
Churches. — Sant’ Agostino ; Badia 
Nuova; La Cattedrale; La Concezione; 
I Gesuiti; S. Maria del Cancelliere; 
S. Maria di Gisino; Sta. Maria In- 
eoronata; Monte Vergini; Spedale de’ 
Sacerdoti; Santo Yito. 


Public Buildings— Monte di Pieta; 
Collegio Massimo, or the Liceo. 

Palaces. — Palazzo Arcivescovale ; 
Geraci; Riso. 

Rione dell’ Albergaria, or Sezione di 
Santa Cristina. 

Squares. — Piazza Reale ; Bologni; 
Ballaro. 

Churches.— Chiesa di S. Benedetto; 
II Carmine; Santa Chiara; S. Giovanni 
di Dio; S. Giovanni degli Eremiti ; 
S. Giovanni l’Oroglione ; S. Giuseppe 
de’ Teatini; S. Michel Arcangelo; S. 
Nicolo 1’Albergaria; Sant’ Orsola; Cap- 
pella Palatina; Casa Professa; La 
Providenza; S. Salvatore; La Trinita. 

Public Buildings. —L’Universita; Li- 
breria del Conmne ; Spedale Grande. 

Palaces. —Palazzo del Conte Fede- 
rigo; Raffadali; Reale; Favara; Villa- 
franca. 

In the following descriptions the ini¬ 
tial—A, C, K, or L—attached to a 
building indicates the Rione in which 
it is situated. 


Foro Borbonico or Marina. 

This beautiful promenade, which is 
to Palermo what the Chiaja is to 
Naples, extends along the shore be¬ 
neath the city-walls, from the mouth 
of the Gala, or little harbour, eastward 
to the Casina di Cuto, a distance of 
610 paces. It has a broad carriage- 
drive, flanked on one side by a flagged 
footpath overhanging the sea, and 
having a continuous line of seats, and 
on the other by a double line of trees. 
Coralline (Erythrina corallodendroii) 
and Judas-trees {Cereis siliquastrum ), 
whose rich scarlet and purple bloom 
in spring enhances the beauty of the 
scene. About the middle of the drive 
is a gay loggia, or pavilion, supported 
on Ionic columns of grey marble, for 
the use ol the military bands on fes¬ 
tive occasions; and at intervals, till 
overthrown in the late revolution, stood 
colossal statues in white marble of 
Charles III., Ferdinand I., Francis I., 
and Ferdinand II., whose respective 






PALERMO—PIA2ZE. 


virtues were recorded in long inscrip¬ 
tions on their pedestals. But the 
most striking feature of the Marina 
is the range of palaces which over¬ 
hang it; the Palazzo Butera, “ half 
the length of a street,” part of which 
is the Hotel Trinacria; the Palazzo 
Aceto or Lampedusa, lately occupied by 
the British and French Consuls; the 
Palazzo del Duca d’Angio, formerly 
the residence of Lord William Ben- 
tinck; and the Palazzo Forcella, in 
a hybrid style of Classic and Gothic, 
on the city-walls above the Porta de’ 
Greci. 

The Marina lias been truly styled 
“ the most beautiful feature of Palermo; 
and without a parallel in Europe.” To 
be thoroughly enjoyed, it must be 
visited in summer. At that season 
“ in the morning and noon the Marina 
is almost deserted, a few fishermen or 
straggling pedestrians being its only 
occupants. It is not until the cool 
of the evening that all the genteeler 
portion of the Palermitans pour out 
of the gate, and begin to throng the 
footway of the Marina, while a long 
line of handsome equipages, issuing 
from every part of the city, completely 
occupies the road. But it is on moon¬ 
light nights that one should repair 
thither to enjoy southern life in per¬ 
fection. A musical band executes a 
variety of operatic pieces; ices and 
refreshments are provided for those 
who can indulge in such luxuries ; the 
bay is silvered over; the mountains 
stand around in shade like giant sen¬ 
tinels ; freshness breathes from the 
water; perfume is in the air; every¬ 
thing around is steeped in beauty; and 
the heart and senses open to the ten- 
derest and most contagious emotions. 
Hour after hour is thus passed away, 
the spot is abandoned with regret, and 
it is often midnight before the throng 
reluctantly separates, and the Marina 
is deserted till the following evening.” 
— Bartlett. 

In front of the Palaces Butera and 
Aceto, and raised high above the Ma¬ 
rina, is the terrace called Pubblico 
Parterre, laid out in 1823 as a pro¬ 
menade, furnished with marble seats 
and adorned with shrubs and flowers. 


21 

In the olden time it was known by 
the ugly appellation of Strada dellc 
Cattive; in 1687 it was decorated 
with statues of the monarchs of Sicily, 
but not one of them keeps his 
pedestal at this day. This terrace 
commands a view of the blue bay of 
Palermo, with its sunny shores, ma¬ 
jestic mountains, and cliff-bound head¬ 
lands—one of the most glorious scenes 
in Europe. 


Piazze oe Squares. 

In the very centre of the city, at 
the point of intersection of the Toledo 
and Macqueda, is the square called the 

Piazza Vigliena, or I Quattro Can- 
toni. It is an octagon of 112 yds. in 
circumference, with each of the four 
facades, which separate the intersect¬ 
ing streets, rising to the height of 
100 ft., and of symmetrical architec¬ 
ture and adornments. It received its 
first name from the Marquis de Villena, 
Viceroy of Sicily, who commenced its 
construction in 1609, though it was 
not completed till 1620, under the 
viceroyalty of the Count of Castro. 
Giidio Lasso, a Homan military en¬ 
gineer, was the architect. Its pro¬ 
gress and completion are recorded on 
tablets, one of which bears these hexa¬ 
meters :— 

“ Urbe decus media magnum Villena platea 

Nomine quae tanto late decorata superbit. 

Facta corona suis octonis partibus, en ut 

Quadrifidasque vias, portasque, urbemque 
coronat! ” 

Each facade has 3 orders, Homan 
Doric, Ionic, and Composite. In the 
lowest, against each facade, stands a 
female statue of white marble, repre¬ 
senting one of the Seasons, with a 
tablet over her head, and a fountain 
at her feet. In the second story on each 
side is a niche, containing a semi- 
colossal statue of one of the Spanish 
monarchs of Sicily from Charles V. to 
Philip IV. They are now of marble, 
but were originally intended to be of 
bronze, and in 1630 those of the two 



22 


PALERMO—PIAZZE. 


sovereign s just mentioned were finished, i 
and tlie latter even raised, when the 
Senate of Palermo changed its mind ! 
and replaced them by statues of mar¬ 
ble, setting up the bronze one of the 
Emperor in tlie Piazza Bologni, where 
it still stands, and that of his great- 
grandson in the Piazza Reale, where 
it remained till destroyed in 1848. 
The third story contains statues of 
the 4 Virgin-Martyrs of Palermo, each 
against that quarter of the city which 
is under her special protection, and 
over them hover angels in the act of 
bestowing the crowns which they have 
won with their blood. Above all, in 
the attic, is the royal eagle of Sicily, 
wearing a huge crown about his neck, 
and supporting a shield with the arms 
of the king in whose, reign that par¬ 
ticular facade was erected, flanked by 
the arms of the city and those of the 
Viceroy who governed Sicily at the 
period. 

The figures of Spring and Summer 
are by Gregorio Tecleschi of Florence ; 
the latter, garlanded with wlieatears, 
and holding a bunch of pomegranates, 
treads down the dragon of Want. Au¬ 
tumn, with a basket of fruit in her hand, 
and a dragon at her feet, is the work of 
Nunzio La Matina, by whose hand 
also is the figure of Winter, a shrivelled 
old woman, whose neck is a bundle of 
cords. There is nothing simple, ma¬ 
jestic, or graceful about these statues. 
Those of the Virgin-Martyrs on the 
third story are still worse—heavy and 
clumsy. The effigies of the sovereigns 
are much better. Charles V. is in 
ancient Roman costume ; his descend¬ 
ants in the Spanish of their day, which, 
with stiff frill, stiffer breastplate, and 
short trunk hose, was not well adapted 
to sculpture. From this piazza fine 
street-views may be obtained, each 
vista being terminated by one of the 
principal gates, above 3 of which tower 
the cliffs or crests of the neighbouring 
mountains. Here is the grand resort 
of servants out of place, ciceroni, vettu- 
rini, guides, and letter-writers. The 
walls are covered with playbills or go¬ 
vernment notices, and the ground is 
strewn with secondhand books and 
prints. 


Largo Santo Spirito (k), just within 
the Porta Felice, has recently been 
improved by the introduction of a 
fountain with a large basin, from which 
rises a sea-horse, with two putti. 

The Piazza Marina (k) is a large 
square of irregular form, 224 yds. long 
by 177 in width, surrounded by public 
buildings, palaces, and the houses of 
merchants and bankers. On the E. rise 
the Palazzo de’ Tribunali, a venerable 
pile of Siculo-Gothic architecture ; the 
Royal Mint, later by four centuries; 
and the Hotel de France between 
them. On the N., across the Via 
Toledo, the picturesque church of La 
Catena, with its Gothic portico, em¬ 
browned with weather-tints, attracts 
the eye; and on the N.W. rises the 
broad and lofty facade of the Reali 
Finalize, whose snowy hue betrays its 
recent construction, while the rugged 
crests of Monte Pellegrino, Monte 
Cuccio, and the other lofty mountains 
that hem in Palermo, are seen tower¬ 
ing above the roofs on three sides of 
the piazza. This is the Campo Vac- 
cino of Palermo, where many yoke of 
the grand long-liornecl cattle of Sicily, 
reposing by their rude cars, offer pic¬ 
turesque studies to the artist. Here 
of old were held jousts and tourna¬ 
ments ; but the only ring now to be 
seen here is the circus of equestrian 
companies, when such visit Palermo. 

Piazza della Fiera Vecekia (k).— In 
this small square there stood till very 
recently a fountain called Fontana d’ 
Ercole, but this Hercules was no other 
than the Genius of Palermo, in white 
marble, represented as a bearded king 
with a snake biting his bosom. The 
water fell from the mouth of another 
snake at his feet. The fountain is 
gone, but the figure remains, seated on 
a mass of rock. 

The Piazza Pretoria (k), though 
very small, is, on account of its elabo¬ 
rate fountain, one of the most striking 
squares in Palermo. On the E. rises 
the domed church of Sta. Caterina ; 
the S. side is occupied by the large 
Palazzo Senatorio; the N. by the 




PALERMO—PIAZZE. 


23 


palace of tlie Duke of Serradifalco, 
distinguished by its classic style, and 
the gaudier facade of the Palazzo Bor- 
donaro; while the W., which is open 
to the Strada Nuova, is hacked by the 
large domed church of S. Giuseppe de’ 
Teatini. The fountain is far too large 
for so small a piazza, which it almost 
fills, measuring 433 ft. in circumfer¬ 
ence, and rising to the height of 42 ft. 
It was made about 1554 by the Flo¬ 
rentine sculptors Francesco Camilliani 
and Angelo Vagherino for the brother 
of D. Garcia cli Toledo, Viceroy of 
Sicily, by whom it was sold in 1574 to 
the Senate of Palermo for 20,000 dol¬ 
lars. It is circular, and adorned with 
a crowd of statues of white marble, 
“ whose only fault,” says Mr. Knight, 
“is that they are of too exquisite 
workmanship to remain in the public 
streets. They look more adapted for 
what they were meant for, the orna¬ 
ment of the gardens of a princely 
villa.” Three steps from the pave¬ 
ment is a marble balustrade, with an 
opening facing each side of the piazza, 
flanked by a pair of colossal hernue. 
A flight of steps leads from each open¬ 
ing to the upper floor of the fountain, 
on which rests the great basin, and 
both at the top and bottom of each 
flight is a pair of statues, the size of 
life, representing gods and goddesses, 
heroes or nymphs. One of the Gagini, 
who superintended the setting up of 
the fountain when it reached Palermo, 
carved the Venus with his own hand 
to supply the place of a statue that 
was wanting. Between the balus¬ 
trade and the upper floor are 4 reser¬ 
voirs, each having in its inner wall 6 
niches, from which project as many 
water-spouts in the shape of colossal 
heads of animals of known and un¬ 
known descriptions. 

On the outer edge of each reservoir, 
between a merman and mermaid, re¬ 
clines a colossal figure on a rock, three 
representing the rivers of Palermo, the 
Oreto, the Papireto, and the Favara: 
the fourth a Muse with Pandean pipes 
and a Pegasus. The lowest basin is 
very large. Two winged harpies sup¬ 
port the second and smaller basin, on 
whose rim are 4 geese. Above this rises 


a strange sort of pillar sustained by 4 
sea-horses, and composed of a group of 
three boys with jars on their shoul¬ 
ders, and dolphins inverted at their feet. 
On this rests the third basin. Another 
group of 4 merboys supports the fourth 
and highest basin, in which stands a 
boy of larger size, with a cornucopia 
in his hand, and a shell at his feet. 
The water gushes from 37 statues, 
from 20 urns, and from the mouths of 
24 animals or monsters. For the vast- 
j ness of its dimensions, the multitude 
of its figures, and the complexity of its 
waterworks, this fountain is perhaps 
without a rival in Europe, though as 
respects the style of art it exhibits it 
may easily be surpassed. The entire 
expense attending the purchase and 
setting-up of this fountain amounted 
to 27,277 ounces, or nearly 14,000/., a 
vast sum for that day. 

Piazza cli S. Domenico (l).—T his 
small square is bounded on the E. by 
the large church and convent from 
which it takes its name, and on the N. 
by the ruins of a building which was 
once a Prefecture of Police, but in 1848 
was destroyed by the mob in their 
exasperation at discovering proofs of 
fearful atrocities perpetrated within its 
walls. In the centre a lofty Composite 
column of white marble, supporting a 
bronze figure of the Virgin, after a model 
by Serpotta, rises to the height of nearly 
100 ft. It was erected in 1728 by the 
Emperor Charles VI. in honour of the 
Immaculate Virgin; was restored by 
Charles III. in 1750, and again by Fer¬ 
dinand I. in 1804. At the base of the 
column are shields inscribed with por¬ 
tions of the Virgin’s song; and on 
pedestals around it are figures of the 
4 archangels. 

Piazza della Bucceria (l), called 
also the Mercato Vecchio, a name it we ll 
deserves, since a market was held here 
even in the days of the Saracens. Its 
more common appellation dates from 
the days of the Angevin dynasty, when 
it was the Boucherie or shambles of 
Palermo. It is still the chief market 
for meat, poultry, game, and fish ; and 
at the corners of the shed under which 







24 


PALERMO—PI AZZE. 


these are exposed, a meal may be 
improvised, and the red-capped, bare¬ 
armed Soyer dips his choice morsels 
into a pan of batter, drops them into 
a caldron of boiling oil, and ladles 
them out to his customers fried to a 
shade. 

Piazza della FontaneUa, or Mercato 
Nuovo (l), also a market of provisions, 
was constructed in 1820 on the ruins 
of the old Conciaria, or Tan-yard. A 
fountain in the centre throws up its 
waters from the figure of a boy riding 
on a sea-horse, and from a couple of 
dolphins. 

Piazza de Bologni (a). —A hand¬ 
some square in the Toledo, bounded 
on the N. by the Palace of the Barone 
di Riso, on the S. by that of the Mar- 
chese Favara, and on the W. by the 
Palazzo Villafranca. It receives its 
name from Luigi Bologna, Baron of 
Campofranco, who laid it out in 1575. 
In this square stands a bronze statue 
of Charles V., originally intended for 
the Quattro Cantoni. He is repre¬ 
sented in the costume of a Roman 
warrior, crowned with laurel, and 
stretching forth his right hand in the 
act of swearing to preserve the privi¬ 
leges of the city, which oath he took 
on his visit to Palermo in 1535, after 
his victorious expedition to Tunis. 
This statue was erected by Scipione 
Livolsi da Susa, a Sicilian sculptor, in 
1630,. on the design of Mariano Smi- 
riglio, a famous architect of Palermo. 
Few will accord to it the admira¬ 
tion with which it was viewed by 
Gaily Knight. The Protestant travel¬ 
ler will remark on the pedestal the 
embodiment of the “ Lutheran heresy,” 
which the Emperor is stated to have 
extinguished, in a seven-headed hydra, 
with spotted wings. 

Piazza Beale (a), now called P. 
della Vittoria. — This, one of the 
largest open spaces in the city, is 
bounded on the W. by the Royal Pa¬ 
lace, on the N. by the Clerical Semi¬ 
nary and the Segretaria di Stato or 
Public Offices, and on the other sides 
by churches, convents, and barracks. 


On the S., in front of the palace, stands 
a marble statue of Philip IV., in the 
costume of his day. Four slaves, with 
hands bound, are kneeling around him, 
symbolizing that the four quarters of 
the globe were subject to his sceptre. 
On the sides of the square pedestal 
which supports these figures, the four 
quarters are again represented in relief 
as women with appropriate emblems. 
Around this pedestal is an octagonal 
space, enclosed by a marble balustrade 
with 4 openings, each flanked by 2 
statues, representing the kingdoms 
which formerly owned the sway of 
Spain. The old Iberian boast is here 
inscribed,—“ Uni regi Pliiiippo IV. 
non dividitur mundus quatuor sibi 
divisus in partibus, nusquam sol evigi- 
lat quin Hispanias videt regnatriees.” 
The statue of Philip which originally 
stood here was of bronze, executed in 
1661 by Scipione Livolsi da Susa, 
after the design of Smiriglio; but, 
being destroyed in 1848, it has been 
replaced by another in marble by 
Nunzio Morello, a living sculptor of 
Palermo. The reliefs were executed in 
1854 by Valerio ViUareale, when in his 
81st year. 

The Piazza del Duomo (c) is one of 
the pleasantest squares in Palermo. It 
is bounded on the N. by the Cathedral, 
on the W. by tire Archbishop’s Palace, 
on the E. by the nunnery of S. Fran¬ 
cesco di Paola, and on the S. by the pa¬ 
laces of the Toledo ; and is enclosed by 
a marble balustrade, set up in 1753 by 
the Duke of Montalba. At intervals 
on this balustrade are statues of certain 
saints, martyrs, and prelates of Pa¬ 
lermo, in white marble, erected at dif¬ 
ferent periods. On the W. side stand 
statues of S. Gregory and S. Augustin, 
by Giovanni Travaglia, and of St. 
Jerome and St. Ambrose, by Antonio 
Anello, both sculptors of Palermo, 
which were all erected in 1673 by 
Giovanni Lozano, then Archbishop of 
the city. On the side facing the 
Toledo, at one corner, is Pope Agathou, 
and at the other Sfc. Sergius, also a 
Pope, and both Benedictines and na¬ 
tives of Palermo. Between them stand 
in pairs Santa Cristina and Santa 



PALERMO—CHURCHES-CATHEDRAL. 


25 


Sylvia (the mother of Gregory the 
Great), Santa Agata and Santa Ro¬ 
salia, Santa Ninfa and Santa Oliva, 
erected by Archbishop Martinus in 
1655 and 1656. Santa Rosalia and 
Santa Ninfa were carved by Gaspare 
Guqrci; the rest bear no inscription. 
The patron saint is easily recognised 
by her wreath of roses. The best of 
these statues is that of Sta. Agata, 
a simple and graceful figure, holding 
a pen in one hand, and a dish contain¬ 
ing her breasts in the other. On the 
E. side, or that facing the sea, are 
statues of St. Mamilianus, Archbishop, 
and of St. Eustotius, St. Proculo, 
and St. Golbodeus, martyrs of Palermo 
—the 1st and 4th by Travaglia, the 
others by Antonio AneUo, and all 
erected by Archbishop Lozano in 
1673. In the centre of the Piazza, 
on a triangular pedestal, is another 
statue of Sta. Rosalia, trampling on a 
venerable female demon, representing 
the Plague, from which the saint is 
believed to have saved the city in 
1624. This statue was raised in 1744, 
on the site of a fountain which pre¬ 
viously occupied the spot. 


Churches. 

Palermo contains no less than 194 
places for religious worship, of which 
11 are parish chs., 50 others are dedi¬ 
cated to various saints, 31 are attached 
to monasteries, 24 to nunneries, 14 to 
“ conservatories ” of young girls, 37 to 
companies, 23 to confraternities and 
congregations, 2 to colleges, and 2 are 
oratories. 

The Cathedral (11 Duomo ) of Pa¬ 
lermo dates from the 12th century. 
As early as the pontificate of Gregory 
the Great, or about the year 600, a 
ch. was raised on this site, or more 
probably on that of the chapel of Sta. 
Maria lTncoronata, close to it to the 
N.W., which by the Moslems was 
turned into a mosque, called the 
“Mosque of Friday,” but was recon¬ 
verted to Christian worship on the 
Norman conquest in 1072. That an- ! 

[Sicily.'] 


cient ch. was entirely pulled down in 
1169, by Gualterio Offamilio (i.e. 
“ Walter of the Mill ”), the English 
Archbishop of Palermo, to make room 
for a more magnificent edifice, which 
was consecrated in 1185, and dedicated 
to the Virgin, as is recorded in a 
tablet in the S. porch. It is said that 
he built it with a large treasure which 
he had discovered in digging the 
foundations of the ch. of Santo Spi- 
rito, outside the walls. No part of 
the existing cathedral therefore can 
be earlier than 1169; and of Walter’s 
building little remains save the crypt, 
a portion of the S. side, and the E. 
end. The whole of the remainder has 
been rebuilt at different times. 

The architectural features which 
betray the original part are the 
pointed windows in the S. transept- 
aisle, which are surrounded with the 
billet moulding peculiar to the Sara¬ 
cens, and the grotesque heads, under 
the battlements at the E. end, which 
are no less decidedly of Norman origin. 
Externally the building is in most 
parts of harmonious architecture, and 
presents a fine specimen of the Sici¬ 
lian pointed style ; but it lias been dis¬ 
figured by the imposition of an Italian 
cupola, and other features of that 
character which Ferdinando Fuga, a 
Neapolitan architect, who was intrusted 
with the repairs between 1781 and 
1801, had the vile taste to introduce. 
The plan of the ch. is a Latin cross ; 
its dimensions externally are 346 ft. 
long, 138 wide in the transepts, 112 in 
the nave, and 74 ft. in height from the 
pavement to the roof of the nave. 

The W. front assumed its present 
form in the course of the 14th century, 
for the towers which flank it were 
erected between 1300 and 1355, and 
the grand portal was constructed 
between 1352 and 1359. On the 
balustrade, in front of it, are 4 marble 
statues of St. Peter, St. Paul, St. 
Joseph with the infant Saviour, and S. 
Francesco di Paola—all by Giambat¬ 
tista Itagusa of Palermo, and erected 
by Archbishop Gascli in 1724 and 1725. 
The facade is a rich specimen of Sici¬ 
lian pointed architecture. Most of the 
enrichments, it will be observed, are 

c 



26 


PALERMO—CATHEDRAL. 


of Greek character, such having been 
traditional in Sicilian architecture 
since the Byzantine possession of 
the island ; and these mix strangely 
with the chevron, the billet, and the 
dog-tooth, introduced by the Nor¬ 
mans. There are 3 portals, flanked 
by lofty, slender towers; that in the 
centre is of white marble, scorched to 
a rich yellow-brown by the semi- 
tropical sun of Sicily ; it has 4 orders 
resting on shafts, some twisted or 
chevroned, and all with corrupt Co¬ 
rinthian capitals; the arch is en¬ 
closed by a prominent angular label, 
adorned with acanthus-leaves, and 
running up into a hood containing 
figures of the Virgin and Child; an 
outer, large, and ugly label, resting on 
tall shafts, encloses within its pedi¬ 
ment a beautiful pointed window, 
enriched to its sill with scroll foliage 
in flat relief, cut with all the sharpness 
of the Greek chisel, while dog-tooth 
mouldings betray the Norman ele¬ 
ment. The arch encloses two tre¬ 
foil lights, separated by an octagonal 
shaft, carved with minute foliage. 
The side portals are very curious; 
that to the 1. has voussoirs in relief, 
like overgrown billets, alternating 
with patterns in intaglio; that to the 
rt., in place of these voussoirs, has a 
series of small pointed arches, with 
trefoiled heads, and enriched cusps, 
resting on short columns. The win¬ 
dows above these gates show the 
triple chevron in their mouldings, and 
the acanthus or Greek scroll foliage 
in their labels. The upper part of the 
facade is crossed by a corbel-table of 
intersecting arches, and terminated 
above by a battlement. 

Between the central and each side- 
portal are 2 small niches, containing 
figures of saints, whose relics are pre¬ 
served in this cathedral; to the rt. 
Santa Ninfa, whose head was carried 
in solemn procession in 1593, and S. 
Mamilian, whose head received similar 
honours in 1658; to the 1. Santa Ro¬ 
salia, whose body, “ sparkling with 
a multitude of miracles, was borne in 
triumph through the city in 1625;” 
and Mary Magdalen, whose holy foot 
was presented by Philibert, son of the 


Duke of Savoy, to this cathedral, where 
she had decreed it should be buried, 
which was accordingly done by the 
obedient senate in 1659. 

The towers which flank the portals 
are too slender to impart an air of 
solidity to the fagade, as in Gothic 
cathedrals, and too low and heavy for 
minarets, to which they otherwise bear 
some resemblance. They are singular 
rather than beautiful; they have 6 
stages or stories; the 3 lowest have 
pointed panels or blank windows, 
enriched with diaper-work — a Sara¬ 
cenic feature; while the dog-tooth 
mouldings and intersecting circular 
arches are pure Norman character¬ 
istics. The 3 upper stages are light¬ 
ened by open windows, separated into 
2 or 3 lights by plain or twisted co¬ 
lumns, and the angles of the tower are 
rounded oif, so as to reduce the appa¬ 
rent breadth; these rounded angles 
bristle with prominent nail - heads, 
mixed with the dog-tooth, giving a 
bizarre character to the upper portion 
of the towers. Two towers of very 
similar character rise at the eastern 
angles of the cli., but are hardly in so 
good a state of preservation. Of the 
belfry tower, opposite the W. front, and 
united to it by two flying arches, we 
shall speak in our description of the 
Archbishop’s Palace. 

The nave is decorated externally 
with pointed windows, true and blank 
alternately, covered with diaper-work ; 
above them is a broad band of Greek 
scroll-work in diaper, surmounted by 
a corbelling of grotesque heads and 
a Saracenic battlement. The blue 
and yellow tiled lanterns which light 
the side-aisles, and the ugly statues 
of saints on the parapet in front of 
them, were added by Fuga 60 or 70 
years since, and greatly disturb the 
harmony of the architecture. The 
transept has 2 tiers of sharp lancet 
arches without enrichments, and is of 
more modern date than the nave. 
Much more ancient and beautiful is 
the exterior of the sacristy, which pro¬ 
jects from the transept-aisle, but is only 
half its height; it is adorned with a 
series of pointed arches, enriched with 
scroll foliage and diaper; below it is a 





PALERMO—CATHEDRAL. 


27 


corbelling of small arches, clievroned 
and trefoiled, resting on marble shafts, 
and with a head in each spandril: this 
portion of the ch. has not been dis¬ 
figured by modern restorations. Above 
the sacristy, and slightly recessed 
from the transept, is the transept-aisle, 
whose 3 wide windows, decorated with 
the large Saracenic billet, within the 
chevron, are perhaps the most ancient 
portion of the edifice. The 3 apses 
have been so restored that it is im¬ 
possible from the outside to deter¬ 
mine their antiquity ; they are adorned 
with interlacing arches, enclosing 
blank panels, and enclosed by broad 
horizontal bands of diaper-work, or 
rather imitations of such work, the 
patterns being marked ' with black 
paint on the yellow plaster which 
now coats the wall. The central 
apse has battlements resting on a 
corbelling of grotesque heads; the 
high wall above it shows panels deco¬ 
rated with diaper and surrounded by 
the Saracenic billet. 

The Soldi l Porch, opening on the 
Piazza, is the most highly ornamented 
portion of the exterior. It was erected 
about 1450, by Simon di Bologna, 
Archbishop of Palermo, and, as in all 
the more recent Sicilian buildings in 
the Pointed style, shows considerable 
approximation to Northern Gothic; 
yet even at so late a date the earlier 
elements of Siculo-Norman architec¬ 
ture were not excluded. The porch 
has 3 arches pointed and stilted, with 
much of a Saracenic character about 
them; the central one exceeds the 
others in height and width, and all rest 
on columns of grey marble. Those in 
the centre have capitals of Byzantine 
design, most elaborately carved with 
figures and foliage, and enriched abaci, 
whence springs foliage which appears 
to climb the arches, growing as it 
were in marble. Such, in fact, is the 
character of all the vegetable life here 
represented. The 2 outer columns 
have corrupt Corinthian capitals, and 
probably belonged to the mosque for¬ 
merly on this site, for that to the 1. 
bears a Cupliic inscription from the 
Koran—“ Your Lord created the day, 
which is followed by night; the moon 


and the stars are forced to labour at 
his command. Are not all created 
things his? his the dominion ? Blessed 
be God, the Lord of ages ! ” Each 
arch has a large cable-moulding in its 
soffit; and the spandrils are filled 
with diaper-work in flamboyant pat¬ 
terns, mixed with faces, figures, and 
animals. Above this is a broad archi¬ 
trave of small ogee arches in relief, 
each enclosing the figure of a saint, 
quite Northern in character; such is 
also the flamboyant tracery in the pedi ¬ 
ment, amid which are rude figures of 
a bishop surrounded by angels and 
saints, while the pediment itself has a 
low classic pitch, quite inconsistent 
with the pointed style; and the cor¬ 
nice is enriched with small Byzantine 
figures of animals and monsters alter¬ 
nating with foliage. The gargoyles 
below the pediment again are a purely 
Northern feature. The porch is flanked 
by 2 square towers of 3 small stages, 
decorated by pointed arches. Here are 
Northern mouldings, but the foliated 
capitals of the shafts are cut with the 
delicacy of a Southern chisel; and the 
flat surfaces of the towers are enriched 
with Saracenic diaper-work in beauti¬ 
ful patterns; the colour now gone, and 
the forms only left in intaglio. The 
roof of the porch is groined in 3 bays. 

The exquisitely carved door within 
the porch was inserted in 1426, in the 
reign of Alphonso the Magnanimous, 
Bertino being the prelate, and Antonio 
Gambara the architect, as recorded in 
2 inscriptions in the pediment. The 
doorway is of marble, and has 3 orders, 
the outer resting on clievroned and 
the second on twisted shafts, having 
capitals composed of acanthus-leaves 
and feathers. Nothing can surpass the 
exquisite foliage on the jambs, which 
is mixed with grotesque figures playing 
musical instruments or picking fruit. 
The label is decorated with the em- * 
blems of the evangelists and acanthus- 
leaves below, and above with small 
figures of the apostles, with Christ as 
the keystone. Over all is a pediment 
flanked by pinnacles, and running up 
into a niche which contains a mosaic 
picture of the Virgin and Child on a 
gold ground, in a framework of mosaic. 




PALERMO—CATHEDRAL. 


28 

Beneath the porch is inscribed in 
large letters, 

“ riUJIA SEDES, CORONA REGIS, ET REGNI 
CArirr ”— 

the proud title in which Palermo of 
old was wont to glory, when the early 
kings of Sicily were crowned in this 
cathedral. Below it is a long list 
of kings, from Roger to Martin, with 
the dates of then- respective corona¬ 
tions, all in hexameter verse. At one 
end of the porch is a monument illus¬ 
trating the coronation of Victor Ame- 
deus in 1713; and at the opposite end 
the coronation of his successor, Charles 
TII., in 1735, is similarly commemo¬ 
rated. Observe in the first relief the 
ridiculous mixture of Roman costumes 
with the long periwigs and the female 
dresses of the 18th century. 

Interior .—The disappointment ex¬ 
perienced on entering the church is 
extreme. The fresh white walls, the 
Corinthian pilasters, the round arches 
and roofs, the dome at the intersection 
of the nave and transepts, and the little 
cupolas in the side aisles—in a word, 
the Italian style prevalent throughout 
—contrast most unfavourably with the 
picturesque Sicilian Gothic of the exte¬ 
rior ; yet were it not for this contrast 
and disappointment, the interior would 
be acknowledged to have merit, being 
simple in arrangement and chaste in 
ornament. It has 3 aisles separated 
by massive piers, 8 on each side, 
against each of which, supporting the 
arches, are 2 pairs of grey granite 
columns with Corinthian capitals of 
white marble. The piers support a 
simple entablature. This restoration 
of the interior was effected in 1801. 
t Tombs of the Kings .—The first .2 
chapels on the rt., as you enter the 
W. door, contain the tombs of the 
Norman and Suabian sovereigns, 4 in 
number, and very similar in design. 
Each is a large sarcophagus of por¬ 
phyry on a basement of grey marble, 
and covered by a raised canopy, which 
in the sepulchres of the two Emperors 
is also of porphyry, but in those of 
Roger and his daughter is of white 
marble adorned with gilding and mo¬ 
saics. First, in the inner chapel, to 


the 1., is the tomb of Roger, “the 
stout duke and first king of Sicily,” 
who died at Palermo in February, 
1154. His sarcophagus, which is 
composed of slabs of porphyry en¬ 
tirely without ornament, is supported 
by 2 marble feet, each composed of 4 
crouching Saracens in relief. These 
figures, the arabesques between them, 
and the adornments of the marble slab 
on which the sax-cophagus rests, are all 
Byzantine. In striking contrast with 
the simplicity of the sarcophagus is its 
canopy, which on both upper and un¬ 
der surfaces is encrusted with mosaics, 
and is supported by G marble columns, 
with Corinthian capitals and shafts 
elaborately adorned with gilding and 
mosaics. 

By the side of Roger is interred his 
posthumous daughter, the Empress 
Constantia, wife of the Emperor Henry 
VI. and mother of the Emperor Fre¬ 
derick II. Her epitaph, which terms 
her “ the last of the royal race of the 
Northmen,” records her decease at 
Palermo in November, 1198. Her sar¬ 
cophagus is a plain massive chest of 
a single block of porphyry, but the 
canopy above it in every respect re¬ 
sembles that over her father’s tomb. 

In front of her septdchre stands that 
of her husband, the Emperor Henry 
VI., who died at Messina in Septem¬ 
ber, 1197. His sarcophagus is very 
like that of his wife, but the canopy 
and the columns which support it are 
of porphyry. 

The monument of the Emperor Fre¬ 
derick II. resembles that of his father, 
but the sarcophagus is more elabo¬ 
rately adorned. It rests on 4 lions, also 
of porphyry, standing over then - prey. 
On the lid are reliefs of the Virgin 
and Child, and of Christ in the act 
of blessing, with the emblems of the 
Evangelists, each enclosed in a circular 
medallion. His epitaph states that 
he died in Apulia, in December, 1250. 
Two of these tombs were originally 
placed in the Cathedral of Cefalu by 
King Roger, who built that church, 
and decreed to be buried in it; but as 
he was interred at Palermo, in the 
sarcophagus in which his remains now 
lie, the two vacant tombs were re- 







PALERMO-CATHEDRAL. 


29 


moved liitlier by the Emperor Fre¬ 
derick, to receive his father’s ashes and 
his own. Frederick's sarcophagus also 
contains the remains of Peter II. of 
Aragon, who died at Calascibetta in 
1342. 

In the 1st chapel, recessed in the 
W. wall, is a Roman sarcophagus of 
marble, bearing the relief of a lion- 
hunt ; in it are interred the remains of 
Constantia of Aragon, queen of Frede¬ 
rick II., and widow of Ennneric King 
of Hungary. She died at Catania in 
1222, and speaks her epitaph in the 
following couplet:— 

“ Sicanie regina fui Constantia, conjunx 
Augusta liic habito nunc, Federice, tua.” 

Against the opposite wall is a 
mediaeval sarcophagus, with a recum¬ 
bent cowled figure in an attitude of 
devotion in intaglio, between two 
shields, which display the eagles of 
Aragon. Here repose the ashes of 
William Duke of Athens, son of Fre¬ 
derick II. of Aragon, and brother of 
Peter II., who thus speaks for himself 
in royal rhyme but base Latin :—• 

"Dux Guillelmus cram regis genimus Fri- 
derici, 

Qui jacem hie, pro quo Christum rogemis, 
amici.” 

These sarcophagi were opened in 
1781 by order of Ferdinand I., when it 
was found that, though the bodies had 
long since crumbled to dust, the robes 
and insignia buried with them were in 
some instances in tolerable preserva¬ 
tion. It was evident that the sar¬ 
cophagi had been opened at a previous 
period, and those of King Roger and 
his daughter rifled of everything valu¬ 
able, nothing being found in his but 
fragments of robes, and in hers but the 
remains of a girdle, a pair of silk gloves, 
and of cloth boots. 

The body of Hemy YI. was found 
in good preservation, wrapped in a robe 
of yellow silk, with the imperial mitre, 
bearing Arabic inscriptions, at his feet. 

The sarcophagus of the Emperor 
Frederick had been opened since his 
interment, because on his body lay 
two others. His own was very richly 
arrayed. His crown was found on his 
head ; the imperial globe lay by his 


pillow, and his sword by his side. One 
of the bodies which lay on his, arrayed 
in a regal mantle, and with a sword by 
its side, was supposed to be the corpse 
of Pedro II. of Aragon. The other 
body, of smaller size, and in a decayed 
robe, could not be identified. 

The tomb of Constance of Aragon, 
which, as well as that of the Emperor 
Ilenry, is known to have been opened 
in 1491, contained her remains wrapped 
in a crimson cloth. Attached to her 
head-dress were found long tresses of 
fan- hair. At her feet was a wooden 
box containing an imperial crown, with 
many female ornaments, now preserved 
in the treasury of the cathedral. It 
was observed that the robes and other 
insignia found in these tombs closely 
resembled those worn by the Byzantine 
emperors — a proof of the extent to 
which that court was copied by the 
early kings of Sicily. 

The 4tli chapel to the rt. contains 
an altarpiece by Pietro Novelli , repre¬ 
senting St. Ignatius Loyola in adora¬ 
tion of the Virgin and Child, with St. 
Francis Xavier behind, in an attitude 
of devotion. The figure of the Ma¬ 
donna is not devoid of dignity, but her 
countenance is uninterested and unin¬ 
teresting. The Infant is good; so are 
the cherubs, and the heads of the two 
saints are natural and noble. The 
Virgin and Child, the tone of colour, 
and the management of the light and 
shade, remind one of the Spanish school. 
The picture has been injured by re¬ 
storations. Here is another picture by 
the same hand, representing S. Fran¬ 
cesco di Paola in adoration. The head 
of the aged saint is grand; his hands are 
well painted; and here again colour¬ 
ing, treatment, and chiaroscuro, are very 
Spanish in character. In the same 
chapel is a Madonna of the early Ger¬ 
man school. In the 7th chapel to rt. 
is a small mosaic of the Virgin on a 
gold ground, in the Byzantine style, 
and of very early date. 

The S. transept contains the chapel 
of the Assumption of the Virgin, with 
an altarpiece by Giuseppe Velasquez 
(1750-1827), which is highly esteemed 
by the Sicilians. The Virgin’s face 
is beautiful, but the composition is 






30 


PALERMO—CATHEDRAL. 


confused, and the colouring and chiaro¬ 
scuro feeble. On the predella is a 
small relief of the Entombment of the 
Virgin by Antonio Gagini (1480-1571), 
which contains some graceful figures, 
particularly among the angels who pre¬ 
cede the bier. On the paliotto in front of 
the altar are small figures of saints in 
relief by the same hand—Sta. Cristina 
between Sta. Lucia and Sta. Agata; and 
on either side 2 other female saints, of 1 
whom St. Catherine, Santa Ninfa, and 
St. Oliva are easily recognised. They 
are very simple, graceful, and pretty. 
Against the side walls of this transept 
are statues of St. Matthew and St. Paul, 
with small reliefs beneath them illus¬ 
trative of events in then’ lives—all by 
Gagini. In these reliefs the back¬ 
grounds are coloured, which gives them 
much of a pictorial character. 

The chapel to the rt. of the high 
altar is sacred to Santa Rosalia, and is 
richly adorned with stuccoes, gilding, 
and frescoes. The pilasters have Ra- 
phaelescpie arabesques in marble by An¬ 
tonio Gagini, very elaborate, delicately 
cut, and showing an exuberant fancy. 
The artist has introduced his own por¬ 
trait in the bearded mask at the base 
of the pilaster to the rt. of the altar. 
On the side walls are large bas-reliefs 
in white marble by Valerio Villareale, 
a pupil of Canova; that to the rt. re¬ 
presents the saint interceding with the 
Saviour for her city, her prayer being- 
answered by the avenging angel 
driving out war, pestilence, and fa¬ 
mine; that to the 1. shows how the 
plague was miraculously stayed during 
the procession of the saint’s bones 
through the city in 1624. These re¬ 
liefs are hardly worthy of Villareale’s 
reputation, and show to small advan¬ 
tage by the side of Gagini’s in the 
tribune and transepts. The altar 
itself is faced with a relief in silver 
of Santa Rosalia in a cave. In the 
wall behind it, within a brass grating, 
is the chest in which the bones of 
the saint are deposited'—a chest of 
solid silver, of the enormous weight of 
1298 lbs.! It was constructed in 1631, 
a few years after the discovery of the 
relics, at the cost of 20,000 dollars. It 
is adorned with reliefs, and surmounted 


by a small figure of the saint, with a 
garland of roses on her head, a large 
cross of jewels on her breast, and a ring 
of brilliants of great value on her hand, 
trampling on the dragon of pestilence. 
This chest is submitted to vulgar gaze 
3 times only in the year—on the 15tli 
July, her fete-day, the 11th Janu¬ 
ary, and 4tli September, the latter being 
the anniversary of her death, and the 
former commemorating her deliver¬ 
ance of the city from the earthquake of 
1693. In this chapel were formerly 
preserved the monuments of the Nor¬ 
man and Suabian sovereigns, already 
described. 

The Choir or Tribune is raised a 
few steps, and separated by a marble 
balustrade from the rest of the ch. 
Its pavement is of porphyry, verd-an- 
tique, and other pietre dure in mosaic. 
Its roof is frescoed with the Virgin hi 
glory, by Mariano Bossi, of Sciacca, ,a 
modem artist; and the work, though 
faulty in drawing, is not without merit 
as regards colour and chiaroscuro. The 
High Altar is decorated with agates, 
jaspers, lapis-lazuli, beautiful marbles, 
and petrified woods, and flanked by 
columns of recl-veinecl marble; the 
predella and steps are of Egyptian 
granite. By the side of the altar 
stands a tall marble candelabrum che- 
vroned and striped with mosaics, and 
probably coeval with the foundation 
of the ch. Behind the altar is a 
marble figure of Christ rising from 
the dead, by Antonio Gagini. By the 
same hand are also the ten statues of 
the Apostles, which stand in niches in 
the walls of the tribune, and which, 
with the 4 in the transepts, are con¬ 
sidered the chefs-d'oeuvre of the sculp¬ 
tor. Indeed, it is said that before 
commencing these statues he went to 
Rome expressly to improve his taste 
by the study of ancient art. He com¬ 
menced the work in 1510, was assisted 
in it by his three sons, and received 
for it 844 ounces, which in that clay was 
considered most handsome payment. 
“ These statues are of life-size, and 
wonderfully true to nature, since they 
display such a variety of attitude, 
sentiment, and drapery, that they 
rivet the eye of the beholder, and 





PALERMO —CATHEDRAL. 


o-t 

Ol 


never satiate his gaze.” We may par¬ 
don the patriotic partiality of this 
criticism in old Fazello, but cannot 
admit that “ all Italy at that day had 
nothing more beautiful than these 
statues.” Beneath each figure is a 
relief, also by Gagini, representing 
some event in the life of the Apostle, 
with a deeply-recessed and coloured 
background. Many of them are well 
composed and designed, and contain 
figures of great beauty, worthy of the 
pupil of Michael Angelo and Ra¬ 
phael. To the 1. of the high altar is 
the Royal Throne, raised several steps, 
and backed by a large square of fine 
Alexandrine mosaic let into the wall, 
the only fragment remaining of the 
ancient decoration of the cathedral. 
Above it is the favourite title of Pa¬ 
lermo—“ Prima sedes, corona regis, et 
regni caput.” Opposite this is the 
Archbishop’s throne, which is modern. 
The seats of the choir are of carved 
wood, with little ornament. In front 
of them, to the rt., is a Gothic throne 
of wood, elaborately carved in the 
quaint German style, and displaying a 
relief of the Death of the Virgin. The 
corresponding screen opposite is de¬ 
corated with the Adoration of the 
Magi. 

To the 1. of the tribune is the 
Chapel of the Eucharist, whose altar 
is composed of agates, lapis-lazuli, 
and other pietre dure, and whose cibo- 
rium or tabernacle is entirely of lapis- 
lazuli. In this chapel originally stood 
the tombs of the Archbishops of Pa¬ 
lermo, now removed to the crypt. It 
contains a marble monument to the 
Archbishop Sanseverino, who during 
liis lifetime had his effigy cut in 
marble, and placed, like Hope, between 
statues of Faith and Charity. 

N. transept. —Over the Altar of the 
Crocifisso is a crucifix, brought to 
this city from Jerusalem in 1219. 
Here are also some reliefs well worthy 
of attention. On the predella are 4— 
the Seizure of Christ in the Garden, 
Christ before the High Priest, before 
Pilate, and shown by Pilate to the 
people. Below, on the sides of the altar, 
are the Flagellation, the Plaiting of 
the Crown of Thorns; on the paliotto, 


Christ carrying his Cross, the Deposi¬ 
tion, and a Pieta. These reliefs are all 
attributed to Antonio Gagini, but those 
on the predella and on the sides of the 
paliotto are evidently of earlier date 
and art than those in front of the 
latter, and are either by Antonio at the 
commencement of his career, or by Do¬ 
menico, his father. They are in rather 
flat, not low relief; the figures have the 
meagreness and dryness, with the ex¬ 
pression of quattrocento sculpture. The 
reliefs on the paliotto are much superior 
in composition, design, and execution, 
especially the 3 in the centre, which 
are perhaps the best from Gagini's 
chisel. They betray a close study of 
Raphael. The statues of St. John the 
Baptist and St. Judas Thaddeus, in 
this transept, with the usual small re¬ 
liefs below them, are also by Gagini. 

In the N. aisle the 2nd chapel from 
the transept, or that of St. Agatha, 
contains a small panel picture of the 
Virgin and Child, with St. John and 
angels, which demands attention. It 
is of the close of the 15th cent., and 
apparently of the Milanese school. It is 
most carefully and delicately painted ; 
but its chief charm is the exquisite 
beauty and sweetness of the Virgin, who, 
like most of Raphael’s, is a conception of 
loveliness never realised. This chapel 
contains monuments to the Cardinal 
Archbishops Gravina, who died 1830, 
and Trigona, who fell a victim to the 
cholera in 1837. In the next chapel, 
sacred to the Virgin of the Letter, is 
a picture of the Madonna on a gold 
ground, in imitation of the Byzantine, 
and beneath it is a copy of the letter 
which she is said to have written to the 
Messinese, declaring herself the pro¬ 
tectress of their city. In the last chapel 
but one, the altarpiece in marble of 
the Assumption of the Virgin, of life- 
size, is by Gagini, and to be admired. 
The last chapel contains the Baptismal 
Font, an octagonal basin of white 
marble, with reliefs, the work of 
Filippo Pennino, in 1797. It rests on 
the trunk of a tree—that of the know¬ 
ledge of good and evil, for the serpent 
is coiled among its branches, and 
Adam and Eve are bewailing their 
fall at its foot. The subjects of the 




32 


PALERMO—CATHEDRAL. 


reliefs are the Baptism of Christ, 
Noah sacrificing, Saul receiving his 
Sight, Philip and the Eunuch, the 
Crucifixion, a monk baptizing, the 
Baptism of St. Paul, and Moses strik¬ 
ing the Rock. The whole is cut out 
of 2 blocks of marble. It is much 
esteemed by the Palermitans, but as a 
work of art is mediocre. 

Against the pilasters, opposite the 
N. and S. doors of this cathedral, 
are benitiers or holy-water basins of 
white marble, supported on brackets, 
and having octagonal canopies sur¬ 
mounted by angels, all elaborately 
sculptured. That to the N. lias 2 
bands of reliefs of the quattrocento 
period; the lower showing the Baptism 
of Christ: the upper, and better, a 
queen and her retinue approaching a 
font in the streets of a city, at which 
stands a priest ready to perform the 
rite. The S. font, of much better art, 
is attributed to Gagini himself. Moses 
striking the Rock, in the upper scene, 
is very inferior to the Pool of Siloam, 
in the lower band, where the group of 
Christ and his disciples has merit. 

The pavement of this church is 
marked with a meridian laid down by 
the celebrated Piazzi. The sun’s ray 
enters through a small hole in a 
cupola of the side aisle, opposite the 
7th chapel on the rt. ; and the spot 
which it illuminates, when the sun 
reaches the meridian at the summer 
solstice, is marked by a small metal 
plate. The points where the sun 
enters the several signs of the zodiac, 
as well as the equinoxes, are also 
marked in the pavement. 

In the Sacristy, or, as it is some¬ 
times called, the Ante-Sacristy, is a 
pointed door of 3 orders, resting on 
twisted shafts with foliated capitals. 
This is one of the richest pieces of 
pointed architecture about the cathe¬ 
dral, and is the only remnant of this 
style in the interior. In the inner 
Sacristy, or Tesoro, is the Tabulario, or 
collection of some 200 MS. diplomas in 
Arabic, Greek, and Latin, the earliest 
of which dates from 1083. Here are 
also preserved some of the curious 
relics found in the tombs of the Sicilian 
sovereigns. Fragments of the Emperor 


| Henry’s robes, embroidered with hawks 
1 and stags in gold thread ; the crown of 
Constance of Aragon, in form like a 
skull-cap, studded with jewels, and 
having long pendants of gold bars 
jointed and set in jewels attached to it, 
j and which hung over each ear; a 
portion of the silk of her diadem ; a 
fragment of her veil in silver thread, 
and of her vest, with gold filigree 
patterns; together with many other 
ornaments, rich, but of clumsy work¬ 
manship. One of the most curious 
articles found in her tomb is a small 
disk of silver, 5 inches in diameter, 
with a Latin inscription stating the 
place and day of her death. Here are 
also many curious and rare relics eccle¬ 
siastical—vestments and altar-cloths, 
j chalices and pyxes, “ some bones of St. 
Peter, a whole arm of St. John the 
Baptist, a jawbone of prodigious effi¬ 
cacy, and other bones of lesser note.” 

Crypt. —A flight of steps leads from 
the choir to the Crypt, which lies not 
immediately beneath the choir, as 
usual, but to the E. of it. This subter¬ 
ranean vault is sometimes called Lc 
Catacombe, but is more generally 
known as Tntti i Santi. It is sepa¬ 
rated into 2 aisles, running N. and S., 
by low massive columns of granite 
and marble, about 6J ft. high, with 
capitals of very simple character sup¬ 
porting pointed vaults. On the E. 
side are 7 apses, the central one being 
much wider and deeper than the rest. 
The crypt measures 100 ft. from N. 
to S., and 32 ft. from E. to W., exclu¬ 
sive of the apses; and the height 
of the vaults is about 16 ft. It lias 
been conjectured that it formed part 
of the original church constructed on 
this site under the pontificate of Gre¬ 
gory the Great, about the year 600 ; 
but the style of architecture is wholly 
opposed to such a view, it being im- 
| possible to ascribe to the pointed 
vaults a more ancient date than the 
11th century. It is probable that, if 
a crypt existed here prior to the erec¬ 
tion of Walter’s cathedral in 1185, it 
was only then, or not long previous, 
constructed with its present architec¬ 
tural features. 

The crypt is now an episcopal mau- 










33 


PALERMO— 

soleum, as it contains the remains of 
no less than 24 archbishops of Palermo, 
enclosed in sarcophagi of various anti¬ 
quity, which are arranged beneath the 
arches and within the apses; and in 
the dim light which struggles through 
narrow openings in the vaults they as¬ 
sume a solemn, mysterious appearance, 
reminding one of the coffined Lucu- 
mones in the sepulchres of Etruria. 
The sarcophagus on the rt. as you 
enter, of Parian marble, and bearing 
a relief of the hunt of the boar of 
Calydon, is of Greek art. In the arch¬ 
way behind it is a Roman sarcophagus 
with an inscription of the low empire. 
The monument immediately opposite 
as you enter is an elegant work of the 
16th century attributed to Antonio 
Gagini, or his sons, and contains the 
body of Archbishop Preconio, who died 
in 1568. Under the arch to the 1., at 
the end of the east aisle, is a sarco¬ 
phagus, which, from the Byzantine 
crosses, and the hand giving the bene¬ 
diction in the Greek manner, must 
have belonged to some bishop of that 
church, who is supposed to be Nico- 
demus, the last Christian prelate under 
the rule of the Saracens, who was re¬ 
stored to his own cathedral on the con¬ 
quest by the Normans. He died in 
1072. 

In the 1st apse is a sarcophagus 
of incongruous character, originally 
Roman, then adapted for some pre¬ 
late of the Greek Church, as shown 
by the reliefs in front, afterwards used 
by Archbishop Frederick of Antioch, 
who died in 1305, and covered by a lid 
with the figure of a warrior in com¬ 
plete armour of the Renaissance period, 
or 250 years later. Opposite the 3rd 
apse is a large Roman sarcophagus 
of Parian marble, with a relief of 
Apollo and the Muses crowning a 
poet. In the central apse stands a 
large monument containing the ashes 
of Archbishop Giovanni Patemo, who 
died 1511, and who reclines in effigy 
on the lid, his hands crossed over his 
crozier on his breast. His head is re¬ 
markably fine and true to nature, the 
drapery is well arranged and exe¬ 
cuted, and there is a grand repose in 
the whole figure. The reliefs on the 


CATHEDRAL. 

sarcophagus itself mark it as of classic 
date, notwithstanding the arms of 
Paternb are displayed on the shield 
in the centre. In this apse are pre¬ 
served sundry architectural fragments 
belonging to the cathedral before its 
restoration 60 or 70 years since—a fine 
composite capital, two pilasters beauti¬ 
fully sculptured by Gagini, and several 
reliefs illustrative of the Passion of 
Christ by the same chisel. The tomb 
in the 5th apse, containing the re¬ 
mains of Archbishop Tagliavia, is of 
the late Empire, and of Christian origin, 
the figures showing the debased art of 
that period. In the arch opposite this 
apse is the tomb of the founder of the 
cathedral, Walter Offamilio, an English¬ 
man, but Archbishop of Palermo under 
William the Good. His name is the 
Italian corruption of “ Of y e Mill,” and 
indicates his low origin. He had been 
chaplain to Henry II. of England, 
who, wishing to bring about an alli¬ 
ance between his daughter Joan and 
William of Sicily, sent Walter to this 
island as preceptor to the young king. 
He rose first to be Dean of Girgenti, 
then Archbishop of Palermo, and ulti¬ 
mately prune minister of King Wil¬ 
liam, and has left a name traditionally 
revered by the Sicilians. He died the 
year after his master, in 1190. The 
monument bears several inscriptions, 
originally enclosed by bands of mo¬ 
saic, now almost destroyed. 

The sarcophagus in the 6th apse, 
with a curious relief of wretched art, 
which shows it to be of the low Empire, 
encloses the remains of the Archbishop 
Nicolaus, a German, and great juris¬ 
consult, renowned by the name of 
the “Lamp of the Lav\” He died 
in 1445, in the reign of Alfonso 
the Magnanimous. The tomb under 
the arch opposite this apse is of 
late Roman date, and contains the 
ashes of Hugo, archbishop in the 
reign of William the Bad, a man of 
great talent, but vain, profligate, and 
intriguing, the associate of the in¬ 
famous Maio of Bari in his nefarious 
schemes, and ultimately his victim. 
He died in the middle of the 12th 
century. In the sarcophagus opposite 
the 7th apse is interred the good 








34 : 


PALERMO—S. AGOSTINO—S. ANTONIO. 


Archbishop Simon of Bologna, who 
erected the S. porch of the cathedral, 
and the Archiepiscopal Palace. He 
died in 1465. At the end of this aisle 
is an altar with mosaic work en¬ 
circling a sarcophagus of late Koman 
times, in which lie the remains of 
Cosmas, Archbishop of Africa, who 
died at Palermo in 1160, and subse¬ 
quently received the honours of beatifi¬ 
cation. The remaining tombs are not 
of much interest. Among them is a 
cenotaph in memory of Gianettino 
Doria, who died 1642, and in whoso 
archbishopric the genuineness of the 
bones of Sta. Rosalia was proved to 
the satisfaction of the citizens of Pa¬ 
lermo. 

Santa Maria Incoronata (c). Oppo¬ 
site the NAY. tower of the cathedral was 
an old house, with a window displaying 
some ancient mosaic, and this inscrip¬ 
tion on the sill, “ Hie regi corona 
datur.” Another inscription below 
stated that “on this spot, where the 
kings of Sicily were formerly crowned 
and anointed, Christ and his mother 
are now worshipped, 1525.” This was 
the ancient chapel of Santa Maria, 
originally attached to the old cathedral 
of the 7th century, which Walter pulled 
down to make room for the present 
edifice. The first king here anointed 
and crowned was Roger, who assumed 
the regal dignity in 1130, and who de¬ 
creed that all future monarch s should 
be invested with the royal insignia on 
this spot—a decree which was care¬ 
fully observed by his successors down 
to Martin and Mary in 1391. This 
interesting chapel was utterly destroyed 
by the bombardment in May, 1860. 

Sant ’ Agostino (o), in the Piazza 
Chiaramonte, near the Monte di Piet a, 
has an ornate facade in the Siculo- 
Norman style. The convent attached 
to the church existed before 1115, 
but the latter appears to have been 
erected at the close of the 13th cen¬ 
tury. To this period belongs the 
handsome portal in the W. front, 
which is obtusely pointed, without 
prominent mouldings, but with 3 flat 
orders elaborately enriched with mo¬ 


saic work of various patterns in black 
lava. The label shows the emblem¬ 
atic vine-leaf delicately w r orked in the 
same material. On each side of the 
door are 3 shafts, with a Greek run¬ 
ning capital common to all. Above 
the arch is a pediment with flat cor¬ 
nice, enriched with vine foliage in re¬ 
lief, and resting on columns at the 
angles, having palm-leaf capitals. A 
marigold window of 12 lights, with 
intersecting arches surcharged with 
ornament, and unquestionably the 
richest window in Palermo, surmounts 
the portal. The S. door is square, 
adorned with reliefs of the Renais¬ 
sance period, incorrectly ascribed to 
Gagini. The interior of the church 
was modernised in 1672, and contains 
nothing of interest beyond 2 Byzan¬ 
tine black-faced Madonnas, and a S. 
Nicolo Tolentino by Vito Carrera of 
Trapani, the master of Pietro Novelli. 

Santa Anna (k), in the Piazza of 
that name, has a tall convex facade 
of yellow stone, with columns of grey 
marble, in 2 orders, Doric and Ionic. 
Over the door is a Pieta in relief by 
Marabitti, and on either side are 
statues of the Virgin’s family — St. 
Joachim, St. Anne, St. Elizabeth, and 
St. Joseph, designed by Serpotta. 
Some of the chapels in the interior are 
rich in marbles, particularly that of the 
Ventimiglia family. 

Sant' Antonio (l), between the To¬ 
ledo and the Bucceria, stands on the 
high ground which was anciently the 
point of the peninsula separating the 
2 ports of Palermo. The precise an¬ 
tiquity of the church is not known, 
but we have record of it so far back 
as 1220. Between 1302 and 1313 the 
campanile was built by Giovanni and 
Manfredi Chiaramonte, since which it 
has been frequently restored; and in 
1595, as it threatened to fall, it was 
reduced in height. Here is suspended 
the great bell of Palermo, hung in 
1575, which from its vast power of 
sound is heard through all the plain, 
and is tolled only on extraordinary 
occasions. The church was so se¬ 
verely shattered by the earthquake 








PALERMO—S. ANTONIO—BADIA NUOVA. 


35 


of 5 March, 1823, that it remained 
long in ruins, and has only recently 
been restored. The AV. front is late 
Gothic, having 3 pointed doors, the 
central one with flamboyant tracery, 
which also decorates the windows 
above them. 

The interior shows traces of far 
higher antiquity. The plan of the 
church is a Greek square, like the 
Martorana, though on a larger scale; 
originally with 3 apses, but the cen¬ 
tral one has been replaced by a 
spacious tribune. The square is sur¬ 
mounted by a cupola which is sup¬ 
ported by 4 pointed and stilted arches 
on columns of grey granite, and is of 
early construction, resembling those 
of other Palermitan churches of the 
12 th century in having a circle im¬ 
posed on a square by the intervention 
of an octagon, though the pendentives 
in this case have not the usual con¬ 
centric corbellings. The architecture 
proves it to be one of the earliest 
churches of Palermo. Over the altar 
in the rt. apse is a fine though 
sombre picture of St. Anthony, locally 
attributed to Pietro Novelli, but more 
probably from the pencil of Zoppo cli 
Ganci , an earlier Sicilian painter. In 
the 1, apse are some quattrocento reliefs 
illustrative of the passion and death of 
our Saviour, of more expression than 
beauty. The altarpiece to the 1. as 
you enter, unquestionably by Z. cli 
Ganci, representing S. Carlo Borromeo 
walking in procession through the 
streets of Milan during the plague, is 
curious. 

Close to this church once stood a 
very ancient tower called Torre cli 
JBaych, which surmounted the Porta 
de’ Patitelli, at one time the grand 
entrance to Palermo. Pound the sum¬ 
mit of this tower were some inscrip¬ 
tions in a strange character which 
puzzled all the local antiquaries, but 
were declared by some lying Jews to 
bo Chalclaic, and were interpreted by 
them to the effect that Palermo was 
founded by a colony of Chaldseans, Phoe¬ 
nicians, and people from Damascus, 
who migrated thither in the time ot 
the patriarch Isaac. This was con¬ 
fidently believed by all Palermitans 


for the next 3 centuries, nor was the 
cheat discovered till it was proved by 
Professor Tychsen that the pretended 
Chaldaic inscriptions were passages 
from the Koran in Cupliic characters. 

Oratorio di S. A ntonio di Padova (k), 
a small church in the yard adjoining 
the Palazzo de’ Tribunali, which ap¬ 
pears to have been originally the chapel 
attached to that palace, and coeval 
with it. Its front shows the triple 
billet and the dog-tooth moulding; 
the door is pointed, the jambs and 
archivolt are decorated with vine fo¬ 
liage, the imposts and label with acan¬ 
thus-leaves. Over the small windows 
on each side of it are inscriptions in 
puzzling Gothic characters, one line 
over each window :— 

“Spiritus immundus quo vincitur, et caro, 
mundus, 

ITae, sacer, Antoni cor cape parte boni.” 

The interior is pointed, with an apse 
and groined roof. The picture of St. 
Anthony, to the 1. of the altar, is attri¬ 
buted to Vincenzo Anemolo (ob. 1552). 

Badia Nuova (c), or Monte Oliveto. 
The church attached to this convent, 
which is of the order of Santa Cliiara, 
is opposite the N. transept of the ca¬ 
thedral. It was founded in 1512, and 
restored in 1758. It is of Italian 
architecture, with an ugly front of 2 
nondescript orders, but an interior 
much chaster in style than most of 
the churches of Palermo. The high 
altar, which is rich in pietre clure, has 
a picture of the Saviour offering to re¬ 
deem fallen man, by Giuseppe Patania 
of Palermo (1780-1852). On the first 
altar to the rt. is an oil-painting by 
Pietro Novelli, representing St. Francis 
of Assisi appearing to St. Louis before 
his departure on a crusade, and offer¬ 
ing him his girdle, which the warrior- 
saint receives on his knees. This pic¬ 
ture is identical in subject, and almost 
so in treatment, with one of the fres¬ 
coes in the church of S. Francesco in 
this city, but is in such wretched pre¬ 
servation that its comparative merits 
can hardly be determined. As a com¬ 
position it is more simple and com- 






36 


PALERMO —BADIA NUOVA. 


pact, though the accessory figures add 
variety and interest to the fresco. 
Over the altar opposite is a picture of 
the Forty Martyrs, esteemed one of 
the best works of Gioacchino Marto- 
rana (1724-1782). 

The chief interest of this church 
lies in the roof, which was frescoed 
by Pietro Novelli soon after his re¬ 
turn from Rome, and presents some 
of the finest works of his pencil, 
both as regards composition and 
colouring. Unlike too many of his 
frescoes, these are for the most part 
in excellent preservation, and their 
brilliancy, after the lapse of more 
than 200 years, is astonishing. The 
ceiling is divided into 13 compart¬ 
ments, 9 large and 4 small. That in 
the centre, representing the triumphal 
return of Christ to heaven, has perhaps 
the least merit of all. “Some of the 
saints, both male and female, have 
beautiful heads, especially St. John 
the Baptist, St. Joseph, and an Evan¬ 
gelist, who is admirably drawn from 
behind. I am inclined to regard this 
as a work of his 2nd style.”— Gallo. 

In the central compartment nearest 
the nuns’ choir, an angel is pointing 
out to St. Francis the way to Paradise. 
“The amazement and eagerness of 
the saint, and the well-chosen attidude 
of the angel, are admirable.”— Gallo. 
This fresco shows much simplicity of 
composition and delicacy of colouring. 
It is between the 2nd and 3rd styles 
of the master. To the rt. of this is 
San Bonaventura inspired by two 
angels, his venerable head presenting 
a fine contrast with theirs, which 
glow with the freshness of eternal 
youth. In the opposite compartment 
St. Anthony of Padua is receiving the 
infant Jesus from the hands of the 
Virgin. This fresco has suffered much 
from damp, or it would be among the 
best. “The heads of the Madonna 
and of the saint are among the most 
beautiful of their kind; the Babe is 
most charming; the colouring very 
sweet.”— Gallo. 

To the rt. of the subject in the centre 
of the vault is a fresco representing St. 
Francis giving the habit of his order to 
Santa Chiara, who kneels devoutly be¬ 


fore him. “The heads of both have 
that fascinating sweetness which distin¬ 
guishes those of Guido, but with more 
spirit. The faces of the women who 
attend her are more than ordinarily 
beautiful, and the head of the bearded 
monk is fine. The composition and 
design leave nothing to be desired, 
and the distribution of the lights and 
shadows affords sweet repose to the 
eye. In the draperies of the saint 
and her attendant maidens the artist 
appears to have imitated Vandyck, 
and certainly came up to his model; 
so beautifully are the folds of these 
silks arranged and lighted up that 
they produce a perfect illusion.”— 
Gallo. The fellow to this fresco shows 
St. Agnes receiving the veil and bene¬ 
diction from St. Clara. “It is worthy 
of notice how, in a subject so analo¬ 
gous to the last, the painter has been 
able to introduce so much variety in 
the faces, attitudes, and composition, 
without deviating from truth or con¬ 
ventional propriety.” •— Gallo. These 
two frescoes, for beauty of composition, 
vigour and freedom of drawing, and 
harmony and brilliancy of colouring, 
which give them all the force and 
richness of oil, are to be preferred not 
only to all the rest in this church, but 
to any now remaining from the pencil 
of Monrealese. 

In the compartment over the arch of 
the high altar, the Virgin is depicted 
crowning Santa Chiara with stars—a 
fresco not so striking, perhaps, as the 
two just described, and with some faults 
in drawing. To the rt. of this is St. 
Louis washing the feet of Christ, who 
presents himself in the garb of a beg¬ 
gar—a most effective fresco, having the 
force and richness of oil. Opposite 
is St. Francis offering roses to the 
Saviour and his Mother—excellent in 
composition, chiaroscuro, and execu¬ 
tion, but thrown out of harmony by 
the crudeness of the clouds. The 
angels bearing the emblems of the 
Christian religion, in the 4 small com¬ 
partments over the windows of the vault, 
arc also by Novelli. That next St. 
Louis has been wretchedly restored. 














PALERMO—CARMINE—CASA PROFESSA. 


37 


S. Benedetto di Monte Oliveto (a), 
between the Gates of Montalto and 
Castro. This eh., of neat Corinthian 
architecture, contains a marble group 
of the Virgin and Child, by Antonio 
Gag ini; simple and pretty. The mo¬ 
nastery is now used as a barrack; but 
the small cloister attached to it, though 
in ruins, shows traces of former beauty 
in sharply-pointed arches, resting on 
slender marble columns with acanthus 
capitals, and arranged in pairs, save at 
the angles, where they are in groups of 
four. In the centre of the court is an 
ancient well. These cloisters are gene¬ 
rally known by the name of Cortile di 
8. Giovanni, as they are close beneath 
the ch. of San Giovanni degli Eremiti. 

Capped a Beale, —see p. 72. 

S. Carlo (k), in the Vicolo de’ Cin- 
torinari, near the Piazza Fieravecchia. 
This ch., erected in 161G, is attached 
to a convent of Benedictines. Its plan 
is elliptical, and the large cupola 
of that form is frescoed with saints 
ascending to glory; a crowd of war¬ 
riors, sages, prelates, monks, and nuns. 
In the spandrils are represented the 
4 quarters of the globe as influenced 
by the Benedictine missions. The ch. 
is of Composite architecture. Columns 
of beautiful Seravezza marble support 
the arches of the three recessed chapels. 
In that to the rt. the altarpiece, by 
Pietro Novelli, represents St. Louis 
and St. Benedict in adoration of the 
Virgin and Child. The two latter 
figures, together with the background, 
have been restored by some wretched 
pencil, but the heads of the two saints 
are admirable; and the general treat¬ 
ment and colouring are good, and be¬ 
tray the strong affinity between Sicilian 
and Spanish art. The small frescoes 
on the roof of this chapel are by the 
same hand, but have been spoiled by 
restorations. Opposite is a picture by 
Vincenzo VaUone, pupil of Monrealese, 
of little merit. 

Carmine Maggiore (a). —This ch., 
in the Piazza of the same name, has 
a plain facade and ugly dome, but its 
interior is better, having been con¬ 


structed by Mariano Smiriglio, an ar¬ 
chitect of eminence (ob. 1636). In 
the 1st chapel to rt. is a Virgin of 
Carmel, with St. Albert in adoration, 
by Giacomo lo Verde, the chief pupil of 
Novelli, who in this picture is worthy 
of his master. The 4th chapel on 
this side contains a marble statue of 
St. Catherine, bearing the date of 
1521, by Antonio Gagini ; and the 5th 
a figure of the Madonna, attributed 
to the same hand, having coloured 
eyes and lips, and gilding on the robes. 
In the 1. transept is a curious old 
painting of the Madonna of Carmel, by 
Tommaso Vigilia, one of the earliest 
of the Sicilian school, inscribed with 
his name and the date of 1492. It is 
so covered with trinkets and robes of 
silver that the heads alone of the 
Virgin and Child are visible. 

Casa Frofessa ( a ), between the 
Strada Nuova and the Ballaro. The 
ch. of this name, belonging to the 
Jesuits, is one of the most remarkable 
in Palermo, both for its large size and 
the extraordinary richness of its adorn¬ 
ments. It was consecrated in 1636 
under Urban VIII. The exterior, as 
usual with Palermitan churches, is 
mean. The plan is a Latin cross, with 
a dome at the intersection of nave and 
transepts; the architecture is Italian 
Doric, but loaded with such an excess 
of rococo ornament in reliefs and varie¬ 
gated marbles that the original cha¬ 
racter is destroyed. The arches which 
flank the nave and separate it from 
the side-aisles rest on massive piers 
coated with red marble, against which 
are pilasters inlaid with many-coloured 
marbles in florid patterns, mixed with 
the arms of the various noble families 
who have contributed to the embel¬ 
lishment of the church. The entabla¬ 
ture is of white marble ; the clerestory 
is adorned with stuccoes and gilding, 
and the vault covered with crude fres¬ 
coes by Filippo Bandazzo. The stucco 
decorations of the cupolas in the side- 
aisles are by Serpotta ; the frescoes by 
Antonio Grano. The dome, which was 
not finished till 16S3, was frescoed by 
Gaspare Serenario. 

The chief interest of this ch. lies 



38 


PALERMO-S. CATALDO. 


iii its pictures, among which are some 
of the finest productions of Novell?s 
pencil. In the 3rd chapel to rt. are 
two by his hand. The first represents 
Paul the Hermit, sitting half-naked in 
a cave, and arguing from the Scriptures 
with 4 companions. “ One of these 
has also a book, another a skull; a 3rd 
looks devoutly to heaven, and the 4tli 
expresses with his fingers the mys¬ 
tery of the Trinity. Admirable is the 
variety of their attitudes |to express 
the same conception, that of listening, 
believing, and demonstrating by out¬ 
ward signs; wonderful is the diversity 
in the 5 aged heads, a difficulty which 
only an artist can understand; and he 
alone can appreciate the skill of Novelli 
in surmounting it. So judicious, varied, 
and well-arranged a composition may 
rival the best works of the great 
masters. The nakedness of Paul is 
nature itself. The picture is well pre¬ 
served, and exhibits all the maturity 
of the artist’s pencil; and nothing is 
wanting in the design, chiaroscuro, or 
execution, to lower its claims to be 
considered a masterpiece.”— Gallo. In 
the figure to the 1. holding a skull and 
looking out of the picture, the artist 
has painted his own portrait. 

In the companion picture, San Fi¬ 
lippo d’Argird in sacerdotal robes is 
represented in the act of casting out 
a devil. For simplicity of treatment 
and force of expression this picture is 
much to be admired; in its rich but 
subdued colouring it recalls Murillo, 
while the group to the 1., especially 
the possessed, partakes much of the 
manner and truth to natiwe of Ribera. 
Large sums have been refused for this 
picture, and it is said that Cavalier 
Puccini, when director of the Uffizj at 
Florence, offered to give in exchange 
for it any picture in that gallery, save 
those of the very first class. 

In the 4th chapel to the rt. is an 
Annunciation by j Rosalia Novelli. 
daughter of Monrealese, copied in 
great part from the lower half of her 
father’s picture in the library of San 
Martino. Opposite it is a Circumcision 
by the same hand, an inferior piece, 
yet with considerable merit. High up 
in the transepts are 4 small pictures 


in oil — the Finding "of Moses, the 
Judgment of Solomon, Samson slaying 
the lion, and Joseph drawn from the 
pit—by Giacomo lo Verde. 

The high altar, to which you as¬ 
cend by steps of black marble, varie¬ 
gated with inlays of different colours, 
is fronted with native agates. Behind 
it is a Pandemonium in marble, with 
reliefs from Scripture history and 
landscapes in mosaic-work. In the 
tribune is a copy of Raphael’s Trans¬ 
figuration, by the Cavaliere delle 
Pomcirance. The vault of the chapel 
of St. Anna in the 1. transept is 
frescoed by Novelli, but that master’s 
hand is now hardly to be recognised,, 
his work having been ruined by vile 
attempts at restoration, Mariano Ran - 
dazzo being the culprit. The altar- 
piece is a copy of the celebrated 
“ Perla ” of Raphael, now at Madrid. 
The 2nd chapel from the door in the 
1. aisle has 2 pictures of St. Agatha, 
professing her faith before the tyrant 
Quintian, and undergoing martyrdom, 
both by Giacomo lo Verde. In the 1st 
to 1. is the picture of Santa Rosalia, 
which was carried in procession 
through the city in 1624 to stay the 
pestilence, as is recorded on a tablet. 

Of the Campanile attached to this 
ch. the upper half is modern, but the 
3 lowest stories, of late Gothic, date 
from the close of the 15tli century. 

“ This church is reputed to offer the 
best musical services in Palermo. The 
organ is fairly good; but the style of 
music performed is offensive in the 
extreme.”— II. F. Chorley. 

8. Cataldo (k), within the Post- 
Office, is a very small cli., but an inte¬ 
resting specimen of Siculo-Norman 
ecclesiastical architecture, as it retains 
its original form, and shows, as nearly 
as possible, what, with the exception 
of the mosaic decorations, the ch. of 
the Martorana must have been before 
it was altered. The plan is the Greek 
square, smaller even than the Mar- 
torana, being only 34 ft. long by 24 
wide ; and with 3 apses. The nave 
and aisles are separated by pointed 
arches resting on columns of grey 
marble and cipollino, which have 




PALERMO—SANTA CATERINA. 


39 


Corinthian bases, and Corinthian or 
Composite capitals, and appear to have 
belonged to more ancient edifices, with 
the exception of one whose capital is 
adorned with stalks, intertwined in a 
singular but not ungraceful manner. 
The peculiarity of this little church is 
that, instead of one, it has 3 cupolas 
of equal height and dimensions; the 
angles of the squares below them are 
filled with the same singular corbel¬ 
ling as in the Martorana, but the 
whole upper part of the church has 
been incrusted with incongruous em¬ 
bellishments, for which Don John 
Roano, Archbishop of Palermo, who 
repaired the building in 1G79, is re¬ 
sponsible. There are no windows, 
either in the aisles or apses, and the 
church receives light entirely from 
the cupolas. The pavement is of 
Alexandrine mosaics, of intricate pat¬ 
terns. The E. end, or sanctuary, is 
raised 2 steps above the rest of the 
church. 

It is doubtful if this little edifice 
were originally lined with mosaics, 
for Fazello, who speaks of the pave¬ 
ment, columns, and cupolas, makes 
no mention of such decorations. The 
same chronicler refers the foundation 
to Count Sylvester, grandson of Count 
Roger, and who died in 1161. But it 
is more probable that the cli. was 
raised by the notorious Majone di 
Bari, minister, admiral, and chan¬ 
cellor to William I., for it is on re¬ 
cord that he possessed a number of 
buildings on this spot, which, on his 
death in 1160, were confiscated by the 
king, and sold to Count Sylvester; 
and also that the palace of the latter 
had a chapel attached to it. And 
in the few months he lived to enjoy 
the property, Sylvester could hardly 
have erected this ch. and buried his 
daughter in it, whose tombstone, 
bearing the date of 1161, is still pre¬ 
served in the rt, aisle. Whoever was 
its founder, the ch. of S. Cataldo dates 
from the middle of the 12th century, 
and can be very few years later than 
the Martorana. On the external wall, 
at the E. end, are some remains of a 
Latin inscription, which throws no 
light on the date of its construction. 


Santa Caterina (k), in the Piazza 
of the same name, opposite the Mar¬ 
torana, is one of the richest and most 
ornate clis. in Palermo ; it is attached 
to a convent of Dominican nuns, and 
was built between 1566 and 1596. 
The facade is flat, yet handsome, in 
2 orders, adorned with Corinthian 
pilasters and cornice, and surmounted 
by the figures of 2 dogs with lighted 
torches in their mouths—the Domini 
canes, which, according to the legend, 
appeared to the mother of St. Dominic 
before his birth. The plan of the ch. 
is a Latin cross with a single aisle, 
and a dome at the intersection of this 
with the transepts. It is a spacious 
building of Corinthian architecture, 
most elaborately adorned in the Sici¬ 
lian barocco style, with a redundancy 
of ornament in high relief—foliage, 
scrolls, shields, cherubs, or statues of 
saints and martyrs — all of white 
marble on a ground of red, inlaid with 
other marbles in florid Renaissance 
patterns. The pavement of various 
marbles, inlaid geometrically in Flo¬ 
rentine mosaic, is to be admired within 
the choir; beneath the dome it shows 
the canine torch-bearer of the order. 
The frescoes on the vault of the tri¬ 
bune were painted by Antonio and 
Paolo Filocamo of Messina in 1728 ; 
those in the dome and the spandrils 
below it, by Vito cV Anna of Palermo 
in 1751, are bold in design, and are 
considered his chefs-d'oeuvre. Filippo 
Pondazzo, in 1744, executed those on 
the nave; and Francesco Sozzi, in 
1769, those beneath the nuns’ choir. 
The pedestals of the pilasters show 
curious scenes from Scripture history, 
relieved in various-coloured marbles; 
on the 1st to rt. Jonah falls into the 
jaws of the whale from a liigli-pooped 
two-decker of the 17th century. 

The high altar is adorned with 
violet marbles, verd-antique, and choice 
pietre dure; the tabernacle with ame¬ 
thysts and columns of lapis-lazuli. In 
front of it are 2 kneeling figures of 
angels in white marble, and a tall 
seven-branched candlestick of massive 
silver, with the usual Dominican em¬ 
blem on the stand. 

In the rt, transept is a beautiful 



40 


PALERMO—SANTA CHIARA—I CROCIFERI. 


Madonna, attributed to Rubens, but 
more probably painted by Vandyclc, who 
spent several years in Sicily; and it is 
worthy of his pencil. 

In the 2nd chapel to 1., the picture 
of the Virgin in the heavens, pointing 
out to the Child on her lap the deep 
gloom which envelops the world, is 
finer in conception than execution. 
This and its companion on the oppo¬ 
site wall are by Giacomo lo Verde, the 
pupil of Novelli, whose style is trace¬ 
able in the treatment and colouring. 
The 3rd to 1. contains a curious pic¬ 
ture of the Bible and Koran tested 
by fire; the latter is consumed, but 
the former stands the ordeal, and re¬ 
mains suspended amid the flames. 
This ch. is rich in ecclesiastical furni¬ 
ture and plate, as befits a community of 
wealthy and aristocratic ladies. 

Sta, Chiara (a), in the Via di Sta. 
Chiara, near the Piazza Bologni.— 
This church, which was founded in 
1344, in the reign of Louis of Aragon, 
by Matteo Count of Sclafani, and 
stands on the site of a Saracenic 
palace, and close to the ancient Porta 
Busuemi, retains no traces of antiquity 
in its architecture, and, though richly 
decorated with marbles, is not other¬ 
wise remarkable than as containing a 
superb Pieta by Novelli. This was 
painted in 1G46 for the neighbouring 
ch. of S. Saladino, and has only re¬ 
cently been transferred hither, having- 
had a semicircular head added to it to 
adapt it to its present position. The 
subject is treated in an unusual 
manner. The Virgin Mother, instead 
of being utterly overwhelmed with 
affliction, as she is ordinarily depicted, 
is penetrated with a sorrow too intense 
and elevated for vulgar manifestations. 
“ The august lady stands with her 
head turned to heaven, and one hand 
pointing to her dead son, as if offering 
to the Eternal Father the sacrifice of 
the Atonement. The part of grief, 
being secondary in the interest of the 
sublime subject, is sustained more 
openly by the 2 angels, and less by 
the youth than by the child. The 
body of Christ is evidently a corpse, 
and was probably painted from nature. 


The helplessness of the head and limbs, 
and the pallor of death, could not be 
better expressed. The flesh is well 
drawn, but comes rather within the 
limits of the beau-natural than of the 
beau-ideal. The background is almost 
empty, presenting hardly the outlines 
of a mountain, and of a withered tree. 
The execution of this picture displays 
a superior freedom, precision, and gran¬ 
deur of style, proper to his latest works.” 
— Gallo. 

This was one of the last productions 
of Novelli’s pencil, and is even be¬ 
lieved to have been the cause of his 
death. A certain Pietro Sensale had 
been employed to make a frame for this 
picture, and, to secure an unjust profit, 
lie covered it with silver, coloured in 
some way to resemble gold, instead of 
with pure gold leaf. When called on 
to value the frame, Novelli detected 
the imposition, and exposed the maker, 
who is said to have availed himself ot 
the tumult, which broke out soon after 
in the Piazza of the Quattro Cantoni, 
to gratify his revenge, and to have 
fired the shot which proved fatal to 
the painter. This popular movement 
in Palermo happened in 1647, simul¬ 
taneously with that of Massaniello at 
Naples. 

One ch. of the Padri Crociferi (k), 
or Passionists, who receive the former 
name from the red cross they wear on 
their breasts, is in the Via Butera. It 
is octagonal, with an elliptical cupola. 
The altarpiece, representing the elec¬ 
tion of St. Matthias as an apostle, is 
one of the best works of Giacomo lo 
Verde, and partakes largely of the style 
of his master, Novelli. In a chapel to 
the 1. is a Visitation, by Novelli him¬ 
self. In the monastery a stone cork¬ 
screw staircase of 111 steps is shown as 
a triumph of art. 

Padri Crociferi (c), Via Macqueda. 
A fine spacious ch. in the Italian style, 
spoilt by a sham dome, and containing 
no pictures of merit, save in the sacristv, 
where an excellent Sta. Cecilia, appa¬ 
rently of the Bolognese school, excites 
admiration, especially for the cherubs 
who are holding the book and musical 
instruments to the saint. 









PALERMO—LA CONCEZIONE-SAN DOMENICO. 


41 


Santa Cita, see Santa Zita. 

La Concezione (c), in the street lead¬ 
ing to the Porta di Carini, is attached 
to a Benedictine nunnery, and, like all 
churches belonging to that wealthy 
■order, is highly ornate. Though small, 
it is a good example of the Sicilian 
rococo style of the 17th century, that 
style which is seen on a grand scale in 
the Casa Professa. Marbles of many 
hues, reliefs, statues, stuccoes, frescoes, 
and gilding in lavish profusion, cover 
the walls and roof, and excite a regret 
that so much treasure should have 
been expended with so little taste. 
The altarpiece is an Immaculate Con¬ 
ception, attributed to Rosalia Novelli, 
on the strength of some doubtful docu¬ 
ment, while ocular evidence ascribes 
it with not less confidence to her 
father. There is much in the figure 
of the Virgin and the tone of colouring 
to remind one of Murillo, with whom 
this was a favourite subject. Though 
one of the least forcible of Novellis 
works in point of chiaroscuro, its colour¬ 
ing is rich and harmonious, and the 
touch free and masterly. Over the 
altar to the rt. is S. Benedict destroy¬ 
ing idols, by Giuseppe Velasquez of 
Palermo (1750-1827). The choir within 
the convent contains a fresco of Christ 
carrying his cross, said to be by Novelli. 

Chiesa de' Dispersi (l), or Santa 
Maria VAnnumiata, near the Porta di 
S. Giorgio, is a small cli., dating from 
1345, having 3 apses, and as many aisles 
divided by pointed arches, which are 
surrounded with mouldings partly 
Gothic and partly Greek, and rest on 
marble columns with corrupt classic 
capitals, each bearing the figure of a 
Sibyl. The roof is flat, of w r ood in 
coffers, and enriched with Greek adorn¬ 
ments in colour and gold. The coffers 
in the nave contain small paintings, 
16 in number, illustrative of the history 
of our Saviour and his Mother, from 
the Salutation down to the Assumption 
of the Virgin, by some unknown artist 
of the early part of the 16th century. 
The colouring is poor, but the compo¬ 
sition often good, particularly in the 
Pentecost and Ascension; the figures 


generally well designed and always ex¬ 
pressive, and the drapery simple. The 
altarpiece is ascribed to Anemolo, bnt 
is not worthy of him. In the rt. apse 
is an old picture of St. Anne, the Virgin, 
and Child, on a gold ground. The 
fagade of the ch. is of the Renaissance, 
bearing date 1501, but close to it in 
the same street is a fine pointed door¬ 
way 2 centuries earlier, decorated with 
a triple Norman zigzag. It is now the 
entrance to the Conservatorio de' Fan- 
ciulli Dispersi, or Musical Seminary for 
Orphan Children, established in 1617. 

San Domenico (l), in the Piazza of 
the same name. It was in 1216, during 
the lifetime of St. Dominic, that the 
monks of the order he had instituted 
came to Palermo, and settled on this 
spot, where in 1640 they founded this 
magnificent ch. Its fagade is imposing, 
with two orders of architecture, Doric 
and Composite, grey marble columns 
and enniehed statues, the whole flanked 
by two lofty bell-towers. 

Internally this is one of the most 
spacious churches in Palermo, as it 
measures 368 palms (309j Eng. ft.) in 
length, and is capable, without the 
choir, of containing 11,918 persons, at 
the allowance of 3 square palms to each. 
The severe simplicity of the interior 
presents a striking contrast to the re¬ 
dundant ornamentation of most of the 
churches in this city. It is of Roman 
Doric architecture, divided into 3 aisles 
by 16 massive columns of dark grey 
marble. Had the 4 lofty piers at the 
intersection of the nave with the tran¬ 
septs been crowned by a dome, accord¬ 
ing to the original design, this would 
have been a truly noble cli., but a flat 
roof, painted perspectively in imitation 
of a cupola, is a beggarly substitute, 
and injures the grandeur of the edifice. 
The pavement is in chequers of white 
and grey marble. The holy-water 
basins at the entrance rest on pedestals 
which bear the torch-bearing dog of 
the order, and above them are curious 
reliefs of trecento sculpture. 

In the 2nd chapel to the rt. is a 
Sta. Rosalia in her mountain-cell, 
ministered to by a cherub ; by Andrea 
Carreca of Trapani, a pupil of Novelli. 







42 


PALERMO—SAN DOMENICO. 


In the next chapel is a wretched Cruci¬ 
fixion by Giovanni Paolo Fondulio, a 
Cremonese artist, who visited Sicily in 
the 16tli century. The next chapel is 
rich in marbles incrusted and inlaid in 
the usual barocco style. In the 6tli 
the altarpiece of S. Vincenzo Ferreri 
blessing the people in the time of 
pestilence is by Giuseppe Velasquez of 
Palermo (1750-1827). The rt. tran¬ 
sept contains a picture, by Filippo 
Paladino of Florence, of St. Dominic 
kneeling before the cross, surrounded by 
18 small scenes illustrative of events in 
the saint’s life. In the transept-aisle is 
a sarcophagus of black-veined marble 
from Porto Venere, an exact imitation 
of that of the Emperor Frederick II. 
in porphyry in the Cathedral. It con¬ 
tains the remains of Don Blasco Isfar, 
a Spanish noble. The high altar is 
rich in Sicilian marbles, and its pal lotto 
or front is of silver, showing a temple 
and figures in relief. Behind it is the 
choir, with seats of carved wood and 
decorations in the Renaissance style. 
In the 1. transept-aisle is a curious old 
picture on a gilt ground of St. Thomas 
de Aquinas disputing with the heretics, 
one of whom, said to be Averroes, is lite¬ 
rally overthrown by the force of the 
saint’s arguments. The saint, a noble 
and dignified figure, sits between a Pope 
in robes of cloth of gold, and a king of 
Spain in garments of equal richness, 
and with the toison dor about his neck, 
while other figures, lay and ecclesiastic, 
flank the scene on either side. This 
picture is attributed by the Cavalier 
Puccini to Anlonello da Messina, who 
about the middle of the 15th century 
introduced into Italy the art of paint¬ 
ing in oil, which he had learned from 
.Toliann Van Eyck in the Netherlands. 
Signor Gallo ascribes it to Salvatore 
d Antonio of Messina. The altarpiece 
in the 1. transept is the Madonna of the 
Rosary, by Vincenzo Anemolo (ob. 1552), 
inscribed with the date 1540; and is 
in the artist’s middle style, betraying 
the study of the great Italian masters 
of the day, but not the elevation to 
which he ultimately attained. The 
Madonna is painted on a gilt ground, 
beneath an arch of cherubs and flowers. 
The Child in her arms is dropping a 


rosary into the hands of St. Dominic, 
who, with St. Vincent, Sta. Cristina, 
and Sta. Ninfa, stands below. At their 
feet is a Lilliputian crowd of warriors 
i and ecclesiastics in adoration, one of 
the (former displaying the banner of the 
Empire." 

In this same transept is a Pieta, by 
some ascribed to Girolamo Alibrandi, 
of Messina (1470-1524), by others re¬ 
garded as a work of Vincenzo Ane'molo, 
in his second and dry maimer. In 
the 1. aisle, the 2nd chapel from the 
transept contains a fine picture by 
Monrealese, painted in 1637, represent¬ 
ing the last communion of the Mag¬ 
dalen. This is pronounced by his bio¬ 
grapher Gallo to be one of the most 
beautiful oil-paintings of the master. 
“ This picture, as regards composition, 
approaches much nearer to Domeni- 
chino than to Vandyck, and combines 
infinite graces of colouring with much 
cleverness of design. The head of the 
bishop is full of life; that of the Mag¬ 
dalen preserves the beautiful contours 
of youth, though thinned by fasts and 
suffering, and the rosy hues on her 
cheeks have given place to the pallor 
of approaching death. The attitude in 
which she receives the Host is well 
chosen to display her modesty, for she 
crosses her hands on her bosom, and 
covers it also with her auburn locks. 
An angel (who kneels by her side to 
support her) contrasts his countenance 
radiant with immortal youth with the 
faded features of the penitent. Another, 
who turns his back, from which springs 
a wing, which stands out visibly from 
the canvas, holds a lighted taper. The 
cherubs have living flesh, and closely 
resemble those of Ribera in his cele¬ 
brated Pieta in the Certosa at Naples.” 
— Rezzonico. 

At the N. door, opening to the clois¬ 
ters, is a quattrocento relief of the 
Almighty holding Our Saviour on the 
cross. The 4th chapel in this aisle from 
the W. door has a beautiful altarpiece 
by Rosalia Novell i, daughter of Mon¬ 
realese, representing St. Anne leading 
her youthful daughter to the temple, 
accompanied by St. Joachim and two 
females. The little Virgin, charm¬ 
ingly simple and sweet, and the beau- 







PALERMO—SAN DOMENICO. 


tiful woman to the 1., attract the eye 
at the first glance. The picture has 
suffered much injury, and has been 
badly restored. It is probable that this 
is a copy by his daughter from one of 
his own pictures, and that he inserted 
the accessories with his own hand. This 
same chapel contains a small figure of 
Sta. Caterina, from the chisel of Anto¬ 
nio Gagini, and one of Sta. Barbara, of 
earlier date and inferior art. 

In the 2nd chapel from the en¬ 
trance is a Pentecost, attributed to 
Pietro Perugino, but it has none of his 
mannerism. Though with the pre- 
Raphaelite shortcomings, it has many 
of the excellences of that early school. 
The simple, dignified figure of the 
Virgin kneeling in the midst of the 
apostles, and the variety and expres¬ 
sion in their upraised countenances, 
illumined by the glory of the dove, 
are worthy of admiration. The first 
chapel in this aisle contains a marble 
group of St. Joseph leading the youth¬ 
ful Saviour, attributed to Antonio 
Gagini. 

Tins church also contains a curious 
picture of St. Raymond crossing the sea 
in his cloak, which serves at once for 
boat and sail. It is by Filippo Pala- 
dino. But the gem of this collec¬ 
tion is Vincenzo Anemolos great picture 
and chef-cVceuvre, the Deposition, one 
of the chief glories of Sicilian art. It is 
on wood, and not in good preservation, 
the paint in parts having been blis¬ 
tered by the candles set upon the 
altar. The subject is treated much in 
the same way as by Daniele da Vol- 
terra, in his far-famed picture in the 
Trinita de’ Monti, at Rome. The body 
just detached from the cross is held up 
from above, and by the disciples on 
ladders at the sides. At the foot the 
Virgin is fainting in the arms of four 
women, who in their varied attitudes 
of grief form with her a group of 
wonderful beauty and interest. The 
Entombment in the predeUa below re¬ 
presents in part the same subject en 
petit. The skill with which the group 
of Marys around the dead Saviour has 
been reproduced with a varied, yet not 
less beautiful treatment, is worthy of 
admiration. These two pictures are 


43 

undergoing the process of restoration in 
the convent adjoining the ch. 

S. Domenico is the Santa Croce, or 
Pantheon, of Palermo, as it contains 
monuments to many Sicilians who have 
distinguished themselves in the arts 
or sciences, in law, or literature. Be¬ 
ginning with the rt. aisle, on the 1st 
pilaster is a monument to Vincenzo 
Piolo, a Palermitan painter, who lived 
from 1772 to 1837. The next is to 
Giuseppe Velasquez of Palermo (1750- 
1827), “ the prince and master of mo¬ 
dem Sicilian painters.” Then follow 
monuments to Giovanni Patricola of 
Palermo (1789-1861), “a devout priest 
and most able artist;” to Giuseppe 
Patania of Palermo (1780-1852), who 
“ selected the beautiful from nature 
and to Antonio Mongitore, a canon of 
the Cathedral, who for the amount and 
extent of his learning “ may well be 
compared to Varro.” There are monu¬ 
ments also to modem princes, states¬ 
men, and warriors. 

In the 1. aisle, close to the tran¬ 
sept, is a monument to Pietro Novelli , 
called Monrealese, the prince of Sicilian 
painters, raised in 1845 by Agostino 
Gallo, his biographer. His bust in 
marble is from the hand of Valerio 
Villareale, after the portrait in the 
gallery of the Universita. He was 
born at Monreale on 2nd March, 1603, 
died at Palermo 27th August, 1647, 
and was interred in the cemetery of 
this ch. “ Of all Sicilian painters,” 
says his epitaph, “he was the closest 
imitator of nature, also a skilful archi¬ 
tect and engraver.” 

On the next pilaster is a monument 
to two eminent architects, Giuseppe 
Venanzio Marvuglia (1729-1814), and 
Alessandro Emanuele, his son (1773- 
1845), “ who diffused through Sicily a 
knowledge of and correct taste in archi¬ 
tecture.” A monument to Valerio 
Villareale follows, a celebrated sculptor 
of Palermo (1773-1854), who is said to 
have executed works “ in the pure style 
of the Greeks, and of Canova ! ” 

The 2nd chapel in the 1. aisle con¬ 
tains a monument to Giovanni Melt, 
the only bard in modern times who has 
worshipped the Muses in that “ favella 
Siciliana,” which was once cultivated 




44 


PALERMO—SAN DOMENICO. 


by the monarchs of the island, and 
which Dante celebrates as almost 
synonymous with poetic language. He 
died in 1816, at the age of 75. On 
sarcophagus he is represented 
crow A jed by Apollo and the Muses—a 
relief executed by Villareale of Palermo 
in 1828. His epitaph runs thus— 
“Giovanni Meli of Palermo, a second 
Theocritus and Anacreon, the darling, 
the delight, the glory of the Sicilian 
Muses, gentle in manners, and of spot¬ 
less life, sets fate at defiance from this 
monument, which was erected at the 
public expense, under the superin¬ 
tendence of Agostino Gallo.” Oppo¬ 
site is a monument to Michael Angelo 
Monti, poet and orator, who, though a 
native of Genoa, was professor of elo¬ 
quence in the University of Palermo, 
and died here in 1822, at the age of 71. 

In the ante-sacristy are many pic¬ 
tures, more curious than beautiful. 
Here is a S. Carlo Borromeo in adora¬ 
tion, by Giuseppe Assd.ro, of Regalbuto, 
commonly called “ II Monocolo.” The 
sacristy is surrounded with carved 
wood-work of the Renaissance period. 

Attached to this church are Cloisters 
of Norman architecture, which resemble 
on a small scale the beautiful ones of 
Monreale. They are of oblong form, 
surrounded on three sides by pointed 
arches, 14 on the N. and 10 on the E-. 
and W.; the fourth side having been 
replaced, and the symmetry of the 
court destroyed, by large circular arches, 
corresponding with those of the modern 
church. The ancient part has also 
suffered much from wretched restora¬ 
tions. All the arches and abaci, how¬ 
ever, are untouched. The former, both 
inside and out, are surrounded by the 
dog-tooth moulding; and the abaci, 
which have the usual massiveness of 
the style, are enriched with foliage of 
true Siculo-Norman character, varied 
in eveiy instance. The columns are of 
marble, slender, and in pairs, originally 
plain and ornamented alternately, but 
they have been restored without regard 
to this arrangement. One oidy is now 
chevroned, many are twisted, and two 
are interlaced. The capitals in a few 
instances are of corrupt Corinthian, 


but are mostly bossed and foliated in 
the Norman style. 

In the court opening from the clois¬ 
ters to the E. is a Virgin and Child in 
relief by Luca della Robbia; and on 
the staircase leading to the convent are 
reliefs of the Virgin and of St. Jerome 
in adoration, of quattrocento art. The 
library of the convent contains some 
valuable manuscripts. 

Oratorio del Rosario di San Do¬ 
menico (l) at the back of S. Domenico, 
in the Via della Porta di S. Giorgio. 
This oratory, belonging to one of the 
wealthiest confraternities of Palermo, 
and erected in 1568, is in the barocco 
style, elaborately adorned with stuc¬ 
coes, but richer still in pictures. It is 
rarely opened, but the key, which is 
kept by Antonio Scimone, of the Bal- 
laro, can be procured at a short notice 
by the landlord of the hotel. 

The altarpiece is the Madonna of 
the Rosary, by Vandyclc, commenced 
by him when in Sicily, but finished in 
Genoa when the plague of 1624 had 
driven him from the island. It is a 
large and magnificent picture, and, 
though painted at the early age of 25, 
lias all the excellences of his best style. 
The Virgin, with the Child in her lap, 
appears in the clouds surroimded by 
cherubs, and drops a rosary into the 
hands of St. Dominic, who, with a 
bevy of virgin-martyrs, occupies the 
lower part of the picture. In the group 
opposite St. Dominic stand Santa 
Oliva and Santa Rosa di Luna, the 
latter dressed as a nun and crowned 
with thorns, the former in purple. 
Behind them is St. Agatha in blue, 
distinguished by her dart, and St. 
Christina, whose head alone is visible. 
In the midst kneels Santa Ninfa, of 
angelic fairness, with eyes raised in 
ecstasy. The beauty of Santa Oliva 
also is dazzling, and her figure is of 
matchless dignity and grace. The 
female with long brown hair kneeling 
beneath St. Dominic is Santa Rosalia, 
not at that time promoted, as she was 
soon after, to the supreme protectorate 
of Palermo. A boy in front, who 
seems to have been about to pick up 
some roses, is startled by a skull lying 



PALERMO—ORATORIO DI S. DOMENICO. 


45 


by their side, and rushes away holding 
his nose—an incident which disturbs 
the elevated repose of the picture, but 
was introduced to express the artist’s 
own fate in being driven from Sicily 
by the plague. 

Commencing with the pictures on 
the 1. wall, we have—1. An Annun¬ 
ciation, by Giacomo lo Verde, which, 
with all the force of his master No- 
velli, falls far short of him in elevation 
and sentiment. 2. The Visitation, by 
W. Borromans — well coloured, but 
commonplace. 3. The Nativity, by a 
pupil of Novelli, whose manner is seen 
rather in the cherubs than in the group 
below. 4. The Circumcision, by the j 
same pupil—the flesh cadaverous and , 
forbidding. 5. Christ disputing with | 
the Doctors, by Novelli —an early pic- | 
ture in his third style, forcible and 
harmonious. 

On the opposite wall, returning to- 
wards the door, we have—6. Christ 
on the Cross—a solitary figure, copied 
from Vandyclc, it is said, by an Eng¬ 
lishman, who substituted his copy for 
the original which formerly hung here 
—surreptitiously, or by the connivance 
of the Confraternity, is not stated. 7 i 
and 8. Christ sinking beneath his 
Cross—and crowned with thorns : both 
by unknown artists of the Flemish 
school; the latter far superior to the 
other, and excellent in colouring and 
chiaroscuro; the nude figure of Our 
Saviour sitting in the midst of his tor¬ 
mentors is admirable for its truth to 
nature. Observe his hands swollen 
from the ligatures around them; and 
especially remark his meek dignity in 
contrast with the coarse vulgarity of 
the man who half kneels before him 
and mockingly offers him a reed. 9. 
The Scourging, by Matthew Stammer, 
the pupil and imitator of Hontliorst 
—excellent as an effect of light and 
shade, but contemptible as a repre¬ 
sentation of one of the most awful 
events in the world’s history. The 
face of the Saviour is that of a crimi¬ 
nal conscious of meriting his punish¬ 
ment. 10. The Agony in the Garden, 
by Luca Giordano. 

On the end wall of the chapel op¬ 
posite the altar and over the rt. door j 


is —11. The Resurrection, by Luca 
Giordano, a good piece of colouring ; 
but Christ running across the picture 
is ignoble. 12. Over the 1. door, the 
Ascension, a copy horn Novelli ,, 
stituted by the artist who pam .ed it. 
13. Between the doors is the Descent 
of the Holy Ghost; an undoubted No¬ 
velli, and worthy of him. The Virgin 
with eyes upraised kneels in the midst 
of the Disciples, and the group she 
forms with Peter and John is admir¬ 
able. The head of the former is very 
fine. Her face has more elevation than 
Novelli generally attained in his Vir¬ 
gins. The colouring of this picture is 
low-toned, yet rich, and the treatment 
simple but noble. The large picture 
above it is—14. The Assumption of 
the Virgin, by Luca Giordano, wonder¬ 
fully brilliant as a piece of colour. 
Below 13 is a St. Catherine, supposed 
to be by Cavaliere Massimo, a Neapo¬ 
litan artist of the 17th century. 

The Coronation of the Virgin by her 
Son in glory, in the centre of the 
vaidt, is frescoed by Novelli, and, 
though not of his best, “ merits praise 
for the vigour and freedom of the touch 
and correctness of the drawing.”— Gallo.. 
The angels in the medallions around it 
are by Borromans. 

The 14 Virtues and allegorical 
figures around the walls of this church 
are by Giacomo Serpotta (1655-1732). 
A few are simple and good, the best 
being Victory, Humility, Wisdom, 
Peace, and Justice ; but the rest offend 
good taste by the fantastic costume of 
150 years since, and are stayed and 
coiffured as if got up for a ball. By the 
same hand are the 12 reliefs in ellip¬ 
tical medallions above these statues, 
which, like most of Serpotta’s reliefs, 
are too pictorial for sculpture; and 
also the numerous stucco figures of 
men, angels, and devils, which crowd 
the cornice. The piety of the artist 
must have been on a par with his taste, 
who could be guilty of such unbe¬ 
coming puerilities, and perpetuate in a 
place of worship such practical jokes 
as here offend the eye. 

S. Eidalia de Catalani (l), in the Via 
dell’ Argenteria Nuova,facing the Fon- 












4G PALERMO—STA. EULALIA- 

tana del Garraffo. A small church 
founded by the Catalans who settled in 
Sicily under the Aragonese dynasty, 
and dedicated by them to a Catalan 
virgin and martyr, about the year 1500. 
Over the gate which leads to it from 
the street are the arms of Spain, and 
in the facade above are 4 busts of Ara¬ 
gonese kings, of rude art, projecting 
from the wall. The church assumed 
its present form of a Greek cross in 
1757.. Just within the entrance are 4 
large columns of beautiful Barcellona 
marble, red with yellow veins. The 
1st chapel to rt. contains a Madonna 
of Montserrat—a singular and quaint 
picture, by “ Joseph Sirena, 1582,” who 
from his name appears to have been a 
Spaniard. Remark his original views 
of perspective, not proper to his day. 

In the rt. transept the same subject 
is treated by a later and more masterly 
hand— Gerardo Asturino of Palermo 
(ob. 1663), a fellow-student with No- 
velli. The Virgin and Child, both 
crowned with huge tiaras, sit on a 
throne at the base of the mountain, 
while angels offer them flowers, and 
pilgrims, male and female, kneel in 
adoration at their feet. The moun¬ 
tain forms a vast dark background to 
the whole. The composition is sym¬ 
metrical, the colouring low-toned, yet 
rich; the heads of the pilgrims life¬ 
like and expressive. In the opposite 
transept is the Martyrdom of S. Eu¬ 
lalia, by the same hand, with the date 
of 1636. The saint is seized by Ro¬ 
man soldiers, who are about to bind 
her to a cross at the command of a 
proconsul enthroned in the back¬ 
ground. This picture is inferior to 
the last, yet it possesses considerable 
merit. The head of the saint, half¬ 
prayerful, half-remonstrating with the 
soldiers, is beautiful and expressive. 
It is to be regretted that few other 
works of Asturino are known to exist. 


S. Francesco d' Assisi, in the Piazza 
of that name (k). The monks of this 
order came to Sicily during the life¬ 
time of their founder, and commenced 
this church in 1255, though it was not 
completed till 1471. The W. door 


.—S. FRANCESCO d’ASSISI. 

was constructed in 1302 at the ex¬ 
pense of the Chiaramonte family: 
and it is a good specimen of the 
manner in which the Byzantine and 
Norman elements were blended in 
Sicilian architecture at that period. 
It is pointed, with 3 orders, each 
adorned with the chevron and Greek 
scroll moulding, and resting on 
marble shafts with foliated capi¬ 
tals ; while the label bears the Greek 
acanthus. A depressed pediment with 
similar label encloses a round-headed 
niche with clievroned shafts. Above 
this is a large circular window, now 
without tracery, but surrounded with 
a bold scroll moulding. The sym¬ 
metry of the door has been destined 
by 3 large shields, bearing inscriptions. 
On each side of the portal are 2 co¬ 
lumns, supporting small statues of 
female saints, and not forming part of 
the original fasade, but probably be¬ 
longing to a mosque, for one of them 
bears two Arabic inscriptions in Cu- 
phic characters, the upper being—“ In 
the name of God, the Compassionate, 
the Merciful! ” the other the formula 
of the Moslem profession of faith— 
“ There is no God but God, and Mo¬ 
hammed is his Prophet! ” A piece of 
old wall on the S. side of the church, 
apparently of Saracenic construction, 
renders it probable that a mosque pre¬ 
viously occupied this site. 

The interior of the church bears no 
trace of its original architecture, save 
in a pointed window in the S. tran¬ 
sept, and in the groined roofs of some 
of the side-chapels. Against the Ionic 
pilasters which divide the church into 
3 aisles are statues of the Virtues in 
stucco, by Giacomo Serpotta, in a most 
vicious style of art, displaying the 
costume, airs, and affectation of fine 
ladies of the last century. In the 
nave and aisles are 5 frescoes by No- 
velli, executed in 1633, and the first 
works of this master in his third and 
best style. He had painted some 
frescoes on the vault of this church in 
1630, but on his return from Rome he 
was so dissatisfied with what he • had 
done that he offered to repaint them 
without remuneration, if the monks 
would only bear the expense of the 



PALERMO—S. FRANCESCO D*ASSISI. 


47 


scaffolding and colours. The frescoes 
in the nave were utterly ruined by the 
earthquake of 3rd March, 1823, and 
those in the aisles have also suffered 
injury; but that over the entrance- 
door remains to attest the power of 
Novelli’s pencil. It represents the 
meeting in Rome of St. Angelo da 
Licata, St. Francis, and St. Dominic. 
“A subject of such a character, which 
speaks neither to the feelings nor to 
the imagination, would have embar¬ 
rassed an artist of ordinary powers ; 
but Novelli was able to ennoble it, and 
animate it by the magic of his pencil. 
The three saints appear to be living 
and talking—you fancy you can hear 
their voices. The arrangement of the 
accessories is open to censure, for the 
left side of the picture is too crowded, 
the right too bare. The light is well 
distributed, and the tone of the picture 
is more forcible than that of the other 
four frescoes.”— Gallo. 

The first fresco in the rt. aisle re¬ 
presents Pope Nicholas V. in a sub¬ 
terranean chapel in an attitude of 
adoration before the body of St. Fran¬ 
cis, which is seen on its feet, unde¬ 
cayed, with eyes open, and hands 
clasped on its bosom. The Pope’s at¬ 
tendants are lost in wonder at the mira¬ 
culous position of the body. This fresco, 
never forcible, has received much in¬ 
jury. The next shows St. Francis 
offering roses to the infant Saviour in 
liis mother’s arms. The Virgin is 
beautiful, but wants expression. The 
Child, on the other hand, is most ani¬ 
mated, and his attitude as he turns 
from his mother towards the saint is 
highly natural and expressive, of in¬ 
fantile delight. The beauty of the 
shadowy choir of angels and cherubs 
around the Virgin is remarkable. 

In the first fresco in the 1. aisle, the 
saint, appearing to Pope Gregory, dis¬ 
plays the stigmata on his body, and 
makes them run with blood, which 
the Pope, to assure himself of the 
miracle, is catching in a pyx. “ A 
subject so barren left nothing for the 
painter to portray beyond the expres¬ 
sion of astonishment in Gregory, and 
the noble and venerable air of the 
$aint, in which he has succeeded to 


admiration. The heads are painted 
with great spirit. The light is well 
arranged, and the general tone of the 
picture is bright and forcible.”— 
Gallo. The fresco next to this repre¬ 
sents St. Louis of France about to kiss 
the girdle of St. Francis, who appears 
to him at the altar. The warriors 
around suggest the idea of the king 
being on the point of departing on a 
Crusade. “ The composition is well 
arranged, pyramidal and varied, par¬ 
taking of the manner of Domenichino. 
The colouring is sober; the cherubs 
charming and drawn with spirit.”— 
Gallo. Some of the subordinate figures 
in this fresco are obliterated. 

The 2nd chapel to the rt. is faced 
with reliefs in marble, illustrative of 
the life of St. Francis, of poor art, 
but showing the state of Sicilian 
sculpture in the 15th century. In the 
4tli is a large Madonna on a gold 
ground, of Byzantine art. The 6th, 
rich in marbles of various hues, con¬ 
tains two reliefs in marble—the Scourg¬ 
ing, and Christ sinking beneath his 
Cross, >by Ignazio Marabitti of Paler¬ 
mo (1719-1795). The group of the 
Pieta in tli epaliotto is by the same hand. 
In the 8tli is a Madonna delle Grazie, 
with St. John the Baptist and Sta. Chi- 
ara standing below; a picture in which 
the composition and colouring are excel¬ 
lent, the figures full of life and nature, 
the Virgin and Child being quite Ra- 
phaclesque; if not by Anemolo, it is 
probably by some other pupil of the 
great Umbrian. Observe how the 
Infant is kicking with delight as ho 
drinks in his nourishment. To the rt. 
of the tribune is the Cajpella Senatoria, 
in the favourite barocco style, inlaid 
and incrusted with marbles of various 
colours, and in as varied forms. Eight 
statues of saints, of life-size, adorn the 
walls; on the 1. the Virgin tutelars of 
Palermo; on the rt. St. Philip, St. Ma- 
milian, St. Sergius, and St. Agatho. The 
altarpiece is a large picture of the Imma- 
culata in mosaic, worked at Rome in 
1772 expressly for this church, at the 
cost of 5000 dollars. It has been injured 
by a fire which broke out here in 1851. 
Over the high altar is an Ascension 
by an unknown hand, The wood- 




48 


PALERMO—LA GANCIA. 


carvings in the choir are quaint and 
curious. The 5tli and 6th chapels 
in the 1. aisle are fronted with reliefs 
and arabesques of the Renaissance 
period. The 4th, belonging to the 
Yanni family, formerly boasted of an 
Angelo Custode by Domenichino, but 
this was removed in 1797 to Naples to 
adorn the Royal Gallery, and a copy 
of it by Giuseppe Velasquez has been 
substituted. The inscriptions on the 
monuments in this chapel are worthy 
of notice. The 1st chapel in this aisle 
contains two early groups of the Ma¬ 
donna and Child. 

In the ante-sacristy is a marble 
group of St. George and the Dragon, 
attributed to Antonio Gagini (1480- 
1571), and much vaunted; but the 
hero is spiritless. The decorations of 
the canopy under which it stands, and 
the six saints in medallions around it, 
are much more worthy of Gagini's 
chisel. It bears date 1526. 

S. Francesco cli Paola, —see Santa 
Oliva. 

The church of S. Maria degli Angioli, 
better known as La Gancia (k), is in 
the Via dell’ Alloro. Gancia, Gangia, 
or Grangia, is a term applied in Sicily 
to a building attached to an abbey; 
and the hospice in certain towns re¬ 
ceives the same appellation. Hence 
the name in this instance, for it is on 
record that the brothers of the convent 
of S. Maria di Gesu, without the walls, 
about the year 1430 obtained a small 
edifice within the city for curing then- 
sick, which hospital eventually grew 
into a convent, formerly “ the largest 
and most celebrated in Palermo,” to 
which the present church was attached. 

Internally the church is modernised'; 
but the original style is seen in two 
doors in the W. front, which are round- 
headed, and of very simple architec¬ 
ture. The N. door has a depressed arch. 
The roof is that of the early church— 
a flat ceiling of wood, adorned with gilt 
stars in coffers. The pulpit is an octa¬ 
gon of marble, of quattrocento sculp¬ 
ture, bearing the Evangelists with 
their emblems, the Resurrection of 
Christ, and his descent to Hades, pro¬ 


bably by the elder Gagini, all in relief, 
and more remarkable for simplicity and 
expression than for beauty. By the 
same hand is the relief on the wall 
within the N. door, also representing 
the descent to Hades. 

On the pilasters flanking the tribune 
are two circular reliefs by Antonio Ga¬ 
gini, recently discovered in the hospital. 
They are half-lengths, that to the 1. 
representing the Angel of the Annun¬ 
ciation ; that to the rt., the finer of the 
two, the Virgin. “ Both are remark¬ 
able for devotional and earnest sweet¬ 
ness, without affectation, and may be 
pointed out as first-class specimens of 
Sicilian sculpture.”— H. F. C. Two 
other reliefs, representing S. Louis and 
S. Bernardine of Siena, in medallions, 
are attached to the pilasters in the nave. 

In the 2nd chapel to 1. from the W. 
door is a Presepio by Vincenzo Ane- 
molo (ob. 1552), which with some faults 
in taste has considerable excellences in 
composition and colouring: the figure 
of the Virgin kneeling over her infant 
Son is simple and graceful, and the 
Child is charmingly natural. Observe 
the monuments in this chapel. 

The 3rd chapel to the 1. contains a 
picture by Pietro Novelli, representing 
S. Pietro d’ Alcantara committing his 
meditations to paper. It is not easy 
at once to perceive its merits. “ The 
very dark tone in which the counte¬ 
nance of the saint is portrayed detracts 
much at first sight from the picture; 
but when you have traced out the 
details, you discover a nobleness and 
grandeur of features, and a firm and 
masterly touch. A delicate tone, how¬ 
ever, is preserved in the lovely cherubs 
suspended in the upper part of the 
picture, who almost compensate for the 
partial loss of the saint’s figure, which 
is attributable to the sinking in of the 
colours.”— Gallo. This picture is in 
Novelli’s third style, and was painted 
in 1640. 

In the chapel on the Gospel side of 
the high altar is a Marriage of the 
Virgin, by Anemolo, showing a great 
improvement on the picture by this 
artist just described. The figure in 
black, kneeling in the foreground, re¬ 
presents the noble who gave the order 




PALERMO—S. GIACOMO LA MARINA. 


49 


for the work; and the suitor on the oppo¬ 
site side breaking his wand, as well as 
the face looking over his shoulder, are 
also portraits. The latter is supposed to 
be that of the painter himself. In the 
corresponding chapel in the rt. tran¬ 
sept, that of Om Lady of Guadalupe, 
are 2 small pictures of David, and a 
prophet in prayer, also by Anemolo. 
Below them are two large paintings, 
and on the wall of the transept a third, 
probably by Pietro d'Aquila of Trapani 
(ob. 1692), representing the discovery of 
the miraculous image of Guadalupe. 

In the 2nd chapel to the rt. from the 
W. door is a Virgin of Montserrat—a 
curious picture on a gold ground, in¬ 
scribed with “ Antoniello di Palermo , 
1528.” The Virgin is sweet and Ba- 
phaelesque, the colouring rich, the dra¬ 
pery broad, and the whole carefully 
painted. High over the arch in the 1. 
transept is a Madonna of Loreto, appa¬ 
rently by the same hand. The ch. con¬ 
tains several curious sepulchral monu¬ 
ments, some with Spanish inscriptions. 
Observe one in the rt. transept to Don 
Juan Osorio QuiCones (ob. 1563), sur¬ 
mounted by a skeleton, with an admo¬ 
nitory scroll in Spanish verse. 

Chiesa de' Gesuiti (c), the church 
attached to the Jesuits’ College in the 
Toledo, is not worthy of the order, who 
appear to have expended all their 
treasures in the decoration of the Casa 
Professa. Though of earlier founda¬ 
tion, this church was reconstructed in 
1615. On its vault is a fresco of Christ 
drawn in triumph through heaven, by 
Filippo Tancredi of Messina (1655- 
1725). The chapel of S. Luigi Gon- 
zaga contains a relief of that saint 
borne aloft by angels, by Ignazio Ma- 
rabitti of Palermo (1719-1795). The 
architectural adornments of the altar 
are by Antonio Gagini, and are very 
elaborate, yet the contrast between 
his chaste arabesques and the fiaunty, 
Bernini-like sculpture they enclose, is 
striking. The altarpiece is a copy of j 
the Madonna della Seggiola. The pic¬ 
tures illustrative of the saint’s life on 
the sidewalls are by Giuseppe Velasquez 
of Palermo (1750-1827), and are es¬ 
teemed among his best works. 

[Sicily.2 


San Giacomo la Marina (l), in the 
Piazza of the same name, is said by 
Fazello and Pirri to be erected on the 
ruins of one of the earliest mosques of 
Palermo. A tablet records that it 
dates from the 12th century, and that, 
having fallen into decay, it was rebuilt 
in 1723, and its chapels adorned with 
marbles and paintings. It must have 
been erected before 1143, as it is men¬ 
tioned as existing in that year by 
George the Admiral in the act of en¬ 
dowment of his church of the Mar- 
torana. The interior of the church 
has been modernised; but a portion 
of the ancient Campanile with a 
pointed arch is seen in the fa<jade r 
and from the sacristy, which opens 
in the 1. aisle, you enter a side aisle 
of the original edifice, which is now 
outside, though adjoining the modem 
church. Here are two square bays 
with pointed and groined vaults, of 
simple architecture. In the first, now 
the Baptistery, the capitals with dog¬ 
tooth mouldings are very peculiar. In 
the other, a door now blocked up has 
Norman capitals and foliated abaci, 
which must date from the 12th century. 
The marble font bears the date of 1574. 

The aisles, choir, and chapels of the 
modern church are lined with yellow, 
red, and green marbles. One basin for 
holy water on a twisted shaft is in the 
Pisan style, and inscribed “ Bartolomeus 
Dalechima me fecit, a.d. 1460.” Its 
fellow bears the date of 1561. The 
paintings within the tribune were exe¬ 
cuted in 1730 by Olivio Sozzi of Ca¬ 
tania. In the apse are the Discovery 
of the Conception, the Nativity, and 
the Circumcision; in the choir the 
Adoration of the Magi, and the Purifi¬ 
cation. 

The chapel of the Lombards, to 
the rt. of the high altar, contained a 
series of panel pictures, painted in 
1542 by Vincenzo Romano, the name 
by which Vincenzo Anemolo was po¬ 
pularly known. But in consequence of 
the injury the ch. sustained during the 
bombardment of 1860, these pictures 
have been removed to the Picture Gal¬ 
lery of the Universita. 

S. Giorgio (l), just within the gate 

D 






.50 


PALERMO—S. GIOVANNI DEGLI EREMITI. 


of that name, contains several pictures. 
Over 1st altar to rt. is a Madonna of 
the Rosary, by Luca Giordano; 2nd to 
rt. the Martyrdom of St. Vincent, by 
Bernardo CastelU, a Genoese painter 
of the early part of the 17th century ; 
4th to rt. the Baptism of Christ, by 
Jacopo Palma the elder. The prin- j 
cipal altarpiece, showing the Martyr- 
dom of St. George, fearfully true to 
nature, and the Annunciation on the 
3rd altar to 1, are both by the same 
hand. Over the entrance-door is St. 
Luke painting the portrait of the 
Virgin, by Paladino. 

S. Giovanni decjli Eremiti (a), near 
the Porta di Castro, a most curious 
church, and one of the earliest speci¬ 
mens of Norman architecture in Sicily. 
A monastery had existed on this spot 
from the days of Gregory the Great in 
the 7th century, under the name of S. j 
Ernie, or Sant' Ermete; but it had fallen 
into decay by the time of the Norman j 
conquest, and was rebuilt by King 
Roger some time before 1132, because 
in that year he wrote to the head of a J 
congregation of hermits at Monte Ver- 
gini in Apulia, requesting him to send 
some of his fraternity to occupy the 
new monastery. Whether it was from 
these hermits, or from the saints to 
whom it was originally dedicated, that 
the church received its present appel¬ 
lation, is an open question. It is now 
so blocked up by houses that you can 
only see it from a distance; perhaps 
from the piazza in front of the Royal 
Palace it is viewed to most advantage. 
The entrance to it is from the upper 
floor of one of these houses. Externally 
it has 5 small cupolas, which give it so 
thoroughly Oriental a character that 
“ it would not be out of place in the 
streets of Delhi or Cairo, except in 
the form of its tower,” and might well 
be taken for a remnant of Saracenic 
antiquity, were there not historic evi¬ 
dence to the contrary. 

The plan of the church is a Latin 
cross, or rather a T, with 3 apses at 
the E. end, the central one being the 
largest. The northern apse is en¬ 
closed in the square tower which rises 
at this angle. The length of the 


church internally is 5G ft. 9 in.; 
breadth, 18 ft. 8 in. The nave is 
divided into 3 square bays, over each of 
which, and over the S. transept, rises a 
small cupola. The tower is surmounted 
by a similar cupola. These cupolas 
have curious corbellings or pendentives 
at each corner, composed of concentric 
arches, the necessity for which arises 
from the imposition of a circle on a 
square. The walls arc of bare ashlar 
masonry; all stucco, and everything 
like decoration, is absolutely wanting, 
and it docs not seem probable that 
such ever existed. Round the nave are 
benches of stone attached to the walls. 
The building is lighted entirely by r 
small windows between the penden- 
tives of the cupolas. All the arches 
in this church are obtusely pointed. 

S. Giovanni V Oroglione (a), in the 
street between S. Salvadore and Santa 
Chiara, a small church of neat, chaste 
architecture, but remarkable only for 
some frescoes by Novelli beneath the 
nuns’ choir at the entrance to the 
church. That to the rt. shows David 
playing the harp to angelic listeners, 
amid a wild rocky landscape; that to 
the 1., David returning with the head 
of Goliath . They have suffered so much 
from restorations as to retain little be¬ 
yond the composition and outlines of the 
original. The frescoes on the ceiling 
beneath the choir are by Vallone, one 
of Novelli’s best pupils. The St. John 
the Baptist, over the 1st altar to 1., is 
considered one of the best productions 
of Vito cl' Anna (1720-1769). The St. 
Benedict over the next altar is by 
Gaspare Serenario. 

S. Giuseppe de' Teatini (a), in the 
Toledo, close to the Quattro Cantoni. 
This church was commenced in 1612, 
but not completed before 1645. It is 
remarkable among the churches of 
Palermo for its size, magnificence, 
richness of ornamentation, and for the 
massiveness of its columns. The fa¬ 
cade, with its simple Composite jxutieo, 
surmounted by figures of Joseph and 
the youthful Saviour, is in striking 
contrast with the redundant ornament¬ 
ation of the interior. The plan is a 








PALERMO—S. GIUSEPPE—S. LORENZO. 


51 


Latin cross, with 3 aisles ancl a dome 
at the intersection of nave and tran¬ 
septs. The architecture is Composite. 
There are 20 columns in the nave and 
aisles, none less than 23| ft. hi height, 
while the 8 which support the dome 
are monoliths of grey marble 34 ft. 
high, exclusive of capital and base, 
and 14 ft. in circumference. The 
archivolts and architraves are of yellow 
marble, the frieze of red mottled, the 
cornice gilt. Up to this height the 
effect is pleasing, extremely rich, but 
in harmony with the pavement of 
many-coloured marbles. The vault 
spoils all. Such an exuberant in¬ 
crustation of tasteless stuccoes, fres¬ 
coes so uninteresting, not even Palermo 
can show elsewhere. A northern Ita¬ 
lian, fresh from the churches of Flo¬ 
rence or Pisa, “ cannot view such bar¬ 
barisms without indignation.” The 
frescoes, which, apart from their sup- 
jects, have some merit, are by Filippo 
Tancredi (1655-1725), of Messina, a 
pupil of Carlo Maratta. On the span- 
drils of the arches below are the 
apostles in fresco, the first 4 to rt. by 
Giuseppe Velasquez of Palermo, those to 
1. by Antonino Manno. 

The chapels are rich in marbles, 
inlaid or incrusted. In the 3rd to 
rt. is an old copy of the Virgin, 
with St. Anne, and the Infant fondling 
a lamb, by Leonardo da Vinci. But 
the altar in the rt. transept, with its 
columns of lilac on plinths of plum- 
colour, green, and yellow, all of the 
choicest marbles, especially calls for ad¬ 
miration. The altarpiece is S. Andrea 
Avellino, by the Cavaliere Conca. 
The relief below it is by Federico 
Siracusa, 1800. In the Chapel of 
the Epistle is a Christ on the 
cross, of life-size, carved in wood 
and painted. It is better than most 
of the coloured statuary so common 
in Sicily; it may be the best, as is 
asserted, in the island, yet falls far 
short of the perfection of Buonar¬ 
roti, to whom it is attributed. The 
high altar is rich in marbles, agates 
and other pietre dure: the 6 candle¬ 
sticks are of agate, verd-antique, lapis- 
lazuli, avventurino, 'and silver-gilt; the 
crucifix is of ivory, of delicate work¬ 


manship, and, save the arms, is in one 
piece; the steps are of Porto Venere 
marble. On the roof of the tribune 
the same elaborate incrustation of 
tasteless stuccoes that disfigures the 
nave is repeated; the frescoes are 
by Andrea Carreca. The Chapel of 
the Gospel contains 2 reliefs of St. 
Joseph, by Filippo Pennino. Over 
the altar in the 1. transept is a pic¬ 
ture by Pietro Novell!, representing 
S. Gaetano in ecstasy, kneeling on a 
cloud surrounded by cherubs. “ The 
picture is remarkable for its warm 
tone, delicate colouring, and depth of 
shadows, and ranks among the most 
beautifully coloured and most care¬ 
fully executed works of the master.” 
— Gallo. It should be observed, how¬ 
ever, that the restoration it has under¬ 
gone of late years, from the hands of 
Valerio Villareale, a tolerable sculptor 
but no painter, has thrown the picture 
quite out of keeping, the cherubs’ 
heads overpowering that of the saint, 
which has been spared this ordeal. 

Beneath this church is a vast crypt, 
called La Madonna della Promidenza, 
hollowed in the rock on which S. 
Giuseppe is built, and of the same di ¬ 
mensions as that church. You descend 
to it from the portico of S. Giuseppe. 
The principal chapel is one of the 
richest in Palermo, with classical de¬ 
corations, and incrusted with gilding 
and stuccoes; the altar is faced with 
silver. The frescoes by Novelli, which 
once adorned the vault, have been 
ruined by barbarous restorations. This 
church is open only on Mondays till 
noon, and on Saturdays till 9 a.m. 

San Lorenzo (k). —Close to S. Fran¬ 
cesco d’Assisi is a small chapel erected 
in 1564, whose walls are encrusted 
with statues and reliefs in stucco, 
esteemed among the best works of 
Giacomo Serpotta (1655-1732). The 
roof once bore a fresco by Borromans, 
representing Jacob blessing liis sons, 
which was considered a chef-d'oeuvre; 
but the greater part of it fell during 
the earthquake in 1823, which de¬ 
stroyed Novell i’s frescoes in the neigh¬ 
bouring church. The pavement, in¬ 
laid with various marbles, displays a 

1 ) 2 









52 


PALERMO—LA MAGIONE. 


gridiron in tlie centre in honour of 
the saint. The reliefs are illustrative 
of his history. The largest, which 
represents his martyrdom, is the 
best. Another relief shows the saint’s 
temptation. Instances of had taste 
are prevalent throughout these reliefs, 
which, though the figures are some¬ 
times well modelled and display much 
spirit, are generally inferior to those 
by the same hand in the Oratorio di 
Sta. Zita, all the faults of which are 
here exaggerated, especially the undue 
prominence of the accessories, and the , 
pictorial rather than sculptural charac¬ 
ter of the compositions. 

Ten female figures, symbolical of 
the Virtues, of life size, surround the 
church; and, though some are not de¬ 
void of affectation, they are in general in 
far better taste, and superior as works of j 
art to the Virtues by Serpotta in San ; 
Francesco. Notice the benches of ebony j 
inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl, 
and supported by pretty figures in 
carved wood, which surround the chapel. 
The altar is enriched with beautiful 
marbles and agates. Over it is a 
Presepio by Michelangelo Caravaggio, 
painted in Palermo, which, though it 
displays a masterly hand and rich and 
forcible colouring, pleases neither the 
mind nor the eye; the faces are devoid 
of beauty and expression; and the 
chiaroscuro is so broken as to destroy 
all unity of effect, and afford no centre 
of interest. In the sacristy is a Christ 
on the cross, attributed to Novelli, but 
unworthy of his pencil. 

La Magione (k), in the Via dell’ 
Ammaggione, near the Porta di Ter¬ 
mini, is one of the earliest Norman 
churches in Palermo, having been 
erected before the middle of the 12th 
century by Matteo Ajello of Salerno, 
one of the favourites of William the i 
Bad, and afterwards chancellor to 
William the Good; who at the same j 
time built a monastery for the Cister¬ 
cian monks, for whom he had erected 
the church. It was afterwards en¬ 
dowed by William II., as appears by 
a deed bearing the date of 1180. It 
was originally dedicated to the Holy 
Trinity, but in 1193 was granted by 


j the Emperor Henry VI. to the Teu¬ 
tonic Knights-hospitallers, and thence 
acquired the name of Mansio (Ital. La 
Magione), a term often applied to the 
residences of these knights. Since 1787 
it has been associated with the Con- 
stantinian order of St. George. 

The church stands within a large 
court, and has a modern Doric facade 
surmounted by an open belfry. This 
facade, raised only in 1820-3, affords 
no index to the interior, which, with 
the exception of the roof and clere- 
| story, preserves its Norman plan and 
architecture throughout. In both 
points it resembles the Cappella Pa¬ 
latine, being a simple parallelogram, 
about 110 ft. long by 44 ft. wide, di¬ 
vided into 3 aisles by columns of grey 
marble with Composite capitals gilt, 
supporting pointed arches. At the 
E. end it has 3 semicircular apses. 
The choir- is raised 2 steps above the 
rest of the chinch; it was originally 
covered by a dome supported by 4 
pilasters, but this has been replaced 
by a waggon-headed vault, and the 
nave has a similar roof, though above 
this the ancient flat ceiling of wood, 
carved, painted, and gilt, like that of 
Monreale, is said still to exist. What¬ 
ever may have been the original deco¬ 
rations of the chinch, it is now painted 
white with grey mouldings, quite out 
of keeping with the architecture. The 
only portion of the adornments which 
is ancient is a pointed arch in the 
central apse, with twisted mouldings 
resting on clievroned columns, and filled 
with arabesque patterns in relief. It 
originally contained a picture in mo¬ 
saic, which has of late years been 
transferred to Naples, and replaced 
by a Holy Family in oil. The clere¬ 
story windows are now square, but 
before the alteration of the roof must 
have been pointed. In the 1st altar 
to rt. is a Piet a in painted sculpture, 
attributed to Vincenzo Gagin i. The 
rt. transept contains a quattrocento 
relief in marble of the Marriage of Our 
Saviour with St. Catherine, which once 
formed the chief altarpiece. In 1st 
altar to 1. is a St. Cecilia, by Giacomo 
lo Verde, in his first or weak style, 
with date 1G50. The 2nd to 1. con- 







PALERMO—1L CANCELL1ERE—LA CATENA. 


tains a picture of the Scourging of 
Christ, by Giuseppe Patania (1780- 
1852). 

Externally, the central apse has large 
intersecting pointed arches, with a tier 
of tall round-headed panels above 
them. The side apses have sharp 
pointed lancets. Attached to the 
church are Cloisters, apparently of the 
same date. They can be entered only 
through a private house in the little 
piazza behind the church. The arcade 
is visible on two sides only, the others 
being blocked up by walls; and even 
where the arches remain, they are 
almost choked by masonry, which 
usurps the place of the coupled columns 
on which they originally rested. The 
arches are small and sharply pointed, 
and their simplicity and elegance make 
the destruction of the cloister more to 
be regretted. 

S. Maria la Nuova (l), or La Buona 
Nuova, as it is also called, is in the 
Largo di S. Giacomo la Marina. The 
earliest notice we have of it is in 
1339, but it must have existed here 
long previous, and it is probable that 
it formed part of the ohl church of S. 
Giacomo. In 1520, having fallen into 
utter decay, it was rebuilt in its pre¬ 
sent form. The portico is like that of 
La Catena, with depressed arches rest¬ 
ing on marble columns, and square 
piers at the angles, having niches with 
Gothic mouldings, intended for statues. 
The tirade above the portico is a 
modern restoration. The interior is of 
neat light architecture, boasted of by 
the citizens. 

Santa Maria del Cancelliere (c), in 
the Piazza of that name, X. of the 
Piazza Bologni, and belonging to Be¬ 
nedictine nuns, receives its name from 
Matteo Ajello of Salerno, Grand Chan¬ 
cellor of the kingdom under William 
II., and who erected it in 1171. This 
appellation it acquired only in after 
years, having been originally known 
as Santa Maria de Latini. The exist¬ 
ing edifice retains no trace of antiquity, 
having been rebuilt about the year 
1590. It is of small size, and Compo¬ 
site architecture, gay with gilding and 


colour. The frescoes on the vault are 
by Andrea Carreca; those in the tri¬ 
bune by Pietro Novelli. Of the latter 
there are four. The two on the walls 
flanking the altar show scenes in the 
life of S. Benedict, who, in one, is 
blessing a child brought to him by a 
soldier; in the other, is receiving a 
youth into his order. These frescoes 
have much merit, especially the former, 
being painted with a bold, broad 
pencil, and with the force of oil. In 
the arch above the altar is introduced 
an allegorical subject — a number of 
monks of different orders drinking at 
one stream, on whose banks stands the 
Lamb. Here composition, grouping, 
drapery, colouring, are all excellent. 
On the vault of the tribune a nun of 
the order is being crowned by the 
Virgin in the presence of the Trinity. 
The picture is well composed, but its 
harmony is injured by the black dress 
of the nun. The 1st chapel to 1. con¬ 
tains a triptych by Antonello di Messina. 
The central scene is the Adoration of 
the Magi; it is flanked by figures of a 
saint and bishop; and in the lunette 
above is a little Presepio. These pic¬ 
tures have the shortcomings of quattro¬ 
cento art, yet are not without merit, 
and are interesting as early specimens 
of the Sicilian school. In the next 
chapel is a Crucifixion of the 16th 
century, surrounded by little scenes 
from Scripture history. The S. Bene¬ 
dict in the 2nd to rt. is by Giuseppe 
Velasquez of Palermo. 

Saida Maria della Catena (l), in the 
Cassaro Morto, conspicuous from its 
most picturesque portico richly browned 
by age, has also the name of Parrochia 
della Kalsa, from standing on the ex¬ 
treme point of what was formerly the 
peninsula on which the suburb of 
Chalesa was built. It has already 
been said that the ancient Port of 
Palermo extended far into what is now 
the city, in 2 branches, with a mouth 
common to both. This mouth as far 
back as Saracenic times was closed 
with an non chain whenever danger 
was apprehended from without. But 
the chain was not proof against the 
bold mariners of Italy in those days. 




54 


PALERMO—LA CATENA. 


In 1063 tlie Pisans, burning to be 
avenged for injuries they had received 
from the citizens, sent 7 galleys against 
Palermo, offering their assistance to 
Count Roger, and urging him to un¬ 
dertake the siege. That prince, how¬ 
ever, wishing first to secure the 
conquests he had made in other parts 
of Sicily, thought it prudent to defer 
the enterprise; whereon the Pisans, 
impatient of delay, made an assault 
alone, broke the chain with their war¬ 
like machines, seized half a dozen 
large vessels laden with merchandise, 
and with the booty thus acquired laid 
the foundation of the celebrated Ca¬ 
thedral of Pisa. 

On this side of the mouth of the 
port, just where the chain used to be 
fastened, stood in later times a chapel, 
called Santa Maria della Catena, of 
such antiquity that no record remains 
of its foundation. The chapel was 
doubly entitled to this appellation, 
from a miracle which is said to have 
been wrought here in the year 1391. 
Three criminals on their way to the 
scaffold were overtaken by a violent 
tempest, and were carried for shelter 
to this chapel, where, the storm not 
abating, they were compelled to remain 
the night. Repenting of then' crimes, 
they made earnest prayer to the Virgin 
for pardon, when, lo! then chains fell 
from them, the doors flew open, and, 
then guards being asleep, they walked 
forth. They sought not, however, to 
escape, but to make known the miracle; 
and King Martin, who then ruled 
Sicily, recognising the will of Heaven, 
granted them a free pardon. In com¬ 
memoration of this miracle, Martin 
erected the present church, for which 
he and his queen Mary piously contri¬ 
buted the funds. 

Though the greater part of the ex¬ 
isting chinch is of the close of the 14th 
century, the W. front, for which alone 
it is remarkable, was rebuilt nearly 
two centuries later, under the direction 
of the sons of Gagini. The portico, 
raised on a high flight of steps, is 
strikingly picturesque, resembling in 
general outline and warm tone, rather 
than in details, some of the beautiful 
Loggie of central Italy. It has 3 


elliptical arches in front, resting on 
columns of grey marble with Composite 
capitals; but at the angles are square 
pilasters with moulded panels. The fa¬ 
cade of the portico terminates in a square 
parapet, pierced with flamboyant tracery. 
Above the central arch, in a niche, is a 
small figure of Sta. Cristina] in an atti¬ 
tude of prayer; and beneath is a Latin 
inscription, stating how, during the 
viceroyalty of the Count ’ of Olivares- 
(1592-8), after Sicily had for years 
suffered from famine, so that corn had 
actually to be imported from England! 
and when there were barely provisions 
in Palermo to suffice for another day, 
a ship laden with corn and bound to 
Messina was compelled by this saint, 
the patroness of the city, to change its 
course and steer for Palermo. The 
portico has a groined roof, but the 
3 doors are of the Renaissance style, 
adorned with fruit and flowers of deli¬ 
cate carving, and having on their lintels 
bas-reliefs of the Virgin and Child, 
the Presepio, and the Adoration of the 
Magi—all by Vincenzo Gagini (ob. 
1595), son of Antonio. The N. door, 
which faces the Cala, or little port, is of 
marble, and in the cinquecento style, 
having a bas-relief of the Virgin and 
Child in the pediment, also by one of 
the Gagini. 

The church is a Latin cross, with 
3 apses, and is separated into as many 
aisles by rows of marble columns with 
Composite capitals, supporting elliptical 
and stilted arches. One of the columns 
is of verd antique. The arches of the 
apses and transepts are pointed. The 
lights in the clerestory are pointed out¬ 
side, and rounded within ; those at the 
intersection of nave and transepts are 
rounded, with mullions and flamboyant 
tracery. The roofs of the apses and 
of the nave are groined; and were 
frescoed by Olivio Sozzi of Catania 
in 1744. The second chapel to rt., or 
that of the Virgin of the Cham, has 
an early altarpiece of the Madonna, 
spoilt by restorations, and contains 
statues of the 4 virgin tutelars of Pa¬ 
lermo, attributed without reason to Ga¬ 
gini. In the next chapel is a nice relief 
of the Virgin and Child, with cherubs, 
of quattrocento sculpture, and in part 



PALERMO—LO SPASIMO—STA. MARIA I)I VALVERDE. 


coloured and gilt. On the wall of the 
central apse is an ugly fresco, by Sozzi, 
of the miracle of the 3 criminals already 
related. The 3rd chapel from the door 
in the 1. aisle has an altarpiece by 
Novelli, representing S. Gaetano, which, 
though it betrays the master’s style, 
especially in the head of the saint, does 
not add to his reputation. In the next 
chapel is a picture of St. Andrea Avel- 
lino by Andrea Carreca of Trapani 
(ob. 1677), a pupil and imitator ( longo 
intervallo) of Novelli. The church 
contains many sepulchral monuments. 
The building attached to it served in 
the early part of this century as a hos¬ 
pital for the British troops. 

Santa Maria delle Grazie —see Le 
Ripen tit e. 

Santa Maria dello Spasimo (k), near 
the ramparts between the Porta Beale 
and Porta di Termini. This spacious 
church, erected in 1506, in the northern 
pointed style, and attached to a mo¬ 
nastery of Olivetan monks, is now in 
utter ruin, and the convent is con¬ 
verted to a hospital. The nave is open 
to the sky; of the side-aisles one forms 
part of the hospital, the other is used 
as a chapel. The western gate has a 
depressed arch. This church gave its 
name to Eaphael’s celebrated picture 
of Christ carrying his Cross, which 
used to adorn its walls. It was given 
by the monks to Count d’Ayala, the 
viceroy, who presented it in 1661 to 
Philip IV., by whom it was removed 
to Madrid, where it now forms one of 
the chief ornaments of the Boyal Gal¬ 
lery. It is known by the name of “ Lo 
Spasimo di Sicilia.” 

Sta. Maria di Valverde (l), or Sta. 
Lucia, in the Via di Porta di S. Gior¬ 
gio. This convent of Carmelite nuns 
existed prior to 1315; but the church 
is of the 17tli century, being in a 
barocco style, of most florid archi¬ 
tecture, incrusted and inlaid with 
marbles of various hues, with the usual 
addition of twisted columns, angels, 
and hanging cherubs. The altarpiece 
is by Pietro Novelli, representing the 
Madonna del Carmine, with St. Al¬ 


bert, St. Angelo di Licata, St. The¬ 
resa, and S. Maria Maddalena do’ 
Pazzi at her feet. It is in the third and 
best style of the master, and, though 
esteemed a chef-d'oeuvre, it is inferior 
to many of his works. “ The colouring 
is juicy and forcible; the distribution 
of the chiaroscuro betrays little of his 
ordinary Caravaggio-like manner, yet 
the effect is more agreeable and truth¬ 
ful; the draperies are folded in a 
broad and beautiful style; the out¬ 
lines are correct, noble, and grand; the 
composition is picturesquely pyramidal; 
the general action, however, of the 
pictiue, is divided into incidents, which 
render it somewhat indeterminate. Its 
chief ornaments are the charming little 
cherubs, which seem veritably to have 
descended from Paradise; but the 
painter has shown his skill in making 
the holy Child stand out from among 
them, surpassing them all in beauty.” 
—Gallo. 

Over the 2nd altar to rt. is a S. An¬ 
tonio, by Vincenzo Anemolo (ob. 1552), 
which represents the saint as an aged 
pilgrim, followed by a pig. The figure 
and head of the saint are full of ma¬ 
jesty ; the colouring has the usual rich¬ 
ness of Anemolo's pencil, the drapery 
his breadth of treatment. It is a 
grand, simple picture. Around it are 
8 small scenes illustrative of the saint’s 
temptations in the wilderness, by the 
same hand. 

La Martorana (k\ in the piazza of 
the same name, called also S. Maria 
dell ’ Ammiraglio, from its founder, 
George Bocius of Antioch, High Ad¬ 
miral both to Count and King Eoger, 
is one of the earliest Norman churches 
in Sicily. It is more vulgarly known 
as S. Simone. The precise year of its 
foundation is uncertain; by Pirri it is 
supposed to date from lil3 ; others, 
with Morso, maintain that, from the 
titles claimed by George of Antioch, 
in the Greek dedicatory inscription in 
the church, it must be later than 1139, 
yet we know, from an old chronicle in 
the Vatican, that George was high ad¬ 
miral at the death of Count Boger in 
1101. The church at any rate was 
founded early in the 12th century, and 





56 


PALERMO—LA MARTORANA. 


completed in 1143, as is proved by the 
•act of endowment, yet extant, written 
partly in Greek and partly in Arabic, 
in which the Admiral endows it with 
certain lands and 10 Saracen serfs, 
adding, “ What great pains and labour 
I have bestowed on the construction 
and embellishments of this church, 
the facts themselves declare.” The 
name of Martorana, which has tri¬ 
umphed over the other appellation, 
was derived from the union of the 
church with an adjacent convent, 
founded in 1193 by Godfrey de Mar¬ 
torana, aud his wife Aloysia—an union 
conceded to the prayers of the abbess 
and nuns by Alphonso of Aragon in 
1433. After this transfer the church 
was subjected to various enlargements, 
mutilations, and alterations; yet such 
portions of the ancient edifice as are 
left have been little altered, and it is 
easy to learn from them the original 
plan and character of the church. 

The plan in this case was a square, 
with 3 apses at the E. end, and a 
cupola in the centre supported by 4 
columns. This plan was strictly 
Greek, for the founder, being of that 
nation, and following that ritual, built 
his church in conformity with Greek 
usage, and also established Greek 
clergy in it, who continued to officiate 
there till the year 1221. The con¬ 
temporary churches of Sicily, erected 
by the Norman kings, on the con¬ 
trary, are all on the basilica or Latin 
plan, those monarchs having been 
stanch adherents to the Church of 
Rome. The original outline of the 
church is exactly indicated by the an¬ 
cient mosaic pavement, which mea¬ 
sures, exclusive of the apses, 39 ft. 
by 34. This little chapel, so simple 
in form, must have been a gem of 
Byzantine architecture; for its walls, 
cupola, and apses were entirely incrusted 
with mosaics on a gold ground. 

It was in the year 1590 that the 
nuns of the Martorana, finding the 
dimensions of the church too confined, 
ordered the W. wall (which internally 
was covered with precious mosaics, 
and externally was so beautiful that 
Ebn Djobair, a Spanish Arab who 
saw it soon after its erection, declared 


that it passed all description) to be 
pulled down, and the choir to be 
added on a more spacious plan. Of 
the decorations of this wall, the 2 
curious mosaics representing King 
Roger crowned by Jesus Christ, and 
the Admiral dedicating his church to 
the Virgin, which now adorn the side 
chapels, and will presently be de¬ 
scribed, were alone preserved from 
destruction. The demolition of the 
central apse was effected in 1685, and 
it involved that of the mosaics which 
adorned it, and which, as in similar 
churches, probably represented the 
Saviour, the Virgin, angels, prophets, 
and saints. It was replaced by a 
quadrangular chapel, more spacious 
indeed, but out of all character with 
the original edifice, being inlaid with 
variously coloured marbles, and in- 
crusted with foliage, cherubs, busts, 
or full-length statues of saints, in that 
ponderously gorgeous rococo style 
which prevailed in Sicily in the 17th 
century; and in 1726, to crown the 
work of defacement, the beautiful 
marble mosaics were torn from the 
walls of the aisles to make room for 
the badigeon incrustation in the mo¬ 
dem taste. The church was ulti¬ 
mately extended to the W. till it 
reached the ancient campanile or 
belfry, which originally stood 55 ft. 
distant from the Norman temple. 
The position of this tower would 
alone lead us to suppose that tlie in¬ 
termediate space now covered by the 
modern half of the church was ori¬ 
ginally occupied by an external court, 
to which the tower formed the en¬ 
trance—a supposition borne out by 
documents of 1295 and 1305, which 
state that courts of justice were then 
held in the atrium in front of the 
Church of the Admiral. 

Externally the church has been so 
modernised as to retain no vestiges of 
antiquity, except in its cupola. A 
singular moulding is carried round 
this, half-way up, as if to relieve its 
baldness. The church is now entered 
by the N. door, originally constructed 
in 1591, but altered to its present 
form in 1737. On entering you find 
yourself beneath the nuns’ choir, which 



PALERMO—LA MARTORANA. 


57 


is supported on elliptical arches by 
ancient columns of marble and granite. 
You ascend 2 steps to the level of the 
ancient church, but though you have 
here pointed and stilted arches in 
the original style, resting on ancient 
columns, the tawdry frescoes and 
flaunty ornamentation in marble in 
the first 2 bays, quite out of keeping 
with the sombre beauty of the ancient 
part, show this to have been the ear¬ 
liest addition, in which the original 
character was preserved in the archi¬ 
tecture alone. The columns are of 
various marbles, of different sizes and 
lengths, generally about 18 ft. in 
height, and apparently taken from 
more ancient edifices. Four of them 
rest on granite frusta thicker than 
themselves; all have bases of f/iaUo 
antico, and capitals either Corinthian 
or Composite, but gilt. Two under the 
nuns’ choir have Arabic inscriptions 
in Cupliic characters. The inscription 
on the 1st to the 1., from the W. door, 
has been thus translated : “ In victory, 
in triumph, in pre-eminence, in affa¬ 
bility.” The 2nd to the rt. bears two 
inscriptions. The upper one has been 
rendered, “ Of a truth God is with me 
in promoting his worship;” the lower, 
“In the name of God, the Compas¬ 
sionate, the Merciful! God sufficeth 
for me, and He is propitious to him 
who puttetli his trust in Him.” As 
these inscriptions are expressive of 
sentiments proper to Christians as well 
as to Mohammedans, it is not neces¬ 
sary to conclude that they formed 
part of a mosque, Arabic being the 
language of Sicily at the period of the 
foundation of the church. It is pro¬ 
bable that all the columns beyond 
those which support the cupola once 
stood in the atrium. 

The cupola, which rests on pointed 
and stilted arches, is very small. The 
angles are corbelled with simple arches 
and plain sinkings, surrounded with 
Greek inscriptions. The windows be¬ 
tween the corbellings have now gilt 
gratings for the nuns. These win¬ 
dows, and a few small pointed ones in 
the aisles, were originally the only 
means of admitting light, so that the 
church, without the reflected splen¬ 


dour of its golden incrustations, would 
have been extremely gloomy. Now 
large openings have been made in the 
N. wall to suit modern ideas and con¬ 
venience. 

Let us turn from the architecture 
to the mosaics. In the centre of the 
cupola our Saviour is represented 
sitting with the book open, and a 
Greek inscription around him, “ I am 
the light of the world,” &c. The four 
archangels, in attitudes of adoration, 
fill the lower part of the hemisphere. 
Beneath these are Prophets with 
scrolls, and in each arch of the cor¬ 
belling an Evangelist. In the span- 
drils of the arch of the nave the Vir¬ 
gin is represented offering the Infant 
to Simeon, and over the opposite arch 
is the Annunciation. The vault be¬ 
tween this and the altar contains 
figures of Gabriel and Michael; the 
corresponding vault towards the nave, 
the Death of the Virgin and the Birth 
of Christ, both very curious. On the 
vaults and walls of the transepts are 
figures of the Apostles; and on the 
soffits of the arches which support 
the cupola are heads of saints in me¬ 
dallions, all with their names in Greek. 
The small apses retain their original 
form and mosaic decorations. In that 
to the 1. is represented St. Joachim, 
the father of the Virgin; in that to 
the rt. St. Anna, her mother. These 
mosaics, as specimens of pictorial art, 
proper to a period of which few traces 
are extant, and which preceded by a 
century and a half the revival of art 
in Italy, demand careful attention, 
and for their own intrinsic merits much 
admiration. 

The altar-piece in the rt. apse is a 
Madonna on a gilt ground, Byzantine 
in design and colouring. Each apse 
is flanked by a pan- of red granite 
columns with gilt capitals; those at 
the angles of the tribune have purely 
Norman capitals with quaint beasts and 
birds. The high altar and its tabernacle 
are enriched with lapis-lazuli and other- 
precious storres; and in front of it is 
a table of a splendid slab of verd- 
antique. The vault was frescoed, in 
1G84-5, by Antonio Grano, a wretched 
imitator of Novelli. The mosaics in 

d 3 





58 


PALERMO—LA MARTORANA. 


the soffits of its arclies are modern 
imitations of those of Norman times. 
The altarpiece is an Ascension by Vin¬ 
cenzo Anemolo (ob. 1552), and reputed 
one of the best pictures of that master. 
There is neither chiaroscuro nor per¬ 
spective, but the treatment is simple 
and Eaphaelesque, the grouping un- 
artificial, the figures full of expression 
and variety, the colouring as usual rich 
and harmonious, the drapery broad and 
well arranged. 

Around the church, just beneath the 
vaults, originally ran a Greek inscrip¬ 
tion—just as the Arabs were wont to 
inscribe their buildings with passages 
from the Koran—which was ascertained 
by the Duke of Serradifalco, from the 
fragments remaining a few years since, 
to be a dedication, by the Admiral, of his 
church to the Virgin, written in Iambic 
verse. The pavement of the ancient 
part of the church is of opus Alexan- 
drinum, in simple, elegant patterns, 
with disks of porphyry and serpentine. 
Six slabs of similar mosaic, of still 
more choice workmanship, let into the 
side-walls, are the only remains of the 
decorations with which the lower part 
of these walls was anciently incrusted. 

In the chapel of St. Simon and St. 
Jude, in the rt. aisle, is preserved one 
of the curious mosaics originally on 
the W. wall. It represents King 
Eoger crowned by Jesus Christ. The 
figure of the Saviour is dignified and 
bold; the drapery well arranged. The 
king, who is called in a hybrid in¬ 
scription POrEPIOC PHH, stands on 
lower ground, and bows reverently be¬ 
fore his Lord. He is auburn-haired, 
as becomes his Norman blood, with a 
small pointed beard ; and is arrayed 
in the royal Byzantine costume, wear¬ 
ing also the Dalmatic tunic, which 
could only be assumed by ecclesias¬ 
tical dignitaries, and was never omitted 
by the Norman kings, to show that 
they were—what Urban II. had made 
them— hereditary apostolic legates in 
Sicily, and at the head of the Church 
in this island. In the opposite chapel 
George the Admiral is represented 
prostrate at the teet of the Virgin, 
who holds up a scroll with a long 
Greek inscription, and the Saviour is 


leaning from the heavens in the act of 
blessing. The Admiral has a hoary 
head and beard, and wears a red cloak 
chequered with gold. With no legs 
visible, he looks more like a turtle 
than a man. Over his head is this 
inscription in Greek :—“ The prayer 
of thy servant, George the Admiral 
(Amer.)” In the inscription on the 
scroll the Virgin addresses her Son, and 
recommends George, as the founder 
of the church, to his mercy. The 
altarpiece of the Virgin of the Eosary, 
in the same chapel, is by Zoppo di 
Gcinci. 

It was in this very church of the 
Martorana that the ancient Parliament 
of Sicily held its sittings after the 
Vespers bad freed them from the yoke 
of Anjou; here it was proposed to 
offer the crown to Peter of Aragon; 
and here the assembled nobles, pre¬ 
lates, and burgesses swore fealty to 
him as their sovereign. 

On the ceiling of the parlatorio of 
the convent is an old picture of St. 
Simon and St. Thaddeus. The lintel of 
the outer door of this room bears a bas- 
relief of hunting-scenes in scrolls, of By¬ 
zantine art.- In the court observe the S. 
door of the church, now never opened, 
which is of wood, divided into panels, 
with Saracenic patterns in relief, re¬ 
sembling the wooden doors of the 
Alhambra, the same line being con¬ 
tinued throughout. This was pro¬ 
bably the original W. door of the 
church. 

The campanile is curious and Sara¬ 
cenic. It is square, with 4 stories, 
each diminishing in height. In the 
lowest is an open porch, with one 
pointed and stilted arch in each side 
and a plain intersecting vault. This 
story is finished off by a broad fascia 
of mosaic-work of various marbles. 
The second story is very Oriental, its 
pointed window, which is divided into 
two lights by a marble column, being 
surrounded to its base by a flat fascia of 
mosaic-work, and by the Saracenic billet 
in prominent relief. A broad band of the 
same mosaic decoration surrounds the 
tower, and is also carried down verti¬ 
cally at the angles, so as to form a sort 





PALERMO -- S. MATTEO— S. MICHELE. 


59 


of square label about the arch. The 
two upper stories, having suffered most 
from the weather, have a more vene¬ 
rable air than those below, yet the 
style, which bears some resemblance 
to the French-Norman, proves them 
to be of later date. They are con¬ 
sidered by Serradifaleo as an addition 
of the 14th century, coeval with the 
towers of the cathedral. They have 
round turrets at the angles, broken 
into panels resting on marble shafts. 
They have also the billet-moulding and 
the mosaic-work of the earlier portions. 
The tower was originally of much 
greater altitude, and, like that of S. 
Giovanni degli Eremiti, was surmount- 
ed by a cupola resting on marble 
columns, from which, in Norman times, 
it obtained the name of “ The Belfry of 
Columns.” In 1726 it was so shaken 
by an earthquake that it was found 
necessary to take down the upper paid. 

8. Mcitteo (l), in the Toledo. There 
was anciently a church of this name 
on the opposite side of the street, 
founded by the Norman kings, for a 
convent of Basilian nuns. After 
several changes, it fell, in 1599, into 
the hands of a confraternity of Mi- 
seremini, instituted to collect alms 
for praying souls out of purgatory, 
whence the church received its alias 
of II Purgatorio. The present church 
was founded in 1632. Its facade, 
which was raised in 1662, is of Italian 
architecture in white and grey marble, 
with statues of the Virgin, St. Mat¬ 
thew, and St. Matthias. The interior 
is of Roman Doric, with columns of 
grey marble, and walls sheeted with 
the same material of yellow and red 
hues. The frescoes on the vault of the 
nave and within the cupola are by 
Vito cl Anna, the latter bearing date 
1756. Against the pilasters which 
support the dome are figures of the 
Virtues in stucco. 

The 3rd chapel to the rt. con¬ 
tains an Annunciation, of Novelli's 
school. In the 4th to rt. is a Pre¬ 
sentation, attributed to Pietro No- 
velJi, a cold, sombre picture, which, 
though the heads of Simeon and an 
attendant priest are fine, does not 


maintain his reputation, and looks 
more like the work of a pupil than of 
Monrealese himself. The altarpiece in 
the 1. transept, representing the Effi¬ 
cacy of the Mass, illustrated by souls 
delivered from purgatory through the 
celebration of that rite by Gregory 
the Great, is by Zoppo di Ganci — 
curious, quaint, and richly coloured. 
In the 2nd chapel from this, on the 
same side, is an undoubted Novelli, 
inscribed with the date 1647, the very 
year of his death, and representing 
the Marriage of the Virgin. The 
head of St. Anne, who stands between 
her daughter and Joseph, and culmi¬ 
nates the pyramid, is remarkably fine ; 
that of the Virgin is attractive from 
its sweet, modest, and pensive expres¬ 
sion. The 1st chapel to the 1. con¬ 
tains a monument to the Abbate Ro¬ 
sario di Gregorio, professor of laws in 
the University of Palermo, one of the 
most learned men and distinguished 
writers of modern Sicily. He was 
born in 1753, and died 1809. 

S. Michele Arcangelo (a), near the 
Public Library and the market of the 
Ballaro, boasts an antiquity prior to 
the Norman conquest; for as early as 
1048 a church stood on this spot, 
which was then the veiy bottom of the 
southern port of Palermo, and the 
point where vessels were built, whence 
the church was named Santa Maria de 
Naupactitesi. It was raised over some 
sepulchral chambers of the early Chris¬ 
tians, which a few years since were still 
to lie seen. No part, however, of the 
present structure is older than the 16th 
century, and it has no interest beyond 
that of containing some very curious 
inscriptions of Norman times. One 
states that this chapel was built in 
1148 by Grisandus, chaplain to King 
Roger. Another, in 4 languages, He¬ 
brew, Arabic, Greek, and Latin, is the 
epitaph of Anna, mother of the said 
Grisandus, who died in 1148; and a 
third in the last three languages is in 
memory of Drogus, his father, who died 
in 1153. 

The church of Monte Santo (k), just 
within the Porta di Termini, contains 




60 


PALERMO — S. NICOLO TOLENTINO. 


a picture of Santa Maddalena de’ Pazzi 
by Novelli. This is in his last style, hut 
not one of his best pictures. Free¬ 
dom of touch, boldness of design, har¬ 
mony of colouring, and divine cherubs 
hardly compensate for want of beauty 
and expression in the principal figure. 

Monte Vergini (c), in the Piazza of 
the same name, is of ancient founda¬ 
tion, though the actual church dates 
only from 1687. The tribune is in a 
very chaste Corinthian style, said to be 
by Marvuglia, an architect of the last 
century. The vaults and walls were 
frescoed in 1722 by William Borro- 
vians. The first altarpiece to the 1. 
is an Annunciation by Rosalia Novelli, 
very inferior to that in the Casa Pro- 
fessa. Over the last altar to 1. is a 
Byzantine painting of the Madonna 
della Consolazione, which was pre¬ 
sented by Count Roger to the church 
of Santa Maria la Mazara. 

S. Nicola Tolentino (k\ in the Strada 
Nuova, belongs to a convent of bare¬ 
footed Augustine monks. It is in a 
simple style of Italian Doric, with a 
fiat roof over the choir, painted in 
imitation of a dome. It contains three 
pictures by Novelli. That in the 2nd 
chapel to the rt. represents S. Casimir 
of Poland, kneeling before the Virgin 
and Child, who are crowning him 
with lilies. The countenance of the 
saint is royal and dignified, and, as well 
as his attitude, is expressive of intense 
devotion. The Infant, who stands at 
his mother’s feet, holding the wreath, 
is charming; but the Virgin herself, 
though beautiful, is tame, and takes no 
interest in what she is doing. The 
composition has the simplicity and 
nobleness which characterise Novelli s 
pictures; the colouring, though low, 
is harmonious, the touch masterly. 
Grey clouds surround the group, and 
the angels and cherubs which complete 
the composition are all subordinated 
to the principal figures. 

In the rt. transept is a picture of the 
risen Saviour and his mother appear¬ 
ing to St. Augustine, who on his knees 
gazes at the wound in his Lord’s side. 
This work is unworthy of Novelli's 


pencil. The Virgin wants refinement 
and elevation, and her action is too 
expressive of her maternal character 
to be pleasing to a Protestant eye. 
The head of Christ betrays little of 
divinity, but that of the saint is 
very noble, and goes far to redeem the 
picture. 

In the opposite transept S. Nicolh 
is represented on his knees before a 
shrine, on which is a statue of Our 
Saviour. A choir of angels and che¬ 
rubs is hovering above, among whom 
one playing the harp, and another with 
the violoncello, arrest the eye. The saint 
has his hands clasped in an attitude of 
intense devotion, and his countenance, 
pale and emaciated, and lighted by 
the glory above, is expressive of the 
same sentiment. This is one of the 
finest devotional heads from Novelli's 
pencil. These three pictures are in 
his third stvle, and were all painted in 
1636. 

>S. Nicolb VAlbergaria (a), near the 
Ballard, founded by the beautiful 
Queen Bianca in 1409, retains no traces 
of antiquity save in its bell-tower, 
which has pointed windows, with sink¬ 
ings decorated with mosaic in lava and 
white stone, and string-courses both in 
mosaic and in relief. This was a 
watch-tower, and stood on the very 
shore of the ancient port, 

L'OliveUa (l , or the church of S. 
Ignazio Martire, stands in the Piazza 
dell’ Olivella. Attached to it is the 
house of the Padri Filippini, the facade 
of which was designed by Pietro No¬ 
velli. The church was commenced in 
: 1598 and completed in 1608, the archi¬ 
tect being Antonino Mattone. The 
facade has 2 orders, Roman Doric and 
Composite, with columns of grey 
marble, and a bell-tower at each angle. 
The lofty dome, finished in 1732, is 
conspicuous with its bright green tiling. 
The plan of the church is a Latin 
cross, with 3 aisles, separated by rows 
of grey marble columns. The dome 
rests on piers faced with yellow and 
purple marble, and with Corinthian 
pilasters with gilt capitals. The fres¬ 
coes in this and on the roof of the 







PALERMO—i/OLI YELL A. 


61 


nave were painted in 1789 by Antonio 
Manno; those in the side-aisles by 
Vincenzo Riolo, a Palermitan of the 
present century; and the cherubs 
on the soffits of the arches by Sal¬ 
vatore lo Forte, a living artist. The 
church sparkles with fresco and gild¬ 
ing, and is the gayest, perhaps, in 
Palermo; yet its decorations are in good 
taste and keeping, showing little of the 
usual offensive rococo. The pavement is 
of various marbles in Greek patterns. 
The high altar, adorned with choice 
marbles and pietre dure, and flanked 
by -2 superb columns of verd-antique, 
has a picture of the Holy Trinity, by 
Sebastian Conca, of the school of 
Pietro da Cortona. Ignazio Marabitti 
of Palermo (1719-1795) executed the 
statues of St. Peter and St. Paul, and 
of the Evangelists, which flank the 
tribune. 

In the 2nd chapel to the rt., which 
is inlaid with various marbles and 
encrusted with reliefs in the barocco 
style, is an exquisite little picture of 
the Virgin and Child, attributed by 
some to Lorenzo da Credi, by others 
to Raphael. It is quite worthy of the 
latter, though perhaps not by his 
pencil. It is a Presepio,—the Virgin 
on her knees, with her hands raised in 
prayer, gazes with maternal tender¬ 
ness on the Infant at her feet; an 
angel holds the Baptist over the head 
of the Saviour, and, though but an 
infant himself, li is knees are bent, and 
his little hands crossed on his bosom, 
in instinctive adoration of the Godhead. 

The 5tli chapel to rt., which is lined 
with beautiful marbles, brown, lilac, 
and grey, has an altarpiece by Conca. 
The picture in the rt. transept, of the 
Virgin with many saints, is by Filippo 
Paladino, a Florentine artist of the 
16th century, who painted much in 
Sicily. St. Ignatius thrown to the 
lions, in the opposite transept, is by 
the same hand—a finer picture, with 
much of the manner of Caravaggio, 
though without his forcible chiaro¬ 
scuro. The 3rd chapel on the 1., that 
of the Crucifixion, is extremely rich 
in marbles, agates, oriental granite, 
and precious stones—crystal, cornelian, 
amethyst, topaz, lapis-lazuli, &c. — 


ot 24 different kinds, with columns 
of red jasper, having bases of brass, 
set with jewels. The statues of St. 
John and the Addolorata in this 
chapel are simple and expressive. In 
the 1st chapel in this side-aisle is an 
altarpiece of the Almighty command¬ 
ing the Archangel Gabriel to announce 
the Incarnation to the Virgin, supposed 
to be a copy from Novelli by Giacomo 
lo Verde. 

In the Monastery adjoining is a 
collection of pictures, mostly of little 
merit. S. Antonino and the Saviour— 
the Holy Ghost—St. Louis of France— 
and St. Casimir of Poland—attributed 
to Novelli, but of questionable authen¬ 
ticity. Christ, with the disciples at 
Emmaus, by Giacomo lo Verde — a 
Virgin on a gold ground in very 
early style •— 4 small battle-scenes, 
by Borgognone, full of spirit —sundry 
libels on Guido and Titian—the Im¬ 
maculate, by Conca — a pretty little 
Virgin in the style of Correggio. Here 
is a library of 22,000 volumes, be¬ 
queathed by one of the Sclafani family; 
it is open daily to the public. Among 
its curiosities is a beautiful MS. copy 
of Dante, of the end of the 14th or 
beginning of the 15tli century. 

Adjoining this church is the Ora¬ 
torio dell' Olivella, a small chapel of 
chaste and elegant architecture, with 
Corinthian columns of grey Sciacca 
marble, supporting a vaulted roof. “ A 
work of superior taste, built by Marvuglia 
(ob. 1814), a Palermitan, who studied at 
Rome, and introduced a purer style of 
architecture into Sicily at the close of 
the last century.”— Gaily Knight. It 
was built in 1769, and is considered 
the chef-d'oeuvre of the architect. The 
altarpiece, representing S. Filippo Neri 
in adoration of the Virgin and Child, 
is a good work of Antonino Manno 
(1739-1831). 

Santa Orsola (a), in the Strada 
Nuova, contains 2 pictures by Pietro 
Novelli. In the 2nd chapel to rt. 
the altarpiece represents the British 
princess, at the moment of her martyr¬ 
dom, with her companions in the dis¬ 
tance sharing her fate. The Saviour 
looks with compassion from heaven, 




62 PALERMO—LA PIETA—S. PIETRO MARTIRE—I POLLAJUOLI. 


and tlie cherubs around him are 
ready with palms and crowns to wel¬ 
come the sufferers. It is a picture of 
much freedom and spirit; the chiar¬ 
oscuro is well managed, and the diffi¬ 
culties of the subject are skilfully over¬ 
come in the composition. The next 
chapel contains a small picture with 
half-length figures of the Virgin and 
Child. The faces have no elevation or 
beauty. She is a commonplace Italian 
mother; he an English boy. The 
chief altarpiece in this church is by 
Giuseppe Patcinia (1780-1852). In the 
3rd chapel to 1. is a St. Jerome, bearing 
the name of the painter—“ Zoppo di 
Gcmci, 1G00.” 

La Pieta (k\ in the Via Butera. 
This church, attached to a convent of 
Dominican nuns, and erected at the 
close of the 17th centurv, has a hand- 
some facade in the Italian style, 
adorned with marble columns and 
statues — one of the few imposing 
facades in Palermo. The interior is 
of Corinthian architecture enriched 
with gilding and frescoes, gay but not 
gaudy, and in better taste than most 
of the churches of that period. The 
furthest altarpiece on the 1. is a Pieta, 
by Vincenzo Anemolo (ob. 1552), in a 
quaint dry style, with little expression 
and less beauty, yet interesting as an 
early work of one of the best masters of 
the Sicilian school. It has suffered much 
from unskilful restorations. On the walls 
of the tribune are 2 pictures ascribed to 
Pietro d' Aquila of Trapani. The pic¬ 
tures of St. Dominic, and the Madonna 
of the Rosary are by Olivio Sozzi. 
The roof was frescoed by Antonino 
Gram. The convent attached to this 
church was formerly the Palazzo Pa¬ 
tella, which will be described among 
the Palaces of Palermo. 

S. Pietro Martire (l), in the Via Piz- 
zuto, a very small church, containing 
2 large pictures by Vincenzo Anemolo 
(ob. 1552). That on the rt. wall is 
the Deposition, a favourite subject 
with this master, which he elaborated 
until he perfected it in the beautiful 
picture in S. Domenico. This is an early 
work, and gives an inadequate idea of 
his ultimate excellence. 


In the opposite picture St. Peter 
Martyr is receiving the crown of mar¬ 
tyrdom. He stands in the foreground 
with St. Stephen, Sta. Caterina, and 
Sta. Agata, while the Virgin and 
Child sit on the clouds above them. 
Here the composition has all the sim¬ 
plicity of the early schools. The group 
of the Madonna and Child especially is 
quite Raphaelesque. The latter is full 
of nature and life, and is said tradition- 
nally to have been painted by the hand 
of the great Umbrian himself. 

This church also contains 4 pic¬ 
tures by Pietro d' Aquila of Trapani 
(ob. 1G92), an artist who here displays 
much richness of colour, though little 
skill in composition or elevation of 
conception. On the rt. wall are— 
Isaac blessing Jacob, and Abraham 
worshipping the 3 angels; on the 1. 
Rebecca at the well, and Abraham 
going forth to sacrifice his son; all in 
very poor preservation. 


Confraternita de Pollajuoli (k\ in 
the Strada degli Scopettieri. This little 
chapel “ of the Poulterers ” bears on its 
roof a fresco of the Nativity by Pietro 
Novell i. The grace and power of 
Domenichino’s compositions are ap¬ 
parent in this fresco, which betrays 
Novell is study of that master. The 
interest centres in the Virgin and the 
Babe she is uncovering, yet there is a 
pleasing variety of character and atti¬ 
tude in the accessoiy figures. Observe 
the woman on her knees presenting 
her offering of poultry and game, and 
gazing at the Babe with more curiosity 
than adoration, and contrast her with 
the aged peasant, bowing his head and 
clasping his hands with the profound 
devotion of old age. There is great 
mastery and freedom of design; deli¬ 
cacy rather than force of colour; purity 
and transparency of shadows; and 
perfect keeping tlnmighout. The pic¬ 
ture is in Novell i’s latest style. It is 
said that many years ago, the roof of 
the church threatening to fall, this 
fresco was detached, and replaced when 
the repairs were effected. This church 
is open only on Sundays and festas 
between 8 and 9 a.m. 





PALERMO—SPED ALE DE* SACERDOTI—S. SALY ADORE. 63 


Le Ripentite (k), iu the street lead- ! 
ing from the Fiera Vecchia to the 
Strada Nuova. This church, which 
was founded in 1512 by Vincenzo Sot- 
tile, a noble of Palermo, under the 
title of Santa Maria clelle Grazie, has 
a front in the pointed style of the 
North. The portal is enriched with 
pinnacles, crockets, finial, and flam¬ 
boyant tracery. The windows have 
mouldings of Northern character, and 
prominent labels, but no mullions. 
Internally the church is modernised, 
and contains nothing of interest. 

Spectate de' Sacentoti (c), at the top 
of a flight of steps, opposite the N.W. 
tower of the Cathedral. The little 
chapel attached to this “Valetudi- | 
narium” possesses as an altarpiece a 
Pieta, ascribed by some to Sebastian 
del Piombo, but more generally to Mi¬ 
chael Angelo. And in truth few but 
that great genius could have ventured 
on such daring attitudes, or have ar¬ 
rived at the expression of such in- 
tense feeling. Yet the absence of ana¬ 
tomical development in the dead Christ 
renders it impossible to believe this | 
picture to be the work of Buonarotti. 
Over the altar to the rt. is a Santa 
Rosalia, by Vandych —one of the few 
pictures painted by him when in Sicily. 
The work has all the power, freedom, 
and richness of his pencil. 

S. Salvadore (a), in the Toledo. This 
convent boasts a high antiquity, hav¬ 
ing been commenced by Robert Guis- 
card in the lltli century, and com¬ 
pleted by King Roger, who in 1148 
transferred to "it the Basilian nuns 
from S. Matteo lower down the To¬ 
ledo. Of this ancient convent the 
external vestiges are slight, and are 
to be seen in the W. wall, which has 
7 pointed windows, all with a single 
flat order, decorated with the chevron, 
the billet, chequers, lozenges, and tri¬ 
angles. A door below, which, as well j 
as the windows, is now blocked up, 
shows the dog-tooth moulding on its 
label. In the interior are said to be 
further vestiges of Norman times. 

The church attached to the convent 
was commenced in 1682 and conse¬ 


crated in 1701. It is very spacious; 
a vast octagon roofed-in by an enor¬ 
mous elliptical dome, the conception 
of which is fine, as it represents heaven 
with the supreme glory in the centre 
and the blessed host of angels and 
saints around. This was frescoed hi 
1765 by Vito d' Anna, or rather from 
his designs, as he did not live to finish 
it. The architecture is Corinthian below 
and Composite above, with a profuse in¬ 
crustation and inlaying of marbles in the 
Palermitan baroeco style. The pave¬ 
ment is of Florentine mosaic in ele¬ 
gant patterns. Over the 1st altar to 
rt. is an early and quaint picture of 
Queen Constance, daughter of King 
Roger, who, though she had taken the 
veil in this convent, was absolved from 
her vows by Pope Celestine III., and 
married to the Emperor Henry VI. 
The Transfiguration over the prin¬ 
cipal altar is by Filippo Tancredi. In 
a chapel to the 1. are pictures of Santa 
Macrina and Santa Rosalia, as Basilian 
nuns, well painted, by an unknown 
hand. The latter is said to be a copy 
of a picture existing since 1194 in the 
church of the Admiral. 

S. Sebastiano (l), in the Piazza ot 
the same name, contains in the 2nd 
chapel to 1. an Annunciation, by Ho¬ 
sed ia Novell/, in part a copy of her 
father’s picture in the library at S. 
Martino. A very effective, forcible, 
harmonious picture, warmly and richly 
coloured. The cherubs around the 
Deity in the upper part must have 
been painted by Monrealese himself. 
In the Sacristy is a Holy Family, in¬ 
scribed “ Sancta Maria de lo reposu, 
1496.” 

Santa Teresa (k), in the Via Butera, 
opposite the Porta de’ Greci. This 
church, attached to a convent of 
nuns, is of Italian architecture and has 
a handsome facade of yellow stone in 
2 orders, Corinthian and Composite, 
adorned with statues of saints in 
marble. Over the central door is a 
Holy Family in relief by Giuseppe 
Milanti, a sculptor of Trapani, who 
lived in the latter half of the 17th 
century. The 2nd altarpiece to the L 









G4 


PALERMO—LE VEEGINI-S. VITO—STA. ZITA. 


represents tlie Death of St. Theresa, 
by William Borromans. 

The convent of Le Very ini (l), in 
the small Piazza of that name, belong¬ 
ing to nuns of the Benedictine order, 
was established in 1300, and attached 
to the neighbouring church of St. 
Andrea, but removed to its present 
site in 1454. This site is supposed 
by the local antiquaries to be that of 
an Aral) palace mentioned by the old 
chroniclers, some remains of which 
are believed to exist in the church in 
2 Arabic inscriptions on small marble 
columns, against the wall to the 1. as 
you enter. The characters are Cu- 
pliic, the inscriptions extracts from the 
Koran. One runs thus: “In the 
name of God, the Compassionate,'the 
Merciful. There is no God but He 
who livetli and endureth for ever!” 
The other continues : “ He is not over¬ 
come with sleep nor with slumber. 
To Him belong all things in heaven 
and on earth.” Between the columns 
is a slab with copies of the same in 
gilt characters and a Latin translation 
beneath. Over the altar adjoining is an 
old picture of the Virgin and Child, St. 
Jerome, and St. Theodore, by Tommaso 
Vigilia, one of the earliest of the Sici¬ 
lian school, bearing his name and the 
date of 1488. The Death of St. Bene¬ 
dict, over the opposite altar, is attri¬ 
buted to Pietro di Aquila of Trapani. 
The frescoes on the roof are by Antonio 
Gram. In the sacristy is preserved a 
curious Saracenic conch or bowl of 
bronze covered with arabesques and 
Arabic inscriptions. A subterranean 
passage leads from this convent to the 
Toledo, to enable the nuns on festive 
occasions to reach their balcony above 
the palace of the Prince of Paterno. 

Santo Vito (c), near the city walls, 
between the Gates of Maequeda and 
Carini. In the church attached to 
this nunnery are some pictures of No- 
velli's school. Over the 2nd altar to 
the 1. is a most singular painting by 
Giacomo lo Verde, so well executed that 
it lias often been ascribed to his master 
Novelli. A train of virgins in nuns’ 
dresses, crowned with thorns and with 


darts in their bosoms, are toiling under 
the weight of huge crosses up Mount 
Calvary, above which appear the Vir¬ 
gin and Child in glory. One who has 
reached the summit casts her cross at 
the feet of the Madonna. A strange 
unearthly twilight adds a mysterious 
character to this singular scene. In 
the 1. corner is a group of heads, one 
of which is at once recognised as that 
of Novelli; and in the others are por¬ 
trayed his father, his wife, and his 
child. The Annunciation over the 
1st altar to 1. is by Rosalia Novelli, 
by whose hand is also the Holy Fa¬ 
mily over an opposite altar, and a 
large fresco of the virgins ascending 
Calvary, in a chapel in the interior of 
the convent, a copy of that by Lo 
Verde in the church. 

Santa Zita, or Santa Gita (l), in the 
Via di Porta di S. Giorgio, a Domi¬ 
nican monastery founded in 1586. 
The church lias a flat ugly facade, 
but a spacious interior of unadorned 
Italian Doric, with a sham dome at 
the intersection of nave and transepts. 
It was rich in works of Sicilian art, 
but, having been converted into a mili¬ 
tary hospital in the late revolution, 
all the best pictures have been removed 
to S. Domenico. Yet the sculptures 
still remain. The 1st chapel to rt. 
contained a picture of the death of 
Peter Martyr, by an unknown hand— 
better in conception and design than 
in colouring. In the next chapel wa 3 
one of those extraordinary representa¬ 
tions only seen in the South of Europe, 
outraging nature, taste, and religious 
feeling. In the 4th chapel was a 
head of Christ, of Byzantine art, much 
injured. In the corner chapel in the rt. 
transept the reliefs of the Jewish kings, 
beginning with Jacob, which surround 
the altar ; the Emperor Augustus at the 
feet of the Cumsean Sibyl within the 
arch; and the figure of a king in ela¬ 
borate drapery, over the altar, are all 
ascribed to Domenico Gagini, father 
of Antonio; and in truth they have 
the simplicity and expression of quat¬ 
trocento sculpture. The adjoining cha¬ 
pel, sacred to the Madonna of the 
Rosary, is elaborately adorned with 



PALERMO—STA. ZITA. 


65 


marbles of various liues in the Paler¬ 
mitan style of the 17th century, but 
presents a good specimen of that style 
in so far as there is more inlaying 
mid less incrustation than usual. On 
the walls are reliefs of the opening 
and closing scenes in our Saviour’s 
life, by Ignazio Marabitti (1719-1795). 
On the 1. wall are the Annunciation, 
the Salutation, a Presepio, the Presen¬ 
tation, and the Dispute with the 
Doctors; on the rt. the Agony in the 
Garden, the Scourging, the Crowning 
with Thorns, Christ carrying his Cross, 
and the Crucifixion. These reliefs 
have more or less the usual faults of 
the master—insipidity and affectation ; 
the first three are the best. 

In the tribune, behind the high altar, 
almost concealed by the organ, and in 
parts broken away to make room for it, 
are some beautiful marble sculptures 
by the Gagini family. The large cen¬ 
tral arch contains a Presepio, and above 
it the Death of the Madonna, both by 
the father, Domenico ; the female saints 
at the sides, of exquisite beauty and 
simplicity, show the more skilful hand 
of Antonio, who also carved the cherubs 
above and most of the arabesques. The 
pilasters are adorned with a series of 
reliefs, of monks studying or playing 
music. Remark that no two are alike; 
even then- chairs are different, yet all 
are beautiful. The same abundant 
variety may be observed in the foliage 
which fills the spaces of the arch, of 
exquisite design and taste, and most 
delicate execution; and also in the 
medallions of flowers, with heads in 
the midst, which adorn the soffits. On 
the lintel are the Evangelists with 
their emblems; and on the reveal of 
the arch arc illustrations of the life of 
the Virgin. To view these sculptures 
it is necessaiy to climb the scaffolding 
at the back of the organ, and one can¬ 
not repress one’s indignation at the 
Vandalism which, for the introduction 
of this instrument, has irretrievably 
sacrificed so many of these exquisite 
works of Sicily’s great family of sculp¬ 
tors. The two chapels in the 1. transept 
contain some sarcophagi with beautiful 
einquecento adornments, one of which 
is also ascribed to Antonio Gagini. 


In the 4th chapel in the 1. aisle 
are two small bas-reliefs of Christ rising 
from the tomb, and liberating souls 
from purgatory, duplicates of those on 
the pulpit of La Gancia, and probably 
also by the elder Gagini. Two Virgins 
in marble of life-size in this chapel are 
of the same early date. 

In the 1. transept is a sarcophagus, 
with a monk in painted robes stretched 
on the front slab. It is the monument 
of “Bcatus Petrus de Hieremia,” a 
Palermitan preacher and writer on theo¬ 
logy, who died in 1452, and was “ re¬ 
nowned for the continual miracles 
which the Lord wrought through his 
hands.” 

Oratorio del Rosario di Santa Cita, 
on the first floor of the convent at the 
back of this church, is one of the most 
elaborately decorated oratories in Pa¬ 
lermo. It is in the usual barocco style, 
but its adornments, instead of being 
of various marbles, arc here of stucco. 
On the prominent eornice around the 
room sits a goodly company of saints, 
angels, and virtues; among whom two 
ragged boys seem out of place, but are 
not the least expressive. At the sides 
of the altar are statues of Esther and 
Judith in corset and feathers, and 
around the chapel are reliefs illus¬ 
trative of the life of Christ. On the 
1. wall are the Annunciation, the Sa¬ 
lutation, the Presepio, the Circumci¬ 
sion, and the Dispute with the Doctors; 
on the rt. the Agony in the Garden, 
the Scourging, the Crown of Thorns, 
Christ sinking beneath the Cross, and 
the Crucifixion; and on the wall oppo¬ 
site the altar are the Resurrection, the 
Ascension, the Day of Pentecost, the 
Death of the Virgin, and her Corona¬ 
tion. All these, statues as well as 
reliefs, are by Giacomo Serpotta of 
Palermo (1655-1732). In the reliefs 
the composition is often excellent, but 
better adapted to painting than to 
sculpture, whose severe simplicity is 
offended by the introduction of land¬ 
scapes, trees, clouds, and other acces¬ 
sories in high relief. Yet the principal 
groups in some, and individual figures 
in all, are full of grace, simplicity, 
nature, and expression. Gilding is in- 





66 


PALERMO —PALAZZO ARCIVESCOVALE. 


troduced, with no advantageous effect. 
Observe the pavement of the chapel in 
geometrical patterns, the seats which 
surround it inlaid with mother-o’-pearl, 
and a table of red marble of rare value. 

The chief attraction of this oratory 
is the altarpiece, the Madonna of the 
Rosary, by Carlo Maratta, which was 
brought from Rome in 1G95, cost 1500 
dollars, and is esteemed one of the 
chefs-d’oeuvre of the master. The com¬ 
position, design, and drapery are good ; 
the hands are beautifully painted, and 
stand out from the canvas; the touch 
is broad and free; but the chiaroscuro 
is feeble, the colouring, though deli¬ 
cate, is cold, and the heads want dig¬ 
nity and expression. 


Public Buildings. 

Palazzo Arcivescovale (c), or Arch¬ 
bishop’s Palace, in the Piazza del 
Duomo. On the triumphant entry of 
the Norman brothers, Robert and 
Roger, into Palermo in the year 1072, 
they sought out the Greek Archbishop 
Nicodemus, who had been performing 
service during the Saracenic domi¬ 
nation in the humble church of S. 
Cyriaca, or Sta. Domcnica, below Mon¬ 
reale, and reinstated him in his cathe¬ 
dral, which under the Moslems had 
been used as a mosque. The residence 
of the archbishops of Palermo from 
that tune has been in a palace adjoin¬ 
ing the cathedral, generally supposed 
to have stood originally on the N. 
side, where the Badia Nuova now 
stands, but the Abbate Morso main¬ 
tains that it always occupied its 
present site to the W., which, as there 
was a covered way to it from the 
royal palace in Norman times, seems 
not improbable. No part of the Nor¬ 
man palace is extant; its reconstruc¬ 
tion was coimnenced by the Archbishop 
Simon of Bologna, in 1458 or GO; but 
very few traces even of his structure 
remain, the existing palace being al¬ 
most entirely modern. A fragment 
of Simon’s work may be seen in a 


large pointed window which looks into 
the Piazza del Duomo, near the eastern 
angle of the palace. The flamboyant 
tracery in the head of the arch, and 
the heavy stilted hood around it, are 
Northern features rarely seen in Sicily, 
and mark the lateness of the style; 
but the elegant shafts, of dispropor¬ 
tionate slenderness, which take the 
place of mullions in dividing the lights, 
are purely Sicilian. The entrance 
gateway, with its depressed segmental 
arch, its stiff square label, and its tri¬ 
angular pediment, shows a still later 
style and more debased period of art. 
The large window at the E. angle, 
facing the Toledo, is of the Renais¬ 
sance, and its massive stone balcony 
rests on cantalivers which terminate 
in heads, said to be the portraits of 
the Gagini family, who constructed it. 
The old bearded man to the rt. repre¬ 
sents Domenico, a Lombard who settled 
in Sicily; the elderly man to the 1. 
Antonio his son (1480-1571), the cele¬ 
brated sculptor; and the three beardless 
youths in the centre, his sons, Vincenzo, 
Giacomo, and Fazio. 

The large square Campanile, at the 
N. end of the palace, and opposite the 
cathedral, to which it is united by two 
lofty pointed arches thrown across the 
street, is of much earlier construction 
than the palace. The upper part is 
evidently a restoration in modern times 
to correspond with the higher stories 
of the cathedral towers opposite; but 
the basement story, of weather-worn 
masonry, which rises to the height of 
80 or 100 ft., and terminates in a 
corbel-table of quaint heads, is of 
Norman antiquity, and is probably the 
very belfry to which Stephen of Perche, 
archbp. and high chancellor during the 
minority of Iv. William II., took refuge 
in 11G9, when his palace was attacked 
by the mob of Palermo. The queen- 
mother, Margaret, who had been ap¬ 
pointed regent by William I., finding 
the cares of government too onerous 
for her, had called to her assistance 
from France her relative Stephen, and 
by installing him in these important 
posts had consigned to him the su¬ 
preme direction of affairs in church 
and state. He soon proved that he 



PALERMO—COLLEGIO MASSIMO. 


67 


deserved lier confidence by tlie in¬ 
tegrity, justice, and firmness of his 
administration, and tlie resolute man¬ 
ner in which he opposed the corrup¬ 
tion, reformed the abuses, and relieved 
the people from the oppression, which 
had prevailed during tlie reign of 
William the Bad. But though the 
public voice declared that an angel 
was come down from heaven to heal 
the wounds of the past, and restore 
the golden age, such reforms created 
him enemies among those who had 
profited by tyranny and misrule. For 
two years, however, he kept his ground, 
detecting and defeating the conspi¬ 
racies against him, and continuing to 
deserve the blessings of the people. 
But at length the Saracens of the 
loyal guard were corrupted by his ene¬ 
mies; desperate men were excited by 
the hopes of plunder; and the people 
of Palermo were deluded into the 
belief that the chancellor was about 
to carry off the royal treasures to 
France. All Palermo was in a fer¬ 
ment. An armed multitude attacked 
the archbishop’s palace, dispersed the 
guard, fired the gates, and compelled 
him, with a number of nobles whom 
he retained on his side, to take refuge 
in the belfry of the cathedral. “ Mat- 
teo di Salerno and his accomplice 
Richard then caused the tocsin of 
alarm to be sounded, upon which the 
whole people, Christians and Saracens, 
thinking it was done by the king’s 
command, rushed to the cathedral, 
and with loud shouts and cries began 
to besiege the tower in which the 
chancellor had taken refuge. But the 
tower was so strong that it baffled all 
their efforts; and Matteo di Salerno, 
fearing that the patience of the po¬ 
pulace would be exhausted, hurried to 
the palace, and, alarming the Regent 
and lier youthful son with exaggerated 
accounts of the disturbance, advised 
them to calm the public mind by in¬ 
viting the Chancellor and all his French 
retainers to leave Sicily. The Chancel¬ 
lor at once agreed to the proposal, and, 
embarking the next morning, departed 
from the kingdom. Thus did a de¬ 
luded people expel from their shores a 
benefactor and a friend.”— Knight. 


A tablet on the belfry records the 
date, 12th Sept. 1535, when the Em¬ 
peror Charles V., on his victorious 
return from Africa, was received by 
the citizens with great rejoicings and 
festivities, and swore in the cathedral 
to preserve their laws and privileges. 

“Ille sacro hoc tantum templo de more vetusto 
Juravit patrias leges et jura Sicanis.” 

Collegio Massimo, now called the 
Liceo (c), in the Toledo, erected in 
1588. This college, the principal 
educational establishment for youths 
in Palermo, and till 1860 under the 
superintendence of the Jesuits, is of 
vast size, once containing about 1100 
students. It encloses a spacious court 
with a double arcade. Beneath the 
lower are the schools for the elementary 
and simpler studies; on the upper floor 
those of philosophy, mathematics, and 
the more abstruse sciences. On the 
2nd story 70 youths of noble families 
used to be lodged and boarded. 

On the 1st floor is the Library, 
a large room containing more than 
40,000 volumes, which are arranged in 
cases according to the subjects. It is 
open to the public daily from 9 to 12, 
and from 4 to 6, Sundays and festas ex¬ 
cepted. The motto is from Cicero— 

“ Adveesis peefugium, secundis oena- 
mentum.” It contains many curious 
old MSS., among which may be noticed 
the Epistles of St. Paul in the original, 
of the 12th century; St. Basil and St. 
Chrysostom’s Homilies in Greek, 4to., 
of the 13th century, both from the Ba- 
silian convent once existing in Pa¬ 
lermo ; the original MS. of the Chro¬ 
nicle of Sicily, from 1250 to 1293, by 
Bartolommeo Neocastro, a contempo¬ 
rary writer, who describes the events of 
that most interesting period, compre¬ 
hending the reign of Charles of Anjou, 
the Sicilian Vespers, and the war which 
followed—it is written in Latin, in a 
running hand, on paper, and bears date 
1295; two Breviaries of small size, with - 
illuminated heads to the chapters, ol 
the 14th century, the smaller one very 
beautiful; another with illuminated 
initials, written in 1447; a copy of 
Eusebius, de Evangel ica preparation©, 
on paper, written in 1466, and in 25 




68 


PALERMO—COLLEGIO MASSIMO. 


days, a feat of oxygraphy performed at 
Rome by Nicolaus Pliiletticus; a Livy 
in black letter, with illuminated ini¬ 
tials, of about the same date; several 
Korans; and a work called Moral Dis¬ 
courses, iu Arabic. 

On the upper story of the college is 
the Museo Salnitriano, which derives 
its singular name from Signor Salnitro 
(Saltpetre), who founded it in 1730. On 
the staircase outside is a bas-relief of 
the lion of orthodoxy devouring scrolls 
inscribed with the names of Montanus, 
Arius, and other heretics; and on the 
landing-place, let into the walls, are a 
number of ancient Latin inscriptions, 
mostly sepulchral, and some of Christian 
times. 

At the revolution of 18G0, when the i 
Jesuits were expelled from Sicily, the 
greater portion of the treasures here 
collected were dispersed. Those that 
were transferred to the Museum of the 
Universita will be mentioned when 
we treat of that collection. Whether 
all the remainder specified below are 
still to be seen at the Collegio Mas¬ 
simo, we have had no opportunity of 
ascertaining. 

The First Boom is lined with cabi¬ 
nets filled with specimens of Natural 
History. 

The Second Boom, of large size, is de¬ 
voted to antiquities and works of art. 
The walls are hung with pictures of 
different schools, the best of which have 
been removed to the Universita. The 
Adoration of the Magi, and the Miracle 
of Cana in Galilee, both of the Venetian 
school. —St. Paul the Hermit, of the 
school of Bibera. —A Virgin, frescoed 
on a tile, very stumpy and clumsy, 
but dating from the first ages of 
Christianity. — A Pieta, by Muziani, 
a very small but striking picture. 
The Virgin holds her dead Son on her 
lap in a sitting posture, and supports 
him under the shoulders, where her 
hands contrast well with his dead flesh. 
The contrast of the faces also is excel¬ 
lent : his soft and mild in death, hers 
expressive of the most poignant grief.— 
St. Mark writing, a sketch by Daniele 
di Velletri. —St. Andrew, by Bibera, a 
grand devotional head, with the charac¬ 
teristic chiaroscuro of the master.—St. 


Peter visiting St. Agatha in prison, by 
Caravaggio. The figures are lighted 
by a candle held by an angel between 
them, which illumines the hoary head 
of the apostle and the face and bare 
bosom of the female saint. There is 
nature and truth here, but the picture 
does not tell its story.—The Death of 
St. Benedict, of the school of Vanihgck. 
—A Holy Family, copied from Raphael. 
—The Adoration of the Magi, of the 
Venetian school, —St. Pantaleone, ou 
wood, an old picture taken from a church 
which was pulled down to make room 
for this college. 

The cases round the room contain 
specimens of ancient pottery and terra¬ 
cotta, chiefly of Greek times and from 
Sicilian sites, though there are some 
vases, of much inferior art, from Magna 
Grecia. Among the former are frag¬ 
ments of painted vases of great beauty, 
of the best style of ceramic design. 
Among the coarser specimens are small 
plates with fish painted on them, by no 
means unconnnon; but one of them has 
also some of the vertebra; of a real fish 
caked upon it—the vestiges of the 
funeral-feast some 22 centuries since. 
One case contains terracottas from the 
Greek sites of Sicily; a few in relief, 
but mostly small figures, chiefly of very 
archaic art. The larger number repre¬ 
sent Ceres, the great goddess of Sicily; 
some arc of Greek, others of Etrus¬ 
can, and many of decidedly Egyptian 
character. There arc also bronzes of 
Greek and Roman antiquity. One case 
is full of .Saracenic relics: numerous 
small pots, of porous clay, adorned with 
colour and gold, and having a network 
of clay within the mouth of the pot 
to strain the fluid ; wooden and bronze 
bowls with Arabic inscriptions; articles 
in glass; coins of gold, silver, and 
copper; and seals with Arabic legends 
of the times of the Norman kings. 
Between the cases are many remains 
of ancient sculpture, among which ob¬ 
serve a pretty head of Diana in marble, 
the bust of which is in the possession 
of the Prince of Scordia; and a fine 
liermes of the Indian Bacchus, of Greek 
art. In the centre of the room are cases 
containing coins, a few Punic, many 
Roman, but most of Greek die, classified 





PALERMO—S. SPIR1TO—REALI FINANZE. 


according to tlie cities of Sicily which, 
struck them. Here are also a Homan 
sepulchral urn of marble; some frag¬ 
ments of Saracenic antiquity—slabs of 
marble with Arabic inscriptions; three 
lids, or rather ridges, of stone sarco¬ 
phagi, with Cupliic characters on both 
sides. A round table of bronze, about 
a yard in diameter, encircled with bands 
of Arabic inscriptions, resting on a stand 
similarly decorated, and both originally 
inlaid with silver, demands particular 
notice. 

Conservatorio di Santo Spirito (l), or 
the Foundling Hospital, in the Toledo, 
just within the Porta Felice. This 
building, founded in 1608 by the Mar¬ 
quis of Villena, viceroy of Sicily, was 
originally the old hospital of S. Barto¬ 
lommeo ; but in 1826 that hospital was 
incorporated with the Spedale Grande 
in the Bione of the Albergaria, and that 
for foundlings, which, since its first 
institution in 1756, had been in the 
said Spedale, was transferred to this 
building, under the name of the “ Con¬ 
servatory of the Holy Ghost.” It has 
a broad facade of plain architecture. 
On the ground-floor is a shop where 
objects manufactured by the inmates 
are exposed for sale. Beneath flie 
cornice is a long chiaroscuro fresco 
by Vincenzo Riolo of Palermo, repre¬ 
senting Pity conducting to the feet j 
of Beligion the unfortunate children 
of guilt and misery. The chief en¬ 
trance leads into a spacious quadran¬ 
gular court, surrounded by an arcade 
resting on 28 columns of grey stone, 
and having a fountain of grey marble 
in the midst. The wet-nurses ordi¬ 
narily number 24, but more ‘are engaged 
when necessary; and when the children 
are too numerous to be retained in the 
building, the surplus are put out to 
nurse. 

Though the internal arrangements 
appear excellent, and everything is 
conducted with strict regard to the 
comfort, cleanliness, and health of the 
infants, the mortality, as usual, is fear¬ 
fully great. In one year, at whose 
commencement 75 were already in the 
nursery, and in the course of which 777 
more were received, the number of 


69 

deaths amounted to 548, or more than 
64 per cent. Besides the ordinary rudi¬ 
ments of education, the children are 
taught the useful arts. The boys are 
not retained in this establishment 
beyond the age of 7 years, when they 
are transferred to the Ospizio di Bene- 
ficenza, where they learn various handi¬ 
crafts, such as tailoring, shoemaking, 
carpentering, &c. All are drilled in 
the military exercise, and those who 
evince talent are also instructed in 
music. They form a company of minia¬ 
ture soldiers, 100 or more strong, dressed 
and equipped in all respects like their 
big brothers of the line, and take a 
prominent part in most religious pro¬ 
cessions, marching to the music of their 
own Lilliputian band. The girls are 
taught music, needlework, embroid¬ 
ery, weaving, straw-plaiting, and bon¬ 
net-making. They remain in the insti¬ 
tution until their marriage, an event 
certain to arrive in due time, as each 
receives a dowry of 1031 ducats, or 
34L ounces. The revenue of the esta¬ 
blishment amounts to more than 13,000 
ounces per annum. 

Palazzo delle Reali Finalize (l), in 
the Toledo, a large fresh-looking pile, 
in which the massive Siculo-Doric of 
the portico consorts strangely with 
the 3 tiers of windows above it, and 
with the modern trophies in relief on 
the pilasters at the angles. This 
building forms part of the old Vi- 
earia, which was founded in 1578 as a 
custom-house, by the Viceroy Mare- 
antonio Colonna, but in 1595 was ap¬ 
plied to other purposes, the upper 
floor being used for the tribunals of 
justice, the lower part converted into 
prisons; and thus it remained till 
1840, when the prisoners were re¬ 
moved to the new Vicaria at the 
Piano de’ Quattro Venti, near the port, 
and the building assumed its present 
shape under the architectural skill of 
Emmanuele Palazzotto. The interior 
is entirely of recent construction. It 
is appropriated to the Bank of the 
Two Sicilies, and various public offices 
connected with finance. The paved 
court in the centre, surrounded by an 
arcade, is intended for the Bourse, 






70 


PALERMO—MONTE DI PIETA. 


yet the merchants of Palermo do not 
congregate here, but a little higher up 
the Toledo, where with brokers and 
ship-captains they resort at stated 
hours. 

The Libreria del Comum (a), at¬ 
tached to the Casa Professa, was esta¬ 
blished in 1760, and adorned in 1822 
with a handsome Doric portico, by the 
Prince of Torrebruna and Domenico 
Scina. The library is in several rooms 
on the upper floor, and consists of 
75,000 volumes, besides 2000 valuable 
MSS., chiefly on Sicilian matters, ar¬ 
ranged in neat cases of walnut-wood. 
It is open to the public daily, festas 
excepted, from 15 to 21 o’clock. No 
introduction is required. 

Edificio del Lotto (k), in the court, 
lo the N. of the Palazzo de’ Tribunali, 
is a small modern pavilion of Doric 
architecture, adorned with statues 
and frescoes, and inscribed with this 
motto from Horace :— 

** Valet ima summis mutare Fortuna.” 

The citzens, who assemble here hi 
crowds every Saturday afternoon to 
see the tickets drawn, need no such 
•aphorism to encourage them to the 
venture. The lottery is one of the 
most flourishing institutions of Sicily. 
In Palermo hardly a street is without 
its lottery-office, and in the principal 
thoroughfares they meet the eye at 
every turn, where the numbers of the 
tickets deemed lucky are hung out to 
attract the passers-by, just as a shop¬ 
keeper in other lands exposes his 
most “taking” goods. Besides these 
offices, there are itinerant vendors of 
tickets, who have a small commission 
on what they dispose of, and who do a 
brisk business at fairs, religious fes¬ 
tivals, and carnival-time, when there 
is a large concourse of the peasantry 
from the neighbouring villages. 

The Monte di Pieta (c), in the piazza 
of that name, instituted in 1541, and 
erected 50 years later, is a large pile 
of no architectural pretensions, with 
a projecting portico supported by 
Eoman-Doric columns. "This institu¬ 


tion, the great pawnbroker of Pa¬ 
lermo, is possessed of a capital of 
100,000 ounces, and lends money at 
the rate of G per cent. If at the 
end of two years the pledge is not re¬ 
deemed, or the arrears of interest not 
paid up, the pledge is sold. Of the 
230,000 pledges deposited yearly, about 
218,000 are redeemed, on 6000 interest 
is paid, and the remaining 6000 are 
disposed of by auction. “ The institu¬ 
tion of the Monte di Pieta has been 
censured as encouraging adventurers 
to run desperate risks by holding out 
ready means of borrowing money, and 
thus giving a stimulus to gambling 
propensities; and it is plausibly con¬ 
tended that, were there no such esta¬ 
blishment, needy persons, being de¬ 
terred by a sense of shame from 
running to private pawnbrokers, would 
keep away from the gaming-house 
and the lottery-office. This objec¬ 
tion, how applicable soever to an in¬ 
dustrious population highly sensitive 
to disgrace, does not hold with refer¬ 
ence to a sluggish society, where 
‘ shame has lost its blush; ’ and there¬ 
fore, in default of a public establish¬ 
ment, the borrower would fly to the 
pawnbroker, pay from 15 to 20 per 
cent, for a loan, instead of 5 or 6 as at 
present, and plunge into embarrass¬ 
ment and ruin .”—John Goodioin. 

Palazzo IUale (a), correctly de¬ 
scribed by Mr. Knight as “ a huge 
misshapen mass of buildings and 
towers, of various styles and epochs,” 
stands on the highest part of the city, 
which it dominates, just, says old Fal- 
cando, “as flic head looks down on 
the rest of the body.” It was founded 
towards the middle of the 9th cen¬ 
tury by the Saracenic conquerors of 
Sicily, on the ruins of the residence 
of the ancient Roman governors. The 
Norman princes, who made it their 
residence, effected great alterations and 
improvements, so that it became 
almost a “new palace,” and by this 
name it was long afterwards known. 
The Spanish Arab, Mohammed Elm 
Djobair, who visited it in the 12th 
century, under William the Good, de¬ 
scribes it as containing so many lofty 



PALERMO—rALAZZO REALE. 


71 


and magnificent mansions, so many 
gardens and terraced courts, and so 
many abodes for the servants of the 
Crown, that his eyes were dazzled, and 
his mind overwhelmed with amaze¬ 
ment. He pictures the royal dining- 
hall as standing within an enormous 
court surrounded by porticoes, and 
enclosed by a garden, and as being of 
vast size, with turrets of astonishing 
altitude. The Christian chronicler, 
Ugo Falcando, who wrote at a still 
earlier date, describes the palace as 
beiug surrounded by a massive wall of 
masonry. “ All the interior,” says he, 
“ sparkles gorgeously with gold and 
precious stones: 2 towers rise one at 
each extremity, that called Pisana, 
devoted to the custody of the royal 
treasures, and the Grecct, where the 
prisoners are confined, overhanging that 
part of the city called Khemonia. The 
intermediate space is occupied by that 
portion of the Palace called Joharia, 
resplendent with an abundance and 
variety of decoration, whither the king 
is wont to repair when he wishes to 
indulge in ease and quiet. In the rest 
of the palace are everywhere distributed 
the mansions erected for the matrons, 
the maidens, and the eunuchs, who 
wait upon the Icing and queen. There 
are also sundry other little palaces, 
glowing with a profusion of ornament, 
where the king either treats secretly on 
matters of state with his ministers, or 
addresses the nobles on the greater and 
public affairs of the kingdom.” 

The Palace continued to be the resi¬ 
dence of the Sicilian sovereigns, but 
was abandoned by the viceroys because 
it did not afford sufficient protection 
against popular tumults. Subsequently 
it was made the seat of the Inquisition, 
but in 1553 the viceroy I ). Juan de Yega 
made it again the viceregal residence, 
transferring the Holy Office to the Cas- 
tellamare, and pulled down a brick 
tower, called Torre Kossa, which had 
been built by Count Roger, and which 
impeded the view of the city. Since 
that period the Palace has been the 
abode of royalty or its representative. 
But it has undergone many alterations 
under successive viceroys, especially 
during the 17th century, when it as- 

O v ' 


sumed the form of a palace of Doric 
architecture of 3 stories, instead of 
that of a fortress which it had pre¬ 
viously had. The central part, which 
contains the royal apartments and the 
gallery, was built in 1600 by the Duke 
of Macheda, as shown by his arms on 
2 shields held by an eagle over the 
grand portal. 

No part of the existing building is 
older than Norman times. A con¬ 
siderable portion of the Norman palace 
is extant, though much disguised by 
modem restorations. It was built on 
the plan of the Norman keeps of the 
North. The principal apartments were 
on the upper story, while the at¬ 
tendants’ rooms and the prisons occu¬ 
pied the ground-floor. Of several 
towers raised by the Norman kings, 
one only, that of Santa Ninfa, remains, 
so called because that saint was bom in 
the palace. It is ornamented exter¬ 
nally with tall, pointed panels, in 3 
stories ; some of the panels containing 
small pointed windows or circular 
lights. This with the Cappella Pala- 
tina is nearly all that remains of 
Norman construction; though there is 
another portion facing the W. in that 
part of the palace which contains the 
Camera degli Uscieri, that may be of 
the same period. 

Entering the Palace from the Piazza 
Reale, you first find yourself in a 
courtyard, from which a grand stair¬ 
case of red marble, constructed by 
Charles III. in 1738, leads to the upper 
stories. On the ground-floor are 3 
large halls, where the ancient Sicilian 
parliament used to hold its sittings, 
each of the 3 “ arms ”—nobles, clergy, 
and burgesses—deliberating in a sepa¬ 
rate chamber. They were subsequently 
used as a receptacle for the public 
archives, then in 1799 as royal mews, 
and are still used as stables. Ask for La 
Scuderia. In 1637 Pietro Novelli, with 
Gerardo Asturino, Vincenzo la Barbera, 
and Giuseppe Costantino, was ordered 
to decorate these halls with appropri¬ 
ate frescoes. Of these works, which 
were all from the designs of Novell i, 
though executed in most part by his 
associates, few traces remain. The 
winged Victory in a car drawn by a 





72 


PALERMO—CAPPELLA PALATINA. 


white liorse, on the ceiling of the 
second chamber, is attributed to No¬ 
vell? s own hand, as well as the portrait 
of Pedro de Moncada, who expelled the 
Moors from Catalonia, riding down his 
foes in triumph. In the 3rd hall the 
fresco over the arch representing the 
Sicilian parliament at its session of 
1G36, which is greatly injured, and the 
figure of Fame sounding a trumpet in a 
car drawn by a winged steed on the 
ceiling of the same hall, also appear to 
be by Novell?s pencil. Spanish in¬ 
scriptions are attached to some of these 
frescoes, and the arms of Spain are 
preserved on the Avails of the outer 
chamber. 

On the first floor of the Palace is 
the 


Cappella Pa LATIN a. 

Passing beneath the mosaicked portico 
of stilted and pointed arches, you enter 
the chapel by its S. door, and find yourself 
in a building which, from the singularity 
of its architecture, the solemn gloom, 
the gorgeous colouring, and the poetic 
effect which reigns throughout, is won¬ 
derfully fascinating. “ This chapel is 
in the most complete preservation; a 
perfect gem of its kind, and a most 
singular and interesting specimen of 
that mixture of style which is only to 
be found, and could only be found, in 
Sicily. Perhaps there is no remnant 
of antiquity which, considered with 
reference to the history or the state of 
the arts, is more curious and interest¬ 
ing than the Cappella Reale. In Si¬ 
cily, and only in Sicily, the Greeks, 
the Saracens, and the Normans were 
united, and by their fortuitous con¬ 
junction the Northern, the Classic, and 
the Oriental styles were blended toge¬ 
ther^—the Romanesque, the Greek, and 
the Saracenic. Nothing of the sort is 
to be seen anywhere else .”—Gaily 
Knight. 

This beautiful chapel is in the 
long or basilica form, as King Roger, 
its founder, followed the Latin rite, 
yet the choir, or upper end of the 
church, is a Greek square, surmounted 
by a cupola, as in the Martorana. 


Though of very small dimensions, not 
exceeding 8G.j ft. (or 101 ft. if the apse 
be included) in length, by 40 ft. 4 in. 
in breadth, it has all the features of a 
large church—a nave, side-aisles, and 
3 apses. The arches are all stilted 
and pointed, and quite Saracenic in 
character. There are 5 on each side 
up to the choir, supported by columns 
about 15 ft. high, alternately of 
Egyptian granite and of cipollino or 
white marble, the latter fluted, the 
former plain; and they have evidently 
been taken from earlier buildings, either 
of Classic or Saracenic times. The 
capitals are Corinthian, more or less 
corrupt; one only is Composite; some 
appear from a Roman, most from a 
Byzantine chisel. Two have cherubs’ 
or rams’ heads as volutes. All are 
gilt. The walls of the chapel to 
the height of 10 ft. are lined with 
white marble slabs, containing large 
disks or panels of porphyry inlaid, 
separated by narrow vertical strips of 
mosaics, and surmounted by a broad 
horizontal band of the same containing- 
a series of antefixal ornaments like 
fleurs-de-lis. To this height the mo¬ 
saics are of opus Grsecanicum and Sara¬ 
cenic ; but above, all is opus musivum 
and Byzantine, up to the very roof, 
which over the nave is of wood, flat, 
richly fretted, and coloured in the true 
Saracenic style, very like that of the 
Hall of Justice in the Alhambra. It 
has pendentives or stalactites alter¬ 
nating with star-shaped coffers, re¬ 
cessed, and surrounded with Cupliic 
inscriptions in small white characters, 
which are also seen in the honeycomb- 
work at the sides. The aisles are 
roofed with rafters at short distances 
supporting small intervening vaults, 
all painted and gilt. The pavement 
is of opus Alexandrinum , in beautiful 
and ever-varied patterns, with disks 
of porphyry. The choir is elevated 5 
steps above the nave, and is separated 
from it by a pierced screen of marble, 
in front only 3 ft., at the sides 
nearly 7 ft. high, inlaid with beautiful 
mosaics in square panels. The win¬ 
dows are short, broad lancets, small in 
size and few in number, admitting only 
that moderate portion of light which 




PALERMO—CAPPELLA PALATINA. 


in southern regions, where the sun is so 
intensely bright, is found to impart the 
sombreness most suitable to religious 
edifices. 

Mosaics .—Nearly the whole of the 
walls and dome is covered with mosaic 
pictures on a gold ground, at once quaint 
and gorgeous, “ the effect of which,” says 
Mr. Knight, “ when the sun streams 
on any particular part, is more rich, 
without being gaudy, than can easily 
be imagined.” It is seldom, however, 
that the sun’s rays find then- v r ay in 
through the small windows, and the 
church is never more brilliantly illumi¬ 
nated than at mid-day in winter, when 
the light streaming through the south¬ 
ern door is reflected from the pavement 
in softened glory over every part of the 
interior. “ To see this building when 
the priests in their rich dresses are 
engaged in chanting the service, and 
the sunlight streams through the nar¬ 
row windows of the dome upon the 
clouds of incense which ascend curling 
almost to its summit, and touches some 
portion of the gilt and storied Avails, 
producing effects which a Rembrandt 
alone could imitate, is what would of 
itself reconcile an amateiu’ of art to a 
long and Aveary pilgrimage.”— Bartlett. 

The style of these pictorial mosaics 
is very primitive, as might be expected 
from their early date. They have all 
the dry, rigid manner of Byzantine art, 
Avithout chiaroscuro or perspective, and 
Avith much imperfection of draAving; 
yet there is often great expression and 
good motive, with considerable dignity 
in the figures and simplicity in the 
drapery. White, blue, brown, and 
purple are the prevailing colours. The 
subjects arc drawn from the Holy 
Scriptures. 

The history commences on the S. 
Avail of the nave next the choir, where 
the Dove is seen brooding over the 
waters. The Almighty creating the 
firmament, separating the land from 
the water, and placing the sun and 
moon in the firmament, Avith the Crea¬ 
tion of Birds, of Fish, of Quadrupeds, 
of Man, succeed. The Deity on his 
throne resting on the 7th day; placing 
Adam in Paradise; and taking Fve 
from his side, finish the series on this 
[Sicily.^ 


73 

Avail. On the opposite wall you see the 
Temptation, the DiscoA T ery by our first 
parents of then- nakedness, their Expul¬ 
sion from Eden, the Cultivation of the 
ground, the Sacrifices of Cain and 
Abel, the Death of the latter, the 
Cursing of his murderer, Lamech tell¬ 
ing his Avife he had killed a man 
(evidently a modern restoration), the 
Translation of Enoch, Noah and his 
sons, and the Building of the Ark. 

The history is continued in the 
lower band Avhich fills the spandrils of 
the arches. Here, under the Creation r 
you haA r e the Dove returning to the ark, 
the Boav in the clouds, the Drunken¬ 
ness of Noah, the ToAver of Babel and 
confusion of tongues, Abraham enter¬ 
taining the angels, the men of Sodom 
at Lot’s door. On the N. Avail are the 
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, 
the Sacrifice of Isaac, Rebecca at the 
well, Isaac blessing Jacob, Jacob's 
dream, Jacob setting up the stone, and 
his Wrestle with the angel. The stilts 
between the arches bear full-length 
figures, in the nave of male, in the 
aisles of female saints; and on the 
soffits of the arches are heads of saints 
in medallions, amid arabesques and 
foliage—all in mosaic. The W. Avail 
of the nave is filled with one large 
subject—Jesus on his throne, book in 
hand, between St. Peter and St. Paul, 
over each of Avhom hovers an angel. 
The loAA r er band contains birds and 
lions amid scroll foliage. This is over 
the Royal Throne which fills this end 
of the nave. 

In the side-aisles are scenes from the 
lives of St. Peter and St. Paul. In 
the S. aisle Saul is seen about to per¬ 
secute the Christians; then folloAV his 
Conversion and blindness, his Baptism, 
his confounding the JeAvs in Damascus, 
his Escape from that city in a basket, 
and Peter delivered from prison. In 
the N. aisle the series is continued 
with Peter healing the sick at the 
Beautiful Gate, restoring the palsied 
TEneas, raising Tabitlia from the dead, 
meeting Paul on his Avav to Rome, 
these tAVO Apostles disputing Avith 
Simon Magus, who in the next is falling 
to the earth. The last three subjects 
illustrate traditions of the Roman 

E 



74 


PALERMO—CAPPELLA PAL A TIN A. 


Church. The personal appearance of 
the two Apostles is well discriminated; 
Paul being depicted as tall and thin, 
with a lofty forehead and bare crown, 
while Peter is represented with bushy 
white hair and beard. 

In the semi-dome of the central apse 
is a half-length colossal figure of Our 
Saviour in Greek costume, with an 
open book in one hand, and the other 
raised in the act of blessing. In a 
lower band sits the Virgin between 
St. Peter and Mary Magdalen on one 
hand, and St. James and St. John the 
Baptist on the other. The figure of 
the Virgin is of modem times, and 
occupies the place where was originally 
a window, and that of St. Peter does 
not seem earlier than the 15tli century. 
On the soffit are figures of the arch¬ 
angels Michael and Gabriel. Round 
the archivolt runs a Latin inscription 
in leonine verse. In the pavement of 
the apse, on each side of the altar, is 
a serpent in mosaic in a threatening 
attitude. 

The cupola, which rises to the height 
of 55J ft. from the pavement, and is 
lighted by 8 small windows, is hemi¬ 
spherical, and rests on an octagonal 
base, formed by filling the angles of 
the square below it with concentric 
arches in corbelling, as at S. Giovanni 
degli Eremiti. In the centre is de¬ 
picted a large half-length figure of 
Our Saviour, book in hand, and an in¬ 
scription in Greek around Him : “ The 
heaven is my throne, and the earth my 
footstool, saith the Lord, the ruler over 
all.” In the spaces between the lights 
are the 4 archangels and 4 other 
angels; in the spandrils 8 prophets; 
and in the pendentives at the angles 
the Evangelists, round each of whom 
is a Latin and Greek inscription. In 
the intervening arches are David, Solo¬ 
mon, and 2 prophets. Below all a 
long Greek inscription, which for half¬ 
way is hardly legible, runs round the 
dome, and beneath it one in Latin, 
which commences over the apse. In 
the spandrils of the arch over the apse 
is the Annunciation; and over the 1 
opposite arch the Presentation in the 
Temple, which is depicted with a 
Byzantine dome and towers. 


The it. or southern apse contains a 
figure of St. Paul, and below him St. 
Anne with her daughter the Virgin, 
between St. Philip and St. Sebastian. 
Over the apse is represented the Na¬ 
tivity. On the S. wall of this aisle 
are 3 bands of mosaics; in the upper, 
Joseph’s Vision and the Flight into 
Egypt; in the middle, the Baptism of 
Christ, the Transfiguration, and the 
Raising of Lazarus; and in the lower, 
Christ entering Jerusalem on an ass. 
All these mosaics have Greek legends, 
and appear to be in their original state. 

The vault of the northern apse con¬ 
tains a half-length of St. Andrew, in¬ 
stead of St. Peter, w r ho usually occupies 
this place of honour, and who, as the 
Royal Chapel is dedicated to him, 
particularly claims it in this instance. 
It is probable, however, that it was 
not originally thus, and that, on the 
destruction of the neighbouring church 
of St. Andrew about the year 1500, 
when we know that its revenues were 
transferred to this particular altar, the 
figure of that saint was substituted 
for that of St. Peter, to whom was 
made over the altar in the opposite 
apse, which now bears his name, and 
a marble statue of him by Giambat¬ 
tista Hagusa of Palermo. Below St. 
Andrew appears Joseph leading the 
youthful Saviour, while St. Barnabas 
and the protomartyr Stephen stand 
one on each hand. Over the apse is 
depicted the Adoration of the Magi, 
and on the walls of this aisle are 
figures of the fathers of the Church. 
It will be observed, with reference to 
the numerous saints depicted on the 
walls of this chapel, that all have their 
places in the hierarchy of heaven dis¬ 
tinctly defined, either by their dresses, 
or by the insignia they bear. Thus 
the deacons carry a pot of incense, the 
confessors a book, the martyrs a crown, 
and to each is attached his or her 
name, those in the choir being in 
Greek, those in the nave and aisles in 
Latin. 

The chapel or pew of the Viceroy, 
high in this aisle, and of subsequent 
i formation to the church, contains some 
small frescoes illustrative of the lives 
of St. Francis and St. Anthony of 






PALERMO—GAPPELLA PALAT1NA. 


75 


Padua; which are either by Pietro 
Novelli in his early youth, or painted 
by his pupils from his designs. 

Pulpit .—In the rt. aisle, close to the 
choir, is a curious ambone , or pulpit, of 
white marble covered with mosaics on 
all sides, save where a slab of porphyry 
takes their place beneath the reading- 
desk. It is about 12 ft. square, and is 
supported by 4 columns and 2 square 
pillars, all with Corinthian-like capitals, 
gilt. The pillars are of white marble, 
carved with a Greek guilloclie. The 2 
outer columns are of cipollino with the 
Norman chevron in relief; the others 
are of beautiful red Seravezza marble. 
The reading-desk is supported by a 
spread eagle. By the side of this pulpit 
is an ancient candelabrum of white 
marble of elaborate workmanship, about 
14 ft. high, or exactly the height of the 
columns in the nave. It is of Byzantine 
art, and is said to have been imported 
by King Roger before the erection of 
this chapel, w T ith which it is at least 
contemporaneous. It rests on a square 
base of 4 lions devouring their prey. 
The slender and elegant shaft is com¬ 
posed of belts of figures alternating 
w r ith acanthus-leaves of pure Greek 
character. In the lowest belt are figures 
of huntsmen, lions, and dogs, inter¬ 
mingled with vine - foliage, among 
which are birds. On this rest 4 large 
eagles with open wings. In an upper 
belt within a disk supported by 4 
angels is the figure of Our Saviour on 
his throne, in the usual attitude of 
blessing. At his feet, in chasuble and 
mitre, a bishop bows reverently to re¬ 
ceive the benediction—a figure that 
has been mistaken for King Roger. 
This scene is completed by an angel 
leading a soul into the presence of his 
Redeemer. In a higher belt are 4 
birds of prey, one of which treads down 
a snake in pursuit of a dog, and all are 
seizing with then- beaks the tails of 4 
other nondescript birds which stretch 
up to support the original basin of the 
candelabrum. To this height all is 
one piece of pure white marble; but 
there have been added, apparently in 
the loth century, 4 half-nude male 
figures, supporting a gilt tazza, which 
now crowns the whole. 


At the W. end of the chinch stands 
the Royal Throne , so spacious as almost 
to fill the nave. It is of white marble 
raised on 5 steps, with a pediment at 
the back, and shoulders at the sides, 
all profusely adorned with the most 
beautiful mosaics, which also cover the 
pavement. The decorations of this 
throne present, indeed, the most exqui¬ 
site specimens of opus Greecanicum in 
the whole chapel. This position for 
the throne is unique; its usual place 
is within the choir in front of the apse, 
as at Monreale Cathedral, but here 
there was not space for it within the 
narrow limits of the presbytery. It 
has certainly occupied its present site 
since the days of the Aragonese kings 
of Sicily, as is shown by their arms in 
the mosaic. In the nave are two 
ancient basins for holy water—small 
round bowls of white marble, adorned 
with mosaic work in chevrons, and 
supported by fluted shafts of porphyry, 
which rest on bases upheld by 4 lions 
of marble. 

This beautiful chapel was erected by 
Roger, first king of Sicily. The date 
of its foundation is not certain, but 
an authentic document still extant 
assures us that in the year 1132 it 
was invested with the privileges of a 
parish church by the Archbishop and 
Chapter of Palermo. Another diploma 
mentions its consecration on 28 April, 
1140, at which the clergy of both the 
Greek and Latin Churches were pre¬ 
sent. It was dedicated to St. Peter, yet, 
as already stated, the figure of that 
saint does not now occupy a prominent 
place among the mosaics. These deco¬ 
rations have been ascribed by an old 
chronicler, Romualdo of Salerno, to 
William I., Roger’s son and successor 
on the tin-one of Sicily; but in the 
Greek inscription round the dome, 
now in great part illegible, Roger 
speaks for himself as the founder of 
the church, and mentions the date of 
1143, which from the position of the 
inscription most probably refers to the 
mosaics above it, and perhaps to the 
rest at the eastern end of the church. 
We cannot suppose that Roger did 
nothing towards the decorations, or lhs 
declaration that, in gratitude for his 

e 2 



76 


PALERMO—CAPPELLA PAL ATI X A. 


victories and the throne he had ob¬ 
tained, he would raise a worthy temple 
to the Lord, lias no meaning; as apart 
from its adornments this building 
could not be so considered. It is 
therefore probable that, though Roger 
commenced the decorations, he did not 
live to complete them, and that his 
successor extended them over the nave 
and aisles—a view which is borne out 
by the difference of style observable, 
the latter mosaics being much inferior 
to those at the E. end, which resemble 
and rival those iu the Cathedral of 
Cefalii, known to have been executed 
in the lifetime of King Roger. 

The Arabic inscriptions on the ceil¬ 
ing of the nave, owing to the gloom of 
the church and the height above the 
eye, were not known to exist till the 
year 1798, when the Abbate Morso 
transcribed and translated them. They 
appear to have been consecutive 
throughout the 20 coffers of the ceil' 
ing; and if the characters in the first 
and last coffers had not been oblite¬ 
rated by ill-judged restorations, they 
would probably have indicated the 
king who decreed the work and the 
year in which it was executed. Morso 
found one of them to be almost a repe¬ 
tition of the inscription on the dalmatica 
or robe wrought for King Roger by 
the Saracens of Sicily in 1133, and 
long shown in Nuremberg as the robe 
of Charlemagne, enumerating the ex¬ 
cellent qualities of the monarch in the 
language of Oriental hyperbole. This 
robe of honour was carried to Germany 
by the Emperor Henry VI. along with 
150 loads of treasure from the palace 
of Palermo, and was subsequently used 
as their coronation robe by the emperors 
of Germany, being known by the name 
of the Nuremberg dalmatioa, as the 
imperial regalia were formerly kept in 
that town. 

There are various other inscriptions 
in the chapel, chiefly recording the 
dates of its restorations. On the cor¬ 
nice on the N. side of the nave you 
read the date of 1130, in Latin. Over 
the door at the W. end of the N. aisle 
is a mosaic inscription in rhyming 
hexameters, recordm that in the year 
1310 Elizabeth, wife of Peter II. of 


Aragon, “ repaired, altered, and re¬ 
newed ” the mosaics. On the wall of 
the same aisle is the date of 1460, in 
the reign of King John of Aragon. An 
inscription on the same wall states that 
the temple was repaired in 1462, and 
another in the S. aisle that the mosaic 
was restored in 1463. In the nave 
is an inscription of 1478, in the S. 
aisle one of 1482; and in the N. aisle 
you perceive the date of 1499, when 
Ferdinand could boast of adding Gra¬ 
nada to his dominions. Other inscrip¬ 
tions mention repairs effected under the 
Bourbons during the reigns of Philip 
V., Charles III., and Ferdinand I. 

Crypt .—A flight of steps beneath 
the pulpit leads down to the crypt, a 
chapel on the ground-floor of the pa¬ 
lace, which corresponds in plan with a 
section of the chapel above it, having 3 
similar apses, and pointed arches sup¬ 
ported on heavy piers. It must also be 
of Norman date, and contemporary with 
the royal chapel, though tradition 
makes it of much higher antiquity* and 
asserts that St. Peter preached here to 
the early converts on his way from 
Africa to Rome. The altarpiece is a 
pretty oil-painting of the Madonna 
delle Grazie, by an unknown hand. 
In an opposite chapel is a large cruci¬ 
fix of wood, which was formerly in the 
Inquisition, and now attracts crowds of 
the devout every Friday in March. In 
this crypt the canons of the chapel were 
formerly interred, and here also are de¬ 
posited the remains of two viceroys, 
Prince Emanuel Filibert of Savoy, who 
died of the plague in 1624, and the 
Marquis of Castel Rodrigo, who died in 
1677. 

The S. door of the Cappella Palatina 
is of walnut-wood, decorated with ara¬ 
besque carvings of modem date. In 
the central compartments are small 
reliefs representing the Calling of Peter 
and Janies, and Christ delivering the 
keys to Peter. 

The portico has 6 arches of unequal 
span, stilted and pointed, resting on 
7 granite columns of different sizes,, 
with Corinthian or Norman capitals 
and Attic bases. An inscription here 
records that Juan Sanchez, who was. 




PALERMO-PALAZZO REALE—SALA NORM ANNA. 


77 


Cantor to the chapel under Ferdinand 
the Catholic, in 1506 covered the walls 
of the portico with mosaics in imita¬ 
tion of the interior. His work falling 
into decay, the present mosaics were 
put up in 1800, when Ferdinand I. 
was in Sicily, by Santo Cardini, who 
took 37 years to complete them. They 
represent the Death of Absalom, David 
mourning over his Son and pardoning 
Shimei; also the Genius of Palermo 
■supporting a. medallion with the por¬ 
traits of Ferdinand I. and his queen; 
all exhibit much bad taste and worse 
drawing. At one end is King Roger 
handing to Simon, the Cantor of the 
chapel, the diploma of foundation in 
1140. Inscriptions and reliefs comme¬ 
morate the marriage of two daughters of 
Ferdinand I.—Maria Cristina to Carlo 
Felice of Savoy in 1807; and Maria 
Amalia to Louis Philippe in 1809; 
and the baptism of Ferdinand II., the 
late sovereign of the Two Sicilies, in 
1810. 

On the wall to the 1. of the portico 
is inserted a stone with an inscription 
in three languages, Latin, Greek, and 
Arabic, which records that “ the mag¬ 
nificent Lord and King Roger ” set up 
a clock in the year 1142, a period when 
such pieces of mechanism were great 
rarities. 

It is highly probable that there were 
originally porticoes on the W. and N. 
sides of the chapel; indeed traces of 
such exist on the W. in some small 
pointed arches in certain chambers over 
the ante-sacristy. The 2 doors which 
now open in this wall of the church 
are but miniatures of the original 
entrances, as may be seen from the an¬ 
cient doorposts and lintels, adorned 
with acanthus-leaves, still visible from 
the outside. It is probable also that 
the portico was flanked with at least 
one campanile, for a bell-tower is 
mentioned by Ugo Falcando as exist¬ 
ing in the palace in the reign of 
William I. 

Adjoining the chapel to the W. is 
the sacristy, from which you enter the 
Archivio, whose door of iron curiously 
grated, and once gilt, but now painted, 
is worthy of notice. It is of very early 
date, and originally formed the grating 


to the window in the central apse, now 
blocked up. Here are carefully pre¬ 
served sundry original documents re¬ 
lating to the chapel, some as early as 
the time of its founder. The earliest 
deeds are in Greek, or in both Greek and 
Arabic; but from the time of the Em¬ 
peror Frederick II. they are in Latin. 
The most curious is the act of consecra¬ 
tion, dated 1140, which is written in 
letters of gold on purple silk, exactly 
after the manner of the edicts of the 
Byzantine emperors, to imitate whom 
in all royal usages appears to have been 
the aim of the Norman kings of Sicily. 

Ascending to the upper story, you 
enter the Sala de 9 Vicere, which has its 
walls covered with full-length portraits 
of the viceroys of Sicily, from D. Her- 
nan de Acima, in 1488, downwards, 
painted in panels let into the walls.' 
The earlier ones were copied from 
original portraits in 1680, by order of 
the Count of Santo Stefano, who com¬ 
menced the gallery. Some were de¬ 
stroyed in 1848, others have been re¬ 
stored. From this room you enter the 
Sala de Venti, a square hall, of Nor¬ 
man architecture, lighted by a lofty 
lantern resting on 4 columns, with 
pointed arches, and having its walls 
covered with shabby painted imitations 
of mosaics. This is within the ancient 
Torre di Santa Ninfa, as is also the ad¬ 
joining chamber, called 

Sala Normanna, a square hall, of 
smaller size than the last, whose 
walls and coved ceiling are inerusted 
with mosaics, which, though in many 
parts restored, are substantially the 
same as in the days of William I. The 
floor is tesselated, in imitation of the 
original pavement. To the height of 
12 ft. the walls are lined with slabs of 
white marble, above which and in the 
corners are columns of dappled mar¬ 
ble with corrupt Corinthian capitals. 
Above this, all is mosaic-work. First 
a zigzag in various colours, then men 
and animals on a gold ground in two 
bands. Peacocks on every wall make 
a brilliant display of colour, and to¬ 
gether with swans, ducks, lions, and 
leopards, all in pairs, are depicted amid 




78 


I’ALERMO—PALAZZO REALE. 


groves of palms, bananas, and orange- 
trees laden with fruit. The upper band 
contains huntsmen shooting stags, and 
a pair of centaurs attacking each other 
with drawn bows. In the centre of the 
ceiling the crowned eagle of Suabia, 
seizing a rabbit, shows that repairs 
must have been effected under that 
dynasty. It is sm-rounded by lions 
and griffins in medallions, and the 
spaces are filled in with arabesques 
and scroll foliage. The animals in these 
mosaics are drawn with some truth and 
character, but to pronounce on the 
order and genus of most of the trees 
would puzzle a Lindley or a Hooker. 
The E. and W. walls have suffered less 
than the rest, and show mosaics of a 
primitive period; but those on the S. 
wall, as well as on the arches in the 
N. and on the ceiling itself, have been 
almost entirely restored. From this 
small apartment some idea may be 
formed of the splendour and magni¬ 
ficence of this palace in ancient times, 
of which the old chroniclers speak in 
glowing terms. The whole, like the 
Cappella Palatina, proves how the art 
existing in Sicily at the time of the 
Norman invasion triumphed over that 
introduced by the conquerors; and it 
also bears out the descriptions that have 
come down to us of the strangely Ori¬ 
ental habits and luxury which were 
indulged in by the descendants of the 
stern Count Roger. 

From this hall you enter the Sola 
del Parlamento, a large saloon hung 
with crimson damask, furnished a la 
Louis XIV., and with ceiling frescoed 
by Giuseppe Velasquez of Palermo. 
This leads into a still larger saloon, 
called the Gallery, or Sala dell’ Udi- 
enza, the royal reception-room, adorned 
with arabesques in relief and with 
frescoes. The ceiling originally bore 
scenes illustrative of the arrival of 
Peter of Aragon in Sicily and of his 
coronation, painted in 1680; but these 
have 'given place to wretched frescoes 
by Patricola, Patania, and Riolo. Here, 
till 1848, were two bronze rams of 
Greek art, brought from Constantinople 
in the 1 ltli century by George Maniaces, 
the Byzantine general, and set over the 
gates of the castle at Syracuse, where, 


turning on pivots, they served to indi¬ 
cate the direction of the wind, which 
entering their mouths is said to have 
made a noise like the bleating of the 
animal. Both were thrown from the 
windows of this palace by the mob in 
1848; one was dashed to atoms; the 
other escaped with the loss of leg, ear, 
and tail, and has been clumsily restored. 
The animal is reclining in a most 
natural attitude, with his forefoot bent 
beneath him, and head raised in the act 
of bleating. They tell you it was made 
by Archimedes, to whom everything 
wonderful at Syracuse is ascribed, but 
it is of the low empire and of Byzantine 
art. These rams were considered of 
such value as to be accepted by Giovanni 
Ventimiglia, marquis of Geraci, in 1448, 
as a reeompence for his services to 
Alplionso king of Aragon and Sicily, 
in having murdered 20 nobles of Syra¬ 
cuse, chiefs of a party in opposition to 
the king, whom he had treacherously 
decoyed to a banquet. On his death 
they were placed as monuments on his 
tomb; but his grandson Laving taken 
arms against the royal authority, his 
property was confiscated to the crown, 
and the rams were sent to Palermo, 
where they were first placed in the 
Palazzo de’ Tribunali, then removed, 
with the viceregal residence, to the 
Castellamare, and subsequently to this 
palace. The suite of apartments used 
by royalty when visiting Palermo is on 
tliis floor, and is shown to strangers. 

On the summit of the Norman tower 
is tlie Observatory , or Specola Aslrono- 
mica , which is elevated 247 Eng. ft. 
above the sea, and commands a magni¬ 
ficent view of the town, the bay, and 
the Conca d’ Oro. This observatory, 
erected in 1791, ranks among the first 
in Europe for the excellence of its astro¬ 
nomical instruments, among which a 
“circle'' by Ramsden has much cele¬ 
brity. It was with this instrument that 
the Padre Giuseppe Piazzi was enabled 
to add largely to the amount of astro¬ 
nomical science"; and here, in 1801, he 
discovered the planet Ceres. The Ob¬ 
servatory is now under the direction of 
Professor Ragona. The ceiling of a 
room in this part of the palace preserves 
a portion of Saracenic fretwork, like that 





79 


PALERMO—PALAZZO SENATOKIO—SPEDALE GRANDE. 


on the roof of the Cappella Palatina. 
“ In a lumber-room of tlie palace is still 
to be seen a square wooden door with 
richly-moulded panels, which are filled 
with an elaborately-entwining Saracenic 
fiower. This door is believed to have 
belonged to the Norman apartments.” 
— Kniglit. 

Palazzo Senatorio (k). —The Town- 
hall, in the Piazza Pretoria, was founded 
so early as 1300 by Frederick II. of 
Aragon, but not completed till 1470. 
It has subsequently been repaired and 
altered so as to have lost all traces of 
the antiquity it can boast. It is a quad¬ 
rangular pile, having a facade and an 
entrance on each side, and a square 
court in the centre. The principal front 
looks on the Piazza Pretoria, and bears 
sundry inscriptions commemorative of 
the coronation of Vittor Amedeo Duke 
of Savoy, and his wife Anna Amelia, as 
King and Queen of Sicily, in 1713, and 
of that of Charles Bourbon, Infante of 
Spain, in 1735. Over all is a marble 
statue of Santa Rosalia, protectress of 
the city and senate of Palermo. 

The door leading into the coiut shows 
much ornament and bad taste, for 
which it is indebted to Charles II., who 
widened it iu 1691, and had much better 
have left it alone. The corn-t has a 
colonnade on two sides, and a fountain 
on the third, over which stand two 
ancient statues of marble. Over the E. 
door is inscribed, “Pax huic domui! ” 
and a sentinel mounts guard to enforce 
the benediction. In the vestibule are 
24 ancient inscriptions, one in Greek, 
the rest in Latin, most of the time of 
Marcus Aurelius and Septimius Severus, 
but one as late as Diocletian, and 
another as early as Claudius. At the 
foot of the red marble staircase is an 
ancient cippus, with an apocryphal 
Latin inscription; and higher up, on a 
half-column of porphyry, is a marble 
statue of the Genius of Palermo, as a 
bearded king sitting in a marble conch, 
and holding a snake which bites his 
bosom. Round the conch is inscribed, 
“Panormus conca aurea suos devorat, 
alienos nutrit.” In the great hall on 
the upper floor is a velvet-covered chest 
in which the privileges of the city are 


preserved. Here meets the essence of 
Palermitan wisdom in the persons of the 
Prsetor and Senate; here the Academy 
of Arts and Sciences holds its sittings; 
and here concerts are occasionally held 
for the assistance of public charities, in 
which the highest ladies in the land 
take a prominent part. 

Spedale Grande (a), in the Piazza 
Reale. This grand old building was 
originally the palace of Matteo Selafani, 
Count of A demo, who erected it in 1330, 
as is recorded on a tablet over the S. 
door, in Leonine hexameters :— 

“ Annis millenis ter centum ter quoque denis 
Hoc Matheus egit de Selafani nomine fecit.” 

Fazello relates that Matteo, envious of 
the grand palace that Manfred Chiara- 
rnonte had erected in the Kalsa (now 
Palazzo de’ Tribunali), boasted that 
within one year he would build a palace 
of such enormous size that it would 
hold Manfred’s within its court, and he 
kept his word. This fact, remarks 
Fazello, from the incredible size of the 
building, worrld exceed all belief, were 
it not recorded on a tablet over the E. 
gate:— 

“ Felix Mattheus Sclafanis memoria dignus, 
Fabricam hanc fecit nobilem, pius, atque 
benignus. 

Ut ne mireris modico tarn tempore factam, 
Vix annus fluxerat, quam cernis ita per- 
actam.” 

In 1440 the Senate purchased it of 
Viscount Gagliano, into whose hands 
it had fallen, for 150 ounces—a most 
paltry sum for the largest private 
palace in Palermo—and converted it 
into a hospital for the sick and poor 
of the city. Thus it remained until a 
few years since, when it was turned 
into barracks. 

It is a massive, quadrangular pile, 
originally with a doorway in each front, 
but is now only to be entered from the 
Piazza Reale. This front has been 
modernised, but the other sides retain, 
in part, their ancient decorations, which, 
however, have been much mutilated of 
late, so that those who knew the palace 
only ten years ago would scarcely re¬ 
cognise it. It had three stories. In the 
lower are, or were, small trefoil windows, 
for few traces of them remain. The 



80 


PALERMO—SPEDALE GRANDE. 


second 1ms round-headed arches inter¬ 
lacing in the Norman style, hut flat, 
and banded black and white, each arch 
below the intersection having a double 
pointed light separated by a slender 
marble shaft, with a circular light above 
it filled with tracery. The third story 
has pointed windows with double lights, 
without a dominant arch. All this 
decoration is perfectly flat, without 
mouldings, and very unlike the contem¬ 
porary architecture of the N. of Europe; 
this unrelieved ornamentation showing 
how strong was still the Saracenic in¬ 
fluence at that period. The door in 
the S. front, however, has mouldings 
in relief, the acanthus-leaf on the label, 
and the trefoil arch in the hood, 
with the device of the Sclafani family, 
two ostriches facing each other, often 
repeated. The door within the N. ves¬ 
tibule, with a pointed arch of three 
orders resting on shafts with foliated 
capitals, shows in its projecting mould¬ 
ings more of a northern character. It 
is one of the earliest specimens of the 
appearance in Sicily of the pointed 
style of the North; but this must be a 
century later than the palace, and must 
have been erected by Alfonso the Mag¬ 
nanimous when he constructed the 
adjoining chapel in 1433. It is now 
blocked up. 

The spacious court within the build¬ 
ing is surrounded with a Roman-Doric 
arcade on the ground-floor, and a cor¬ 
ridor of pointed arches above. Beneath 
the lower arcade are two fresco-paint¬ 
ings of high interest. On the southern 
wall is a large fresco by Antonio Cres- 
cenzio and his brothers, Palermitan 
artists who flourished about the middle 
of the 15tli century. It represents the 
Triumph of Death. The king of terrors, 
as a skeleton with bow in hand, is 
riding down a crowd of both sexes, who 
are vainly flying before him, while 
popes, bishops, and kings, transfixed 
with his arrows, lie prostrate in the 
foreground. Some destined to become 
his victims are pursuing their customary 
avocations, unconscious of his approach, 
while others, chiefly monks and nuns, 
are gazing at him with more astonish¬ 
ment than alarm. “ The artists must 
be considered superior to many of their 


day in richness of fancy, taste in com¬ 
position, variety of attitudes and coun¬ 
tenances, and extreme carefulness.”— 
Gallo. There was a companion fresco 
of the Universal Judgment by the same 
hands, of which not a trace now exists, 
as it was utterly destroyed to make way 
for a staircase, but of which Giacomo 
del Duea, a Palermitan sculptor and 
pupil of Buonarotti, used to say, “ If 
Michaelangelo, my master, had ever 
visited Palermo, I should affirm with 
certainty that he had copied precisely 
from this picture the entire composition 
of his Last Judgment in the Sistine 
Chapel at Rome! ” 

On the opposite wall of the court is 
an immense fresco by Pietro Novelli, 
representing Paradise, painted in 1634, 
and the only known work of his on 
which he inscribed both his name and 
the date, whence it has been inferred 
that this alone he felt to be truly 
worthy of his pencil. In it he sought 
to surpass the two frescoes already 
described, a task easy enough as re¬ 
garded drawing and colouring, but de¬ 
manding all the efforts of his genius 
with respect to composition. The 
fresco has been greatly injured by 
damp and neglect, so that half of it 
has perished, or is only to be traced 
in parts by the outlines of the figures. 
The portion that remains is protected 
by an iron grating. The scene re¬ 
presents the reception of blessed 
souls into Paradise. “ On the 1., in 
the lower part of the picture, are 
angels embracing and tenderly raising 
up certain of these souls, represented 
as naked figures, who in then- atti¬ 
tudes and countenances express their 
eagerness to enjoy the presence of the 
Deity. A little higher up is seen the 
celestial court gathered in beautiful 
groups. Towards the centre is Loyola, 
with other fathers of the Church ; and 
to the rt. Moses, the Apostles, and 
the Evangelists, in various attitudes. 
Hardly a trace of these figures is now 
visible; but from an old sketch of 
them in my possession there must 
have been great beauty, character, and 
variety in the old men’s heads. In 
the upper part is the Trinity in the 
midst of angels and cherubim. The 





81 


PALERMO—PALAZZO RE’ TRIBUNAL!. 


Word, standing tip and holding liis 
cross, is in the act of receiving a soul 
presented to him by the Virgin and 
Santa Eosalia. Santa Oliva, Santa 
Ninfa, Santa Cristina, and other 
saintly virgins of Palermo, have each 
a soul by her side, affectionately em¬ 
bracing it, and seeking to obtain for it 
access to the Divine presence. Nothing 
in painting can be imagined more 
splendid, more grand, and more varied 
as a representation of Paradise.”— 
Gallo. Many of these figures had al¬ 
most disappeared, though the Virgin 
and the angels around her retained 
their colour, and gave some idea of 
the beauty of the rest of the fresco, 
before the conversion of the hospital 
into barracks a few years since; but 
now, alas! so little care is taken of 
art-treasures in Sicily, this glorious 
fresco is almost invisible, being lost 
under a coating of soot from the bar¬ 
rack-kitchen, which has been esta¬ 
blished under the arcade, and at a short 
distance from the fresco. Crescenzio’s 
fresco opposite has been greatly in¬ 
jured from the same cause. Fortu¬ 
nately some record of Xovelli’s has 
been preserved in a copy in oil made 
by Giuseppe Velasquez when it was 
in better condition, which is now to 
be seen in the gallery of the If oval 
University in this city. 

Talazzo cle Tribunal! (k , in the 
Piazza Marina, is a lofty square pile 
of Siculo-Norman architecture, with a 
large court in the centre—a grand 
and massive structure worthy of a 
great feudal lord, and of the times 
when every man’s house was, not of 
right, but of necessity, his castle. It 
is constructed of regular ashlar ma¬ 
sonry, and has two lofty stories origin¬ 
ally crowned with a Saracenic parapet, 
of which some traces remain; a battle- 
mented tower rises into a third story 
at one angle. Morso, the local anti¬ 
quary, pronounces it to have been a 
palace of the Moslem princes, which 
is recorded by Edrisi, the Nubian, to 
have stood in the suburb of Khalesa, 
near the entrance from the sea to the 
southern port. But the present build¬ 
ing, which was anciently known by 


the name of Outerlo or Sterlo, was 
commenced, it may be on the founda¬ 
tions of that palace, by Manfred Chia- 
ramonte, Count of Modica, in the year 
1307, as we learn from an inscription, 
and probably finished in 1320, the 
date that Fazcllo assigns to its con¬ 
struction. It was not long enjoyed by 
that family, for when in 1392 Andrea 
Cliiaramonte revolted against King 
Martin, and was beheaded in the 
piazza beneath its walls, the palace 
was forfeited to the Crown, and Martin 
made it his own residence, assigning 
certain halls to the legal tribunals 
which had previously been held in 
the Castellamare. Here, in 1412, the 
beautiful Bianca of Navarre, Martin’s 
widow, was nearly surprised by Ber¬ 
nardo Cabrera, the ambitious Catalan 
noble, who aspired at once to her hand 
and the throne of Sicily. His suit 
being rejected by her with disdain, he 
resolved to possess himself by force 
both of her person and of the crown, and 
entering Palermo suddenly one winter’s 
night, lie hastened to attack the Oste- 
rio, making sure of his prey. But the 
fair Queen had been apprised of her 
danger just in time, and, escaping with 
her ladies to the shore, rushed into the 
sea, and stood shivering in her night¬ 
dress till she was taken on board a 
galley, which conveyed her to the 
Castle of Solanto. Bernardo rushed to 
her room, to find her gone, when ex¬ 
claiming, “ The partridge has flown, 
but I will enjoy her nest! ” he threw 
himself into her yet warm bed, and 
gave way to a thousand extravagances 
prompted by baffled lust and ambition. 
This continued to be used as the royal 
palace by the viceroys of Sicily until 
the year 1517, when, during the dis¬ 
turbances that prevailed in Sicily on 
the death of Ferdinand the Catholic, it 
was attacked by the conspirators under 
Luca Squarcialupo, and the viceroy 
Pignatelli, Duke of Monteleone, was 
taken prisoner. On the suppression of 
these troubles, Pignatelli, not consider¬ 
ing it sufficiently secure, removed the 
viceregal residence to the Castellamare, 
and established the Dogana in the 
palace, where it remains to this day. 
The courts of law being transferred in 



82 


PALERMO—UN1VER£ITA- 

1595 to the old Vicaria, and three years 
after to the Palazzo Reale, this build¬ 
ing was in 1600 converted into the 
Inquisition. The most horrible pri¬ 
sons it contained were in the tower 
near the clock, where Philip III. con¬ 
signed those guilty of sacrilege. On 
27th March, 1782, the Holy Office was 
suppressed by the viceroy Caraccioli, 
who entered the hall in state, and 
ordered the prisoners to be set at 
liberty. The iron cages containing 
human skulls were taken down and 
split asunder. The archives were 
ordered to be burnt, and their ashes to 
be scattered to the wind, in order that 
every trace of this odious institution 
might be blotted out of memory. So 
strictly was this order enforced, that, 
out of an immense mass of papers and 
parchments, one single volume only of 
records escaped the flames. It 1799 
the tribunals were re-established with¬ 
in the walls of this building. 

The original entrance from the 
Piazza has been modernised. In the 
story above it are 4 large pointed 
windows without mouldings, but with 
flat sinkings adorned with mosaic- 
work of black and red stone in Sara- 
cenesque patterns. Each front appears 
to have had similar windows. They 
are divided into two or three lights by 
marble columns, and the arches- of 
these lights are also mosaicked. A 
string-course of similar work runs 
round the building, connecting the 
abaci; and beneath the windows is a 
moulding with the Norman dog-tooth. 
In the tower the lights are divided by 
twisted shafts. The court in the in¬ 
terior is surrounded by a double ar¬ 
cade, the lower of two, the upper of 
three pointed arches on each side, 
resting on marble columns with rudely 
foliated capitals. On the ground floor 
is the Dogana of Palermo. The en¬ 
trance to the upper floor is by a stair¬ 
case from the yard to the N. Here 
the Grand Criminal and Civil Courts, 
and the Supreme Court of Justice, hold 
their sittings. The ceiling of the 
ante-chamber to the Grand Criminal 
Court is of wood, quaintly painted, 
and bears date 1380. In the attic are 
the archives of the several courts. 


-ANCIENT SCULPTURE. 

The Museum. 

Begin Uuiversiia degli Studj (a), in 
the Strada Nuova, a large grey pile of 
small architectural pretensions, erected 
by Ferdinand I. in 1806. It has 44 
professorships, and possesses the power 
of conferring degrees in theology, phi¬ 
losophy, jurisprudence, medicine, and 
the fine arts. Besides a library ot 
nearly 30,000 volumes, it contains a 
museum of antiquities, a gallery of 
pictures, a collection of natural history, 
and a fine anatomical theatre, where 
are preserved representations in wax 
of all parts of the human frame, pre¬ 
pared bv Ferreri of Florence, although 
the art owes its origin to Zumbo, a 
Sicilian. The portico at the entrance 
leads into a court, surrounded by an 
arcade. Here arc the schools and the 
chemical laboratory, and here is also 
the 

Collection oe Ancient Sculp¬ 
ture. —This is open daily, save on 
Sundays and festas, from 8 a.m. to 
2 p.m. The custode is to be found in 
the picture-gallery. 

First Boom .—This small chamber 
used to contain a number of architec¬ 
tural and sculptural fragments from 
the sites of ancient Greek cities in 
Sicily, but few of these interesting relics 
now remain, having been removed to 
make way for small statues and reliefs, 
chiefly of Roman art, from the collection 
of Baron Astuti of Noto, recently pur¬ 
chased by the Government. There is 
no catalogue to assist the visitor; but 
the objects are brought within so small 
a compass, that it will not be difficult 
for him to find them as we point them 
out—beginning with the 1. Avail. A 
large stone sarcophagus, bearing a 
Greek inscription of the low empire; 
from the Musco Astuti. Above it is a 
relief representing a sacrifice; from 
Tyndaris; with several small reliefs, or 
fragments of such, from different sites, 
some Avith inscriptions, among which 
one with a Greek inscription of several 
lines is from Athens. A sitting figure of 
Isis, of coarse yelloAV tufa, and in a very 
archaic style of art—from Solunto. The 
attitude is stiff’ in the extreme, as is 
also the drapery Avhich covers the figure 







83 


PALERMO—UXIVERSITA—ANCIENT SCULPTURE. 


from neck to ankles, and is arranged in 
small regular folds. The chair in which 
she sits has arms carved in the shape 
of winged sphinxes, which have lost 
their heads; they have the unique 
feature of being draped to their paws. 
At the back of the figure is a cavity 
large enough to receive the upper part 
of a man, and probably to enable him 
to utter the oracles of the goddess, a 
conjecture which is confirmed by a 
trumpet-shaped hole in the back of the 
statue, which must have rendered the 
voice more sonorous. A small marble 
figure of Hercules, or an athlete, in the 
attitude of running, and resting his right 
hand on his club—from Pompeii. Tablet 
with a Greek inscription of 6 lines, 
from the now destroyed church of San 
Pietro la Bagnara, in which the com¬ 
pletion of the church in 1081, “in the 
days of the most glorious Duke Robert, 
and of his wife Sicelgaita,” is recorded. 
Below this is a small figure of M arsyas 
in veined marble ; with others of Apollo 
and Diana, and busts in white marble ; 
from the Musco Astuti. At this end of 
the room are an ant a and column from 
the small temple, or lieroum, of Selinus, 
partly a restoration. The triglyphs, 
guttse, and mouldings, are coloured, and 
are instructive as elucidating the prin¬ 
ciples of Greek polyclrromy. Beneath 
it is a bust of Tiberius, from the Col- 
legio Massimo; and in front small 
figures of Mercury and a faun; from 
the Museo Astuti. Against the rt. 
wall is a sarcophagus of marble, 
bearing a relief of a muffled figure 
reclining under a canopy, while a 
Charon, or bearded genius with wings, 
rests on a column at each end of the 
couch. On one side Charon is seen 
pushing his boat from the shore; on 
the other, Hercules is leading Cerberus ; 
found in the convent of S. Francesco. 
On the slab above this are several 
small figures, from the Museo Astuti. 
Against this wall are two fragments of 
a cornice, each with a projecting lion's 
head, recently found at Himera. Statue 
of a boy seized by a sea-monster; Mu¬ 
seo Astuti. On a table of grey marble, 
from Pompeii, are several figures of 
Roman art, from the same museum; 
among which is one of Cybele, sitting, 


with two lions at her feet, one on each 
side. A relief representing a combat; a 
female figure with a cornucopia; an 
altar of marble; Mithras slaying the 
bull; all from the Museo Astuti. A 
plain sarcophagus of coarse stone, from 
Girgenti. Roman inscriptions of the 
times of Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus, 
and Nerva, from Tyndaris. 

Second Boom .—The inner room con¬ 
tains many choice remains of ancient 
sculpture and architecture, chief among 
which are ten metopes from Selinus, 
which would alone suffice to form the 
glory of any museum, and which de¬ 
mand a detailed notice. We will first, 
however, specify the other and more 
prominent remains of ancient art. 
Commencing from the rt. is a Ceres, 
in marble, a fine statue draped, simple 
and grand. The head, rt. arm, and 
fingers of the 1. hand, are restorations. 
—A colossal statue of the Emperor 
Nerva, sitting. The head, 1. arm, and 
feet alone are ancient; the torso is in 
the Museo Biscari, at Catania, and it 
is here copied, and the other missing 
parts supplied.—Marcus Aurelius.—A 
colossal marble statue of Jupiter, of 
which the torso alone is ancient, the 
head and limbs having been restored 
by Valerio Villareale of Palermo. 
Grand in design, though of coarse 
execution, this is a noble statue.—A 
Roman Empress, draped, a colossal 
marble statue, with the neck, hands, 
and feet restored. These five statues 
were all found in the ruins of Tyndaris. 
—A colossal Jupiter in stone, sitting; 
from Solimto. His left hand rests on 
the sceptre; his right is raised as if 
grasping the thunder. Both arms, the 
rt. foot, and part of the drapery have 
been restored. The head wants dig¬ 
nity, but the drapery is broad and 
grand. The throne and footstool arc 
ornamented with reliefs. On each side 
of this statue is a small elegant cande¬ 
labrum of stone, adorned with acanthus 
foliage, and with bands of pretty figures 
about 8 in. high. On one a Victory is 
crowning a hero, on the other are 3 
draped females, who have been taken 
for the Graces; from Solimto.—Three 
cases of heads and limbs in stone 




84 


PALERMO—UNIVERSITA— 

and marble, with other relics from 
Selinas. In the central one are also 
architectural fragments, retaining traces 
of colour. In the first, observe the 
female heads, quite Egyptian in cha¬ 
racter, and partly painted.—Fragments 
of Doric columns, retaining the fine 
stucco with which in Greek temples the 
coarser material was covered to give it 
the appearance of marble.—Fragment 
of a frieze, Si ft. high, from Selinus; 
the triglyph is stuccoed, and the fillet 
above it painted red.—JEsculapius, less 
than life, of white marble. The head, 
rt. arm, 1. hand, both feet, and snake, 
are restorations; from the temple of 
Hercules at Girgenti.—Hercules, a small 
figure in marble, holding three balls in 
his hand; another male statue, and an 
JEsc.ulapius, of the same size; from the 
Museo Astuti.—Torso of life size, and 
a Roman Consul, draped; from Tyn- 
daris.—Female head with staring eyes 
and long curls, in very archaic style; 
a fragment of one of the metopes from 
Selinus.—On pedestals in the centre of 
the room are five small figures.—Faun 
in marble, pouring out wine. He has 
a woman’s face with beast’s ears, but no 
tail; from Pompeii.—Hymen with a 
torch; a female draped, holding a 
pedum, and resting on a column; 
Minerva, of archaic art; both arms, 
the shield, and lower limbs with the 
drapery below the knees, restored; 
another female figure of similar quaint 
and early art; her neck, both arms, 
and legs below the knee, restored. 
These four figures are from the Museo 
Astuti.—The figure of a Consul, and 
bust of a youth, both in marble; from 
Tyndaris.—Portion of a Corinthian 
capital, from Segeste.—Two fragments 
of Roman mosaics, found beneath the 
house of the Barone Maggio, in the 
Via Macqueda, Palermo. 

Metopes. —The celebrated Metopes 
from the grand Doric temples of Seli¬ 
nus, which are now preserved in this 
museum, are ten in number. The most 
ancient of them are familiar to English 
eyes, from casts in the British Museum; 
but the later and more beautiful are 
scarcely known out of Sicily. As they 
formed part of the decorations of three 


■METOPES FROM SELINUS. 

distinct temples, so they are clearly 
referable to three different epochs in 
the history of Hellenic art—the first 
three to that very early period when 
plastic art in Greece was making its 
first struggle to free itself from the 
Egyptian conventionality which had 
governed it for centuries. This period 
is supposed by most archaeologists to 
be scarcely less remote than that of the 
foundation of Selinus, which was about 
G28 r,.c. according to Thucydides, or 
G50 n.c. according to Diodorus. The 
next two belong to a considerably later 
period, when art in Greece had thrown 
aside to a great extent its conventional 
fetters in its efforts at originality and 
the imitation of nature—a period which 
may be assigned to the latter half of 
the 6th century before Christ. The 
last five betray a nearer approach "to 
the full development and perfection of 
Greek art, and could not be long prior 
to the days of the immortal Phidias, 
dating probably from the former half of 
the 5th cent, before Christ. It is worthy 
of observation, that, though these me¬ 
topes display the commencement and 
two stages of the progress of sculptural 
art, the three temples which they re¬ 
spectively adorned show no such wide 
variety of style, and indicate no very 
distinct periods of construction. On 
the contrary, the first two display such 
minor differences only of detail as might 
be expected in buildings of the same 
period; so that without the assistance 
of the metopes it would not be easy to 
pronounce with certainty that they 
were not contemporary. The advance 
in the architecture of the third is more 
commensurate with that in the sculp¬ 
ture. 

These metopes are of a fine compact 
sandstone, resembling tufo, which, save 
in one instance, has preserved its sur¬ 
face tolerably free from corrosion. It 
is probably from Menfrici, 8 m. from 
Selinus, where quarries of the same 
stone are worked at the present day. 
The slabs are rather more than 4 ft. 
high, and somewhat less in width, and 
the figures stand out in high relief from 
a background, which in the earlier me¬ 
topes retains traces of red paint. The 
three oldest are due to the researches 




85 


PALERMO —U NIVERSIT A - 

of two English architects, Messrs. Harris 
and Angell, who discovered them in 
1823. They are from one of the tem¬ 
ples on the Acropolis of Selinus, and 
are the earliest specimens of Greek 
sculpture extant, if we except the cele¬ 
brated lions over the gate at Mycenae. 
These three stand just within the en¬ 
trance to the Second Room. To the 
i t. of the door are two. 

I. Hercules Melampygos carrying off 
Candalus and Atlas, the Cercopian 
brothers. These worthies were caught 
by the god in an attempt to rob him, 
whereon he fastened them to his bow 
by their knees and ankles, and carried 
them off across his shoulder with their 
heads downwards, just as from time 
immemorial porters have carried bur¬ 
dens in the East. For the sequel of 
the stoiy, and bow merry they made 
themselves in this predicament, at the 
god’s expense, and wherefore the god 
set them on their legs again, consult 
Lempriere or Smith. The figures are 
short and clumsy, with the anatomy 
extravagantly developed, and closely 
resemble those on the very archaic 
vases, with the sole exception of the 
faces being represented full, while the 
body and limbs are in profile. The 
hair is arranged in long formal curls. 
The shoulder-strap of the god, as well 
as the background, retains traces of 
colour. 

II. Perseus slaying Medusa. This 
is in the same archaic style as the 
last. The hero, distinguished by his 
tdlaria, is seizing the Fury by the hair, 
while he plunges his sword into her 
throat, and from the blood which 
spouts forth springs up Pegasus, which 
the dying Medusa presses to her bosom. 
Behind the hero stands a female draped 
in a long Doric tunic and a peplos 
bordered with red, who must be in¬ 
tended for Minerva, though without 
the distinctive attributes of that god¬ 
dess. The girdle of Perseus, and the 
neck and garments of the goddess, re¬ 
tain traces of vermilion; and the pupils 
of her eyes, with the brows and lashes, 
are painted black. The faces of the 
hero and goddess, like those in the last 
metope, have prominent eyes, and no 
expression beyond a vacant simper. 


■METOPES FROM SELINUS. 

Medusa is not “the fair - cheeked ” 
maiden of Pindar, but has the hideous 
features and the wide, tusked mouth, 

“All set with yron teeth in raunges twaine, 

Appearing like the mouth of Orcus grisly 
grim,” 

with which the Greek and Etruscan 
Gorgons are ordinarily represented. 

III. To the 1. of the door is a Quad¬ 
riga, with the horses standing out 
from it in high relief, and facing the 
spectator. Of the driver nothing re¬ 
mains but the head and 1. hand hold¬ 
ing the reins. On each side of the 
chariot stands, or rather stood, for they 
are much mutilated, a draped female 
figure with long straight curls over 
her shoulders. The subject has been 
variously explained, but it probably 
represents the equestrian contest be¬ 
tween Pelops and GEnomaus, one of 
whom is seen here, and the other was 
in the adjoining metope — a subject 
which also decorated the front of the 
great temple of Jupiter at Olympia; 
and which, as Pelops was of the same 
race as Hercules and Perseus, would be 
in harmony with the preceding metopes. 
The subject is also often depicted on 
the archaic vases. No vestige of colour 
is now visible on this metope. All 
three, but especially this, have been 
injured by absurd attempts at plaster¬ 
ing up the defects in the stone. 

IV. and V. These are the lower 
halves of two metopes from one of the 
temples on the eastern hill of Selinus, 
and were brought to light by Messrs. 
Harris and Angell in 1823. The upper 
halves have not been found; they were 
united to the lower by metal cramps. 
In each scene a goddess is overcoming 
a warrior. In the first the male figure 
is sinking to the ground on one knee, 
his body in part supported by his 1. 
arm, on which hangs an ample shield 
which is now hardly to be traced. He 
wears a cuirass, apparently of leather, 
with shoulder-plates of metal, and a 
bciJteus or sword-belt over his shoulder, 
from which depends his scabbard. His 
conqueror is draped to the heels in 
an ample tunic, over which hang the 
ends of a mantle in quaint folds; her 
1. foot has been partly restored. In 




8G 


PALERMO—UNIVERSITA—METOPES FROM SELINUS. 


tlio other metope the female is simi¬ 
larly clad, and her feet, 1. knee, and 
part of her drapery have been restored. 
Here the warrior lias sunk to the earth, 
his head falling back in death, while 
his victor presses forward and sets one 
foot firmly on his thigh, in the act 
apparently of striking a last blow. His 
cuirass fits so closely as to show the 
muscles of his chest, and beneath it he 
wears a shirt, seen at the neck, shoulders, 
and waist. Nothing can be more full 
of character and expression than his 
head. The eye half-closed, with the 
pupil turned upwards, the drooping 
jaw, and the visible teeth, express with 
wonderful truth the parting of soul and 
body. His mustachios are long and 
thin, but his beard and his hair are in 
short crisp curls, a conventional method 
of expressing great physical strength. 
While there is much of a decidedly 
archaic character about these metopes, 
yet the force of expression, the greater 
truth of the anatomy, ease of the atti¬ 
tudes, and energy of the movements, 
with the careful execution of the de¬ 
tails, show a marked advance in the 
development of the art. In some re¬ 
spects they bear a resemblance to the 
marbles from iEgina in the Cflyptothek 
of Munich, yet they are of earlier date, 
or at least of less perfect art. There 
is nothing, however, in those celebrated 
statues which equals this dying warrior 
in force of expression. The figures 
bear much resemblance to those on the 
archaic Greek vases, black on a yellow 
ground. These metopes are supposed 
by the Duke of Serradifalco to repre¬ 
sent the triumphs of the Gods over the 
Giants, the female in the first metope 
being Minerva, that in the other Diana. 

"VI. Under the further window to 1. 
This and the four remaining metopes 
are from another temple on the eastern 
hill of Selinus, and were discovered 
by the Duke of Serradifalco in 1831. 
“ These sculptures far surpass the pre¬ 
ceding in the grace and freedom of 
the attitudes, in the chasteness of the 
design, in the variety of the counte¬ 
nances and the beauty of the features, 
in the flow of the drapery, the arrange¬ 
ment of the hair, and the accuracy 
with which the hands and feet are 


sculptured; and although they indicate 
somewhat of the archaic manner, yet 
must they be regarded, if not as models 
of perfect art, at least as but little 
short of perfection, and hence not long 
anterior to the age of Phidias.”— Ser¬ 
radifalco. This opinion appears to 
savour of national partiality, for these 
metopes have still so much archaicism 
of character that they assimilate greatly 
to those of iEgina, though betraying 
a somewhat more recent date. They 
exhibit a style of ait analogous to that 
on the earliest Greek vases with yellow 
figures on a black ground. The stone 
is of a softer character than that used 
in the metopes already described. In 
this particular instance the surface is 
much corroded, yet it is not difticult 
to determine both the subject and style 
of art. A beardless youth, with a 
chlamys only over his shoulder, eagerly 
seizing a draped female whose attitude 
shows her to be endeavouring to elude 
his grasp, can hardly be other than 
Apollo in pursuit of Daphne. In spite 
of the decay of the surface, the beauty 
of the design and the grace and free¬ 
dom of the movements are apparent. 

VII. This represents Minerva over¬ 
coming Mars, or it may be a giant, as 
in No. IV. The face of the goddess 
is gone, but her helmet is very dis¬ 
tinct, and the serpent-fringe of the 
aegis leaves no doubt of her identity* 
Her tunic and peplos still show the 
stiff parallelism of archaic art. With 
her 1. arm she is seizing her foe, who, 
already wounded, is sinking to the 
earth, and in her rt. she probably 
held a sword with which she was in 
the act of giving the coup-cle-grace. 
Her head and feet were of marble, 
and probably also her arms. The 
deep cavity in her aegis suggests that 
the Gorgon’s head which filled it was 
of some more precious material than 
the stone. Her foe wears helmet and 
greaves, and has a chlamys depending 
from his shoulders behind, without 
concealing his form. His feet liavo 
been restored. The loss of power in 
his sinking limbs is admirably ex¬ 
pressed. The two foregoing metopes are 
from the posticum of the temple; the 
three following are from the pronaos. 




PALERMO—UNIVERSITA—METOPES FROM SELINUS. 


VIII. Diana and Actseon. The too 
curious huntsman is here represented 
with a perfect human form; but a 
deer-skin over his shoulders, whose 
long horns are seen behind his head, 
has attracted the hounds of the. god¬ 
dess, against which he is defending 
himself vigorously, seizing one by the 
throat, and striking at the others with 
his sword. It is a new version of the 
myth, more artistic if less poetical. 
The head and hind-leg of the dog 
which is tluottled by Action are re¬ 
storations, as is also the fore-leg of the 
dog crouching at his feet as if to 
avoid the blow. The offended goddess 
stands by, as if she had just slipped 
the hounds. She is draped with tunic 
and peplos, and beneath these wears a 
bodice of fine linen with full sleeves; 
a quiver hangs at her back. Her flesh 
is of fine white marble, let into the 
stone. While her drapery and atti¬ 
tude partake of the dryness of archaic 
art, the truth of the anatomy, the cor¬ 
rectness of the drawing, and the spirit 
of the action in the Actseon, are cha¬ 
racteristics of an approach to the best 
period of Greek aid. 

IX. This is commonly supposed to 
represent Jupiter and Semele, though 
there are no attributes to determine 
the point. The god is sitting half- 
draped on a rock, resting one hand on 
the seat, and stretching out the other 
to draw to him the fan nymph, whom 
he is greeting with an amorous smile. 
The figure of Semele is somewhat 
stiff, yet dignified; and her attitude 
betrays timidity rather than coyness. 
She seems to have approached him 
with her face covered, but he has 
seized her 1. arm, which held her veil, 
and has thus disclosed her charms. 
Under her long tunic she wears a 
chemise of fine texture, covering her 
bosom and reaching to her elbows in 
full sleeves. Over all an ample veil 
covers her head and shoulders, and 

• descends to her feet, omitting, how¬ 
ever, to conceal the chaplet round her 
brow. Her flesh is of marble, but the 
1. hand is a restoration. The drapery, 
though with more freedom than in the 
last metope, retains some archaic regu- 


87 

larity of folds, which in that of the god 
is quite wanting. 

X. Hercules and Hippolyta. The 
god is recognised by the skin of the 
Nemean lion, which, tied round his 
neck by the paws, is used by him also 
as a shield. His hair is in short, crisp, 
negro-like curls, as it is usually repre¬ 
sented. He is seizing the queen of the 
Amazons by the helmet, while about 
to plunge his sword into her bosom. 
Both hand and sword have been 
broken away. Hippolyta defends her¬ 
self stoutly, and is in the act of 
striking at her foe with a bipennis or 
battle-axe. He has nothing but the 
lion’s skin to protect him, but she has 
a shield, a cuirass, and a helmet of 
Lydian form, from which depend lap¬ 
pets to defend her neck. Her legs 
are encased in long drawers ( ana - 
xyrides ) of so fine a texture as to be 
scarcely visible—a Persian costume.. 
It is only by the marble of the flesh 
that her sex is indicated. The faces 
are beautifully chiselled, yet are want¬ 
ing in expression; the action is very 
truthful and spirited, and the drawing* 
correct. There is more vigour and 
movement in this than in any of the 
rest. Observe the contraction of the 
muscles in the 1. leg and foot of the 
god, as he presses with it the rt. foot 
of the Amazon. None of the last five 
metopes show any vestiges of colour, 
whence we are not to conclude that 
such never existed, the greater porosity 
and friability of this stone being suffi¬ 
cient to account for its total disap¬ 
pearance. 


Gallery or Paintings. 

This Gallery, on the upper floor 
of the University, is open to the 
public from 8 a.m. to 2 r.M. every day 
save Sundays and festas. You first 
enter a long gallery called Stanza cle 
Gessi, which contains casts from the 
antique for the use of the students. 
At one end of it is a small room for 
cabinet pictures. Over the door out¬ 
side is a triptych of the Coronation of 
the Virgin, between St. Peter and St. 




88 


PALERMO—UNIVERSITa—PICTURE GALLERY. 


Paul, on a gold ground, and of the 
14th century. 

First Boom. —In this little chamber 
are the following pictures, commencing 
with the 1. wall:— Canaletti: 4 small 
views in Venice.— Luca Gambiaso : the 
Holy Family ; the Virgin teaching the 
Infant Saviour to walk.— Paul Potter: 
a pretty landscape.— Correggio: the 
head of the dying Saviour, a sketch on 
paper, very fine ; the intensity of agony 
is wonderfully portrayed. — Agostino 
Garacci: the Holy Family.— Vandyck: 
the family of Rubens and Vandyck. 
—■Angiolo Bronzino : a girl in rich dra¬ 
pery, holding a casket on her knee, mis¬ 
called a “ Magdalen,” or, it should be 
added, “ before her conversion.”— Pietro 
Novelli: a battle-scene, in his early 
style, well coloured and full of spirit. 
— Bartolommeo Schidone: the Holy 
Family, on wood : a brilliant little 
picture.— Holbein: Portrait of a Dutch 
gentleman, bearing some resemblance 
to Napoleon.— Andrea del Sarto: a 
Purification, and a Presentation. —■ 
Giacomo Borgognone: some small 
battle-scenes. 

On the rt. wall are— Raffaelle : small 
sketch on paper of his celebrated picture 
of Lo Spasimo.— Benvenuto Garofalo : 
the Virgin, Child, and John the Bap¬ 
tist; sadly injured.— Luca Gambiaso: 
a Pieta.— Peter Breughel: Adam and 
Eve in Paradise.— Andrea Mantegna: 
a Virgin and Child.— Albert Durer, or 
his school, a Pieta. — Leonardo da 
Vinci (?): Christ and St. John as 
infants, embracing.—Several of Poli- 
doro Galdara, and of unknown masters 
of the Florentine school.—A few of the 
early German school. 

The Galleria de Gessi contains on the 
rt. wall a small copy in oil, hy Giuseppe 
Velasquez, of the large fresco by Novelli 
i n the courtyard of the Spedale Grande; 
interesting now that the fresco itself 
is almost obliterated. Also copies of 
portions of the fresco in outline, of the 
true size.—On the opposite wall is a 
portrait of Pietro Novelli, in Spanish 
costume, said to be painted by himself. 
The compasses in his hand, and the 
pallet and brushes on the table at 


his side, indicate his excellence in the 
sister arts of painting and architecture. 

—Ribera : Elijah fed by ravens,bearing 
the painter’s name and the date 1639.— 
Andrea Vaccaro: a Magdalen.— Gia¬ 
como lo Verde: a Salutation.— Mattia 
Preti, called II Calabrese: Neptune 
seizing iEtlira; the Rape of Proser¬ 
pine. At the end of the gallery is the 

Second Room. —This room contains 
pictures of various schools. As there is 
no catalogue, we will mention them as 
nearly as possible in the order of their 
arrangement, commencing with the 
wall opposite you as you enter. Sicilian 
School: Virgin and Child in glory, 
with Sta. Oliva and S. Francesco di 
Paola in the foreground.— Bernardo 
Rodriguez of Messina : the Crucifixion; 
the Almighty holding the cross.— Si¬ 
cilian School: the Madonna delle 
Grazie, with S. Lucia, S. Agata, St. 
Paul, St. Peter, S. Cosimo, and S. Da- 
miano ; an earl}* but forcibly coloured 
picture by an unknown artist.—St. 
Gregory, St. Chrysostom, and St. Basil, 
in half-lengths on wood, a very early 
Greek picture; from the Jesuits’ Col¬ 
lege, but originally from the very an¬ 
cient ch. of the Madonna della Grotta, 
Marsala. — Rubens: a Holy Family; 
from the Jesuits’ College; painted with 
the rich colouring and free touch of 
the master.— Sicilian School: the Vir¬ 
gin crowned by cherubs, an earl} 7 pic¬ 
ture on a gold ground; the Virgin is 
very sweet, humble, and devout; the 
rest of the picture much inferior.— 
Vincenzo Anemolo, commonly called 
Vincenzo Romano: a series of 7 panel- 
pictures, recently removed from the 
ch. of S. Giacomo la Marina; the 
Annunciation, the Salutation, the Na¬ 
tivity, the Adoration of the Magi, the 
Presentation, the Flight into Egypt, 
and the Scourging; the last an altar- 
piece, bearing date 1542, and inferior 
to the rest. In these small pictures of 
this early Sicilian master, chiaroscuro . 
and perspective are wanting, the out¬ 
lines are dry, the drawing often faulty 
and deficient in anatomical expression, 
the figures sometimes wanting in ele¬ 
vation ; yet there is a simplicity of coin- 







PALERMO—UNIVERSITA—PICTURE GALLERY. 


89 


position, with much grace and expres¬ 
sion, and a richness of colouring that 
charms the eye. Observe the heads of 
Joseph and Simeon in the Presentation, 
and the group of the latter with the 
Saviour in his arms. The alarm with 
which the Child turns round towards 
his mother is most truthfully expressed. 
In the Adoration the Virgin and Child, 
with the Magus kneeling before them, 
form a group whose charm is impaired 
by the vulgarity of the other figures in 
the scene. — Tommaso Vigilia: the 
Virgin of the Annunciation, a curious 
and elaborate picture of one of the 
earliest masters of the Sicilian school. 
The Angel of the Annunciation, by 
the same hand, hangs on the wall 
opposite.— Antonello da Messina: the 
Coronation of the Virgin by her Son, a 
very quaint and curious picture. The 
two principal figures are surrounded 
by angels, all with wings raised in the 
air. The Almighty with a Pope’s 
mitre and in a red disk hovers above 
in the green heavens, which are full 
of angels dimly visible. The richness 
and force of colour in this picture, and 
the elaboration of the jewellery and 
armour, are wonderful for that early 
period.— Vincenzo Anemolo: St. An- 
tonino of Padua, as a youth, holding a 
live coal in one hand, and a lily and 
book in the other; the head noble. 
—Antonio Crescenzio: semi - colossal 
figures of St. Peter and St. Paul; the 
drapery broad, the colouring rich and 
forcible. — Batiolommeo Camulio of 
Palermo : the “ Madonna of Humility,” 
bearing the name of the artist, and 
the date 1347, in gilt Gothic charac¬ 
ters. The ground is not gilt, as usual 
at that early period, but coloured a 
dull grey. The Virgin, with pale green 
fiesh and yellow hair, sits beneath 
an arch of Norman architecture, with 
twisted shafts, and adorned with mo¬ 
saics. An interesting picture as illus¬ 
trative of primitive art in Sicily. In 
the grcidetta are represented a number 
of the devout kneeling before the im¬ 
plements of the Crucifixion.— Sicilian 
School: the Ascension, of Christ, St. 
Agata, and Sta. Cristina, all on gilt 
grounds, and of trecento art; from the 
Jesuits’ College, but originally in the 


very early ch. of the Madonna della 
Grotta at Marsala. — Paolo Braviero 
of Palermo, a pupil of Polidoro Cal- 
dara: the Circumcision; composition 
crowded, confused, and tame. The pic¬ 
ture has been in great part repainted; 
it bears the artist’s name and the date 
of 1589.— Bosalici Novelli: the Annun¬ 
ciation. The Virgin stands with arms 
outspread, addressing the angel, who 
bows before her with his arms crossed 
on his bosom. Transfer the wings and 
sexes, and the story would be well told ; 
from the Collegio Massimo, or Jesuits’ 
College.— Paolino Girgenti: a sleeping 
Cupid, with the temples of Girgenti in 
the distance; the child very delicately 
painted, the fiesh remarkably pure and 
brilliant; bears name and the date of 
1798.— Pietro Novelli: Portrait of him¬ 
self, painted some 10 years earlier than 
the other portrait in the Galleria tie’ 
Gessi. The bust on his monument in 
S. Domenico is taken from this picture. 
—An early quattrocento picture, on a 
gilt ground, representing Santo Vito 
and S. Biagio, surrounded by many 
small figures; the former saint holds 
a brace of hounds, dogs being under 
his peculiar patronage : from an old 
ch. near Monreale.— Annibale Caracci: 
two cherubs. 

On the wall at the end of the room 
are the following :— Novelli: portrait of 
a youth with a book.— School of No¬ 
velli: St. Benedict.— Novelli: Virgin 
and Child. — Novelli: St. Peter de¬ 
livered from prison. The chiaroscuro 
here shows a palpable imitation of 
Caravaggio, yet without the rude, 
harsh style of that artist. The dun¬ 
geon is in intense gloom, but through 
the doorway bursts a ray which 
partially lights up the angel, the 
saint, and one of the guards, leaving 
the rest of their bodies and another 
guard in deep shadow. “ The attitude 
of the Apostle,” says Gallo, “ halting 
between uncertainty and astonishment, 
although in part imitated from that of 
one of the Apostles in Raphael’s Trans¬ 
figuration, is yet so just and appro¬ 
priate, that it appears an original con¬ 
ception of Monrealese. The angel is 
beautiful, dignified, and full of expres¬ 
sion.’’—This is the only good picture 






90 


PALERMO—UNIVERSITA—PICTURE GALLERY. 


of Novelli in this collection.— Mattia 
Preti, detto Calabrese: the Martyrdom 
of St. Sebastian.—Over the door are 5 
portraits, the two outer ones by Giu¬ 
seppe Erranti of Trapani, the rest by 
Benvenuto Ftorenti.no.—Marco da Sie¬ 
na : the Conversion of St. Paul; the 
confusion of limbs, and the crude primi¬ 
tive colours offend the eye.— Novelli: 
the Virgin and Child, St. John, and 
Santa Rosalia ; a picture' in the artist’s 
second style: composition good; the 
female faces, though beautiful, want 
expression; cherubs charming, as usual. 
—SalvatoreRosa: the Martyrdom of St. 
Andrew.— Luca Giordano: St. Michael 
overthrowing the Devil. 

On the side wall we have,—A small 
bright landscape, attributed to Dome- 
nichino. — Salvatore Rosa: the Sicilian 
Vespers, a small octagonal landscape; 
from the Jesuits’ College. The scene 
is the real site of the outbreak, close to 
the church of Santo Spirito, whose apse 
with Corinthian pilasters is not to be 
recognised, though its position over¬ 
hanging the vale of the Oreto is cor¬ 
rectly indicated. Over the church floats 
the banner of Anjou, with three fleurs- 
de-lis on a white field. The hour is 
twiliglit. The figures are scattered over 
the picture, some slaying the French, 
others putting their nationality to the 
test by the shibboleth “ Ciceri.”— Sal¬ 
vatore Rosa: Portrait of Masaniello, 
from the same collection. The fisher¬ 
man of Naples, in brown rags and with 
a white cloth boiuid round his head, 
is in the act of haranguing the mob; 
and the fruit scattered over the board 
before him shows the subject of his vi¬ 
tuperations to be the fruit-tax.— Carlo 
Maratti: a Riposo.- Diego Velasquez: 
Goatherds reposing, and milking; a 
simple subject, treated with the usual 
boldness, breadth, and truth to nature 
of this great Spanish master.— Anni¬ 
bale Caracci : two cherubs.— Rubens: 
the Holy Family. Here the artist’s 
masterly power and truth to nature 
shine forth brilliantly. The flesh is 
wonderfully pure and transparent. The 
Virgin is a beautiful woman, beauti¬ 
fully painted, and not vulgar; the 
Child as full of life and play as ever 
was tickled babe. So little care is 


bestowed in Sicily on works of art that, 
as usual, this picture has been much 
injured by damp, but still more by 
recent restorations.— Jacopo Bassano: 
Portrait of a man.— Flemish School: 
a King and Queen; full-lengths.— 
Sassoferrato: the Angelo Custode, a 
nice picture. — Andrea Vaccaro: the 
Magdalen. — Diego Velasquez: Shep¬ 
herds ; a cavalier dismounting to assist 
a beggar. A companion to the goat¬ 
herd scene, but of inferior merit.— Tin- 
toret (?) : Head of a woman.— Van- 
dyck (?) : Portrait of Philip IV. — 
Ribera: a Pieta ; a fine picture. The 
Virgin’s head, upturned to heaven* 
with eyes full of grief, is expressive 
and grand.— Claude Lorraine: a small 
sunset, much injured. — Sebastian del 
Piombo: St. Andrew resting on his 
cross; bold, broad, and grand.— Mattia 
Preti: Abraham entertaining the three 
angels.— Tommaso Vigilia: the Angel 
of the Annunciation; a companion to 
the Virgin on the opposite wall.— 
Tintoretto: portrait of a Greek bishop. 
— Spanish School: full-length portraits 
of a warrior of the Moncada family, 
and his wife.— Vandyclt (?) : a female 
martyr, tied to a tree, like St. Sebas¬ 
tian, with arrows in her neck and 
body; so greatly restored, that little 
or nothing of the original painting re¬ 
mains, and it is not easy to assign it to 
any master. According to the custode, 
it was originally a Venus, but when it 
issued from the restorer’s hands it had 
become a saint.— Giovanni Paolo Fon- 
dulio of Cremona ; St. Bonaventura in 
prison. — Carlo Maratti: Virgin and 
Child, piercing the serpent with a 
spear.— Filippo Paladino of Florence : 
St. Michael overthrowing Satan; largo 
but mediocre; dated 1601.— Over the 
door is an Albano: Galatea drawn by 
Titans. — Neapolitan School: 2 land¬ 
scapes; Palermo seen from the Scala 
of Monte Pellegrino, with a most un- 
Sicilian atmosphere; Messina by sunset. 

On the wall to the 1. as you enter 
are— Marco da Siena: the Transfigura¬ 
tion.— Luca Giordano : Rebecca at the 
well; a well-composed picture, broad 
and bold, forcibly yet delicately 
coloured.—A Holy Family, by some 
pupil of Raphael, with considerable 





PALERMO—UNIVERSITa—ANCIENT VASES. 


merit and defects .—Annibale Caracci: 
Tuscany chained to a tree, while Fame 
is inscribing the victories of Alessandro 
Farnese. It is flanked by 2 segmental 
pictures by Giorgio Vasari, represent¬ 
ing the Israelites gathering manna.— 
B. Schidone: the Death of John the 
Baptist; also the same Saint in the 
wilderness. — Jacopo Borgognone : 2 
battle-scenes.— Vernet: 2 shore-views. 

Collection of Ancient Yases, 
Terre Cotte, Bronzes, &c. — The 
inner room contains some Greek vases 
and other antiquities. 

In the centre of the room, on a 
marble pedestal, stands a small bronze 
Hercules, about 22 in. high, securing 
the Msenalian stag. It once decorated 
the atrium of the house of Sallust at 
Pompeii, where it served as a fountain, 
the water falling from the stag’s mouth 
into a marble trough, which is also 
here. It was presented to this Museum 
by Francis I. On glass cases in the 
middle of the room stand some vases, 
only 6 in number, but of great beauty, 
from the Greek tombs of Girgenti. 
They are all of the best period of 
ceramic art, with yellow figures on a 
1 Jack ground, and in point of excellence 
can vie with the choicest treasures of 
Vulci or Nola. On the case nearest 
the window stand 3, all celebre or 
mixing-jars. One bears a figure of 
Triptolemus, seated on his winged car, 
receiving wine from his mother “ De¬ 
meter,” with an attendant nymph, and 
other figures. On the opposite side 
“ Zeus” on his throne, grasping the 
winged thunder, holds conference with 

Thetis,” while “ Heos ” stands behind 
him. On the next vase a Lapitha is 
contending with three Centaurs armed 
with rocks and clubs. The third vase 
shows a god seizing a nympli—probably 
the Rape of Proserpine, for on the 
reverse is a solitary female with a torch, 
who may represent Ceres in search of 
her daughter. On the other case stands 
a crater with Bacchus, a Mamad, and 
two fauns. A celebe, showing a nymph 
in conversation with two men, appa¬ 
rently in a bath. An amphora with¬ 
out a foot, supported on a stand, and 
having 3 bands of figures. In the 


91 

upper and lower is represented a Bac¬ 
chic dance, while the middle band 
shows Marsyas led bound before Apollo, 
and Mercury committing the infant 
Bacchus to a Meenad. Under one 
handle of the vase is a sea-goddess, and 
beneath the other Scylla with her 
barking dogs. These 6 vases were 
found in 1841 at Girgenti, the first five 
in one tomb, and the amphora in 
another. They are in an excellent 
state of preservation. The last two are 
inferior to the others. 

The cases beneath these vases con¬ 
tain lamps. 

On a stand by the door to the rt. as 
you enter is a stamnos, of the best style 
of Greek pottery, representing a dance 
of Bacchantes ; from the Collegio Mas¬ 
simo. By the window is an amphora, 
in the archaic style, representing Her¬ 
cules contending with a sea-monster; 
from Camerina. 

The glass case to the 1. of the door 
contains bronzes from Pompeii; that 
on the other hand, small figures of 
bronze Tormd on various ancient sites 
in Sicily; notice a fragment of a Greek 
shield. Over these two cases hang 
small frescoes from Pompeii. The 
case against the wall to the rt. contains 
specimens of unpainted pottery, in black 
or red ware. Against the wall oppo¬ 
site the door are cases containing nu¬ 
merous small figures of terracotta; 
many of Ceres, the great goddess of 
ancient Sicily, sitting, with a bushel 
on her head, and of very archaic art; 
others of the same goddess, standing, 
and bearing a sucking-pig in her 
hand; cinerary urns of the same ma¬ 
terial in the shape of human legs, or 
of busts of men and women, nearly 
life-size; many small heads, others as 
large as life. In the case on the 1. 
side of the room are fragments of paint¬ 
ings in mosaic, and of reliefs in terra¬ 
cotta, some of very archaic art: among 
them notice one representing the com¬ 
bat of the Centaurs with the Lapitlise, 
from Girgenti; Gorgonia and other 
masks ; manubria, or inscribed handles 
of wine-jars, of which great quantities 
are found on certain sites in Sicily; 
articles in glass, and particularly small 
variegated vases in this material from 




PALERMO—PRIVATE PALACES. 


S2 


Greek tombs in Sicily, but found in all 
countries of the ancient world, and by 
many supposed to be Phoenician. 

The case by the window contains 
sundry curiosities from Greek sites : 
fragments of a wreath of laurel-leaves 
in pure gold, with articles of jewellery 
from the tombs of Tyndaris; a bronze 
crab, from Girgenti, the device of an¬ 
cient Acragas; leaden acorns used in 
slings; seals with Greek inscriptions ; 
flutes of bone, &c. Beneath this is a 
case full of articles from Pompeii, 
chiefly of bronze—idols, vases, strigils, 
bells, scales, decorations of furniture; 
a pestle and mortar of glass; remains 
of corn, rice, bread, cheese, chesnuts, 
plums, carobs, soap, rags, asbestos, &c. 
We must not omit the iron tires of the 
wheels of an ancient car, also from 
Pompeii. 

Regia Zecca (it), in the Piazza Ma¬ 
rina. This building retains the name, 
though it is no longer the Royal Mint. 
The exclusive privilege of coining 
money for Sicily was conceded to Pa¬ 
lermo in 167G, when Messina, which 
had long enjoyed it, had forfeited it for 
rebellion; but the present edifice was 
not erected till 1G99. When the privi¬ 
lege was abolished by the Caserta 
decree of 1816, the building was con¬ 
verted into the Excise Office, or ]Ji- 
rezione de Dazj indiretti. Over the 
gate are the arms of the city and of 
the Duke of Veraguas, in whose vice¬ 
reign the Mint was erected, and over 
them is the Sicilian eagle bearing the 
royal arms. 


Private Palaces. 

Palazzo Campofranco (k), in the Pi¬ 
azza Valguernera, now the British 
Consulate. This palace is of late Sici¬ 
lian Gothic, of the close of the 15tli 
century, but has recently been re¬ 
stored, so as to lose all the hue of 
antiquity. Its windows show the 
square-headed forms of the period. 
The portal bears a strong resemblance 
to that of the Palazzo Patella, being 
an imitation in stone of a rustic gate¬ 


way of wood. Three shafts at each 
side rise like young trees, having foli¬ 
age at the imposts, and branch across 
to meet in a depressed arch, while 
other branches project to support a 
roof of long poles fastened to them by 
ropes, as in a rustic porch. An ad¬ 
joining portion of the building dis¬ 
plays large pointed arches with flam¬ 
boyant tracery, and double-headed win¬ 
dows divided by columns. This palace 
contains a collection of pictures. 

Palazzo Cattolica (k), in the Piazza 
di S. Francesco. Till the last few 
years this palace showed in its facade 
some fine Gothic features, but in re¬ 
cent renovations these have been ut¬ 
terly destroyed. The arcaded court 
within the building is imposing, and 
has interest for the architect. 

Palazzo di Sant ’ Elia (k), in the Pi¬ 
azza di Fiera Vecchia. A building of 
the Sicilian Renaissance. 

Palazzo del Conte Federigo (a), at 
the back of the church of S. Giovanni 
di Dio. In this palace is immured 
the ancient Torre di Busuemi, whose 
masonry bears the rich brown tints of 
centuries. The first story is modern¬ 
ised, but on the upper floor is a large 
pointed window like those in the Pa¬ 
lazzo de’ Tribunal!, without mould¬ 
ings, but adorned with mosaics; the 
arch dominates two small pointed 
lights separated by a marble column. 
Beneath the window are remains of 
a trefoil corbelling. This tower ori¬ 
ginally stood on the shores of the 
southern port. Hard by it stood the 
ancient gate of Busuemi, destroyed in 
1585 to make room for the neigh¬ 
bouring hospital of St. John of God. 

Palazzo Forcella (k), a modern pa¬ 
lace on the'; city-walls above the Porta 
de’ Greci, having saloons fitted up in 
a costly manner, in different styles of 
architecture—Greek, Pompeian, Siculo- 
Norman, and Saracenic. 

Palazzo Geraci (c), in the Toledo, 
just beyond the Piazza Bologni, of 
Italian architecture, containing an ar- 





PALERMO—PRIVATE PALACES. 


93 


caded court which presents a hand¬ 
some specimen of Italian Doric. 

The Palazzo Ingham (l), on the 
Monte di Santa Rosalia, contains a 
very fine picture by Pietro Novelli, one 
of the latest from his hand, and for¬ 
merly in the possession of the Prince 
of Maletto. It represents the Trinity 
commanding tlio archangel Gabriel to 
announce the mystery of the Incarna¬ 
tion to the Virgin. “ The Son is seen 
at the rt. hand of the Father, and the 
Dove hovers above them. The body 
of Christ, half-veiled in a fluttering 
robe, is painted with the greatest de¬ 
cision and correctness. His counte¬ 
nance displays ardent love and mascu¬ 
line beauty, that of the angel much 
grace and gentleness. The latter is 
respectfully receiving from his lips the 
particulars of his mission. The Eter¬ 
nal Father is about to intrust him 
with the lily of purity to convey it to 
the Virgin. Two cherubs embracing 
enliven the composition. In the lower 
part of the picture the Virgin is seen 
in an attitude of devotion. The pic- 
ture is pencilled with extraordinary 
freedom and decision. It is well pre¬ 
served, and has been partly restored by 
a skilful hand.”— Gallo. 

Palazzo di S. Matteo (l), at the t?>p 
of the Salita di S. Antonio, and close 
to the Piano delle Vergini. This 
noble old Norman palace, now tenanted 
by the lowest orders, has a series of 
pointed windows decorated with the 
chevron and dog-tooth mouldings, and 
a richly-foliated string-course below 
them. It is well worthy the attention 
of the antiquary and architect. 

Palazzo Patagonia (k). Here is a 
picture of San Corrado, attributed to 
Vincenzo Anemolo. 

Palazzo Paterno (k), called also Pal. 
Moncada, from the family name of the 
Princes of Paterno, and Pcd. Ajulami- 
cristo from Guglielmo Ajutamicristo, 
Baron of Misilmeri, who erected it in 
the year 1485, stands in the Via di 
Porta di Termini. The building, hav¬ 
ing undergone alterations at various 


periods, retains little of its original 
architecture in the facade. Its date 
was the period of transition in the Si¬ 
cilian, as well as the Northern Gothic. 
The pointed arch was lowered to the de¬ 
pressed, and ultimately to the square; 
or, if the pointed arch was retained, it 
was generally in the form of an ogee. 
This and the Palazzo Patella are the 
best specimens of the period in Pa¬ 
lermo. In spite of its mongrel archi¬ 
tecture, this is still a grand pile, with 
its long facade of brown stone en¬ 
riched by age and surmounted by 
Saracenic battlements. The portal 
has a depressed ogee arch, resting on 
shafts with foliated capitals, and sur¬ 
mounted by a square label, with a 
shield over the apex. Within the 
gate is a loggia of 3 pointed arches, 
now blocked up. The facade has been 
in great part modernised. In the 
principal story the windows, originally 
pointed, as may be traced by repairs 
in the masonry, have been altered to 
square forms. On the ground floor 
they are depressed, with prominent 
labels resting on corbels which bear 
fragments of Latin inscriptions, appa¬ 
rently aphorisms or mottoes. In the 
upper story are 4 windows of the same 
character with shields on the corbels, 
but the rest are square-headed and of 
later date. The palace is interesting 
as the residence of Charles V. during 
his stay in Palermo. The court at 
the back shows a picturesque bit of 
architecture in a double arcade, the 
lower of 5 elliptical arches, the upper 
of 7 pointed, all resting on marble 
columns with Composite capitals. To 
reach this court you must enter the 
gateway to the rt. of the palace. 
Among the portraits of the Moncada 
family preserved in this palace are 
several by Novelli and his pupils. 

Palazzo Patella (k), in the Via dell’ 
Alloro, a grand old palace, most pic¬ 
turesque with its Gothic decorations 
and warm brown masonry, is now oc¬ 
cupied by the Dominican nuns of the 
Pieta. It was built, as an inscription 
informs us, in the year 1495, by Fran¬ 
cesco Patella, or Abbatelli, a knight 
of Palermo, who erected it “ for him- 



94 


PALERMO—PRIVATE PALACES. 


self and his most sweet wife, Helio- 
nore Solere of Barcelona., his darling, 
and for his posterity.” He had fought 
against the Moors in Spain and the 
French in Italy, and held offices of 
high dignity under Ferdinand the Ca¬ 
tholic. As he had no male heirs, lie 
bequeathed his palace to the Church 
at his decease in 1526. It was then 
converted into a nunnery, and the 
church of the Pieta was added in 1684. 
The portal is large and singular. 
It is square-headed, with 4 shafts on 
each side, meeting above like boughs, 
the outer ones having ropes of stone 
twisted round them, and tying the 
whole together. In the place of the 
imposts the shafts are crossed by 
snakes, which form a sort of running 
capital on each side. Over the door 
is the knight’s crest, and on each side, 
in a square shield, his device, 7 swords 
bound together by a band, on which 
is inscribed his motto in Spanish— 
“ Manya y Fuerga ,” “ Craft and Force.” 
A tablet bears this inscription:— 

“ In Gallos inque Ilispanos sub rege Sicano 
Prajlia qu£e gessi rex mihi testis adest: 

Qui fidei titulos dedit et virtutis honores, 
Ditiaque emerite prasmia militia:-. 

Nunc ego pro castris praaclara palatia pono, 
Ut fruar his partis sanguine divitiis.” 

The windows in the upper story are 
square-headed, divided by very slender 
shafts into 3 pointed lights, the shafts 
running through to the top. Beneath 
the battlements is a cornice with pro¬ 
jecting animals as gargoyles. A ma- 
chicolated tower rises at the angle, 
and contains -window's with depressed 
ogee arches. 

Palazzo Pietratagliata (l), called also 
Torre Pizzuto , in the Via Pizzuto, a 
massive, brown, battlemented palace 
of the 15th century, having a large 
pointed portal with corbelled label, 
and ogee niches for saints on either 
hand. The windows above are round- 
headed, with monsters for corbels. The 
tower which rises above the fa$ade re¬ 
tains traces of more ancient construc¬ 
tion. 


Of the numerous cabinet-pictures in 
this palace notice the following :—A 
small picture of the Pentecost on wood, 
marked “ Raphael Santius Urbinus 
and said to have been painted at the 
age of 18. There is much variety and 
force of expression in the heads, and 
the wdiole is carefully painted.—The 
Virgin watching her sleeping Child, 
ascribed to Guido , a‘sweet picture.— 
A. Casembroot: tw r o seaside pieces.—- 
Albano : Venus, Cupid, and Adonis.— 
Ribera: four small circular pictures of 
Prometheus, Sisyphus, Tantalus, and 
Ixion; bright and forcible.— Anemolo : 
St. Peter and St. Paul, full-lengths; 
two out of twelve apostles formerly in 
the church of La Gancia.— Pietro No- 
velli, or his school: a Cherub, a frag¬ 
ment ; S. Filippo Neri on his knees 
before the Madonna; S. Antonino in 
the same position; Death of St. Fran¬ 
cis ; View of the Piazza Pretoria ; three 
small battle-scenes. 

Palazzo Rajfadali (a), in the Via di 
Santa Chiara, a structure of Sicilian 
Gothic, built on the site of a Saracenic 
palace. It retains in its facade some 
small depressed lancets below, and 
some pointed windows in the upper 
story, having double lights separated 
by shafts; a corbel-table runs beneath 
them. 

Palazzo Tasca (k), near the Botanic 
Garden, outside the Porta di Termini. 
This palace contains a collection of 
pictures by modern Sicilian and Italian 
artists, with a few by earlier masters. 

Palazzo Trabia (l), in the Via Mac- 
queda. This palace contains a collec¬ 
tion of pictures, vases, statues, bronzes, 
coins, camei, and other articles of 
vertu. Among them observe a cabinet 
of Greek vases found in Sicily, chiefly 
ot the form called lecythus ; Roman 
amphora?, curiously incrusted with co¬ 
ralline matter; pottery of Saracenic 
times; a marble statue of Seneca in 
the bath, bleeding to death; an an¬ 
cient patera, of cast, not chiselled, 
gold; a little bull in gold, bearing a 
Punic inscription, found at Segeste. 
The pictures are of mediocre merit. 


Palazzo Poero (k), in the Via Butera. 



PALERMO—THEATRES—FESTIVAL OF STA. ROSALIA. 


95 


Among them are the Virgin, Child, 
and St. (Sebastian, by Gherardo Astu- 
rino; Hercules and Antaeus, by Luca 
Cambiaso; and others attributed to 
Titian, Luca Giordano, Agostino Ca- 
racci, Benvenuti, and Polidoro. 

Palazzo Valguarnera (k), in the Pi¬ 
azza of that name, has nothing worthy 
of notice beyond a curious and hand¬ 
some double staircase within the cor- 
tile. At the N. corner of the Piazza, 
opposite this palace, stands a small 
solitary column surmounted by a tiny 
cross. It bears no inscription, but tra¬ 
dition points it out as marking the 
spot where the bodies of the French, 
massacred in the Sicilian Vespers 
(1282), were interred. 

Pcdazzo Verdura (k), belonging to 
the Duke of that name, contains a col¬ 
lection of paintings. 


Theatres. 

Teatro Bellini (k), in the Piazza 
della Martorana, is the largest and 
most frequented theatre in Palermo. 
It was rebuilt in 1809 by Puglia , a 
native architect, on the ruins of a 
former theatre. It is neat rather than 
handsome, of circular plan, and of 
considerable size, having 5 tiers of 
boxes, 17 in each, and a pit holding 
more than 300 persons, each in his 
own numbered arm-chair. This is the 
only theatre in Palermo where operas 
are now performed, or where ballets 
are danced. The regular drama is 
also occasionally represented. Here 
during the Carnival masked balls are 
held, the haut-ton remaining specta¬ 
tors in the boxes, while the travestied 
roturiers foot it away for their amuse¬ 
ment below. There is an excellent 
cafe and restaurant attached to the 
theatre; the ices are not to be sur¬ 
passed. The prices of seats are—for a 
box in the first or second tier, 58 tan ; 
in the third tier, 43 tan ; in the fourth, 
28 tari. Pit, 5 tan 6 grana a seat. 

Teatro di Sta. Cecilia (k), near the 


Piazza Valguarnera. This theatre, 
which was built hi 1692 for musical 
operas, is now appropriated to the 
ordinary drama. It is of elliptical 
form and simple architecture, with 67 
boxes in 4 tiers, and a pit capable of 
seating 300 persons. 

Teatro cli Santa Anna (k), a small 
theatre in the Piazza di S. Anna, where 
comic pieces are performed. 

Teatro del Principe [Umberto (k), in 
the Via di Merlo, Piazza Marina, a small 
house devoted to the performance of 
comedies in the Sicilian dialect, with 4 
tiers of boxes, and a pit to hold more 
than 200 persons. 

Teatro Garibaldi (k), near the Porta 
Garibaldi. 

Teatro Oreto (k), on the Marina. 


Festival of Santa Rosalia. 

Every year the Palermitans devote 
5 days, from lltli to 15 th July, to do 
honour to their patroness, Sta. Rosa¬ 
lia, and to commemorate their mira¬ 
culous deliverance from the plague in 
1625, effected by carrying her bones, 
recently discovered in her cave on 
Monte Pellegrino, in solemn proces¬ 
sion round the city. The principal 
features of the festa are the procession 
of the Saint's Car, and the exhibition 
of fireworks on the Marina. 

1st day. —At 6 in the evening, the 
car, which has been built up in the 
Largo di Santo Spirito, within the 
Porta Felice, begins to move. It is 
an enormous structure, 60 or 70 ft. 
long, 30 wide, and some 80 ft. high, so 
that in its progress up the Toledo it 
overtops the loftiest palaces. It is a 
gorgeous mass of gay colour and gold. 
The lower part is in the form of a 
galley on wheels, from which rises a 
sort of temple, whose base is sur¬ 
rounded by tiers of seats, occupied by 
a musical band in full court dress. 
Over the temple rises a series of 3 
tabernacles surrounded by angels hold- 




96 


PALERMO—FESTIVAL OF SANTA ROSALIA. 


ing pictures, flags, and festoons of 
flowers. Numerous cherubs among 
paper clouds surmount the structure, 
from among which rises the colossal 
silver figure of the saint, crowning the 
whole. The car is occupied by a band 
of foundlings, dressed as soldiers, who 
play tunes alternately with the mu¬ 
sicians over their heads. The pon¬ 
derous vehicle, preceded by a squadron 
of cavalry, is drawn by 34 oxen, with 
an ordinary ox-car in front, to guide 
the team. Every 50 or GO yards it 
comes to a stand to give the oxen 
breathing-time, and the musicians an 
opportunity of displaying their skill. 
On it goes, amid clouds of incense, the 
fragrance of flowers crushed in its path, 
and the enthusiastic shouts of the 
spectators from the balconies and the 
streets. It takes two hours at least to 
reach the Porta Nuova at the higher 
end of the Toledo. 

At sunset all Palermo resorts to the 
Marina to witness the fireworks. Here 
close to the sea is erected the facade of 
an enormous palace or fortress, deco¬ 
rated with transparencies representing 
events memorable in the annals of 
Sicily, from the hands of the best 
artists of the day. In front of the 
palace, in an Ionic pavilion, sit the 
Viceroy with his suite, and the chief 
nobility of Palermo. Some vessels of 
war lie off the shore, their rigging 
illuminated with innumerable lamps. 
“These began the show by a discharge 
of their artillery, the sound of which, 
re-echoed from the mountains, pro¬ 
duced a very noble effect; they then 
played off a variety of water-rockets, 
and bombs that often burst under 
water. This continued for half-an- 
hour, when in an instant the whole of 
the palace was beautifully illuminated. 
This was the signal for the shipping to 
cease, and appeared indeed like a piece 
of enchantment, as it was done alto¬ 
gether instantaneously, and without 
the appearance of any agent. At the 
same time the fountains that were 
represented in the court before the 
palace began to spout up fire, and made 
a representation of some of the great 
jets d'eciu of Versailles and Marly. As 
soon as these were extinguished the 


court assumed the form of a great par¬ 
terre, adorned with a variety of palm- 
trees of fire, interspersed with orange- 
trees, flower-pots, vases, and other 
ornaments. On the extinguishing of 
these, the illumination of the palace 
was likewise extinguished, and the 
front of it broke out into the appearance 
of a variety of suns, stars, and wheels 
of fire, which in a short time reduced 
it to a perfect ruin. And when all 
appeared finished, there burst from the 
centre of the pile a vast explosion of 
two thousand rockets, bombs, serpents, 
squibs, and devils, which seemed to 
fill the whole atmosphere.” Such is 
the description given by Brydone, 
nearly a century ago. And in the 
main it holds good still, for old cus¬ 
toms are well preserved in Sicily. 
Some slight variation, indeed, takes 
place every year, in the decorations of 
the car, or in the arrangements for the 
fireworks. Says a recent traveller, “ I 
have never seen any fireworks in Paris 
which could be compared to these. 
Our rockets may indeed be better 
directed, our fireballs may rise higher, 
but the profusion and disorder in 
which flip former are employed in , 
Palermo produce a most striking effect. 
The fireballs as they burst fall in a 
gold or silver shower upon the surface 
of the sea, where their brightness is 
extinguished amid the waves. Some 
fireworks were perfectly unique of 
their kind, appearing like huge ba¬ 
nana-trees blazing from base to sum¬ 
mit in a rich deep green flame. The 
crowning piece of this pyrotechnic ex¬ 
hibition was the representation of a 
castle in a state of siege, which was 
being bombarded and burnt in the 
midst of a thunderstorm ; and the com¬ 
bined effects of thunder, fireballs, and 
the conflagration were most admirably 
given. The castle, moreover, was 200 
feet in length, and of a proportionate 
height, while the line of fireworks 
directed against it measured more 
than 500 ft. in length, and was ar¬ 
ranged in several successive rows.”—. 
De Quatrefages. 

After the fireworks the elite of 
Palermitan society resort to the Flora, 
which is brilliantly illuminated, and 



PALERMO—ENVIRONS—LA FLORA. 


97 


enlivened by military bands of music, 
and, after a stroll through these gar¬ 
dens, parade the Toledo in carriages 
to see the illuminations in that street. 

2nd day. — At 6 p.m. horse-races in 
the Roman and Neapolitan style take 
place in the Toledo, the course being 
tlie full length of that street, from the 
Porta Felice to the Porta Nuova. At 
10 at night the car of Sta. Rosalia, 
lighted up with wax tapers, returns in 
procession down the Toledo, and at 
midnight comes to a stand at the Porta 
F elice. 

3rd day .—The horse-races are re¬ 
peated this evening, andthere’are fire¬ 
works again on the Marina. 

4 th day .— Horse-races again at the 
usual hour. Soon after the Ave Maria 
the crowd resorts to the Duomo, which 
is one blaze of light from thousands of 
small wax tapers suspended from the 
roof by threads, the effect being that of 
innumerable stars, broadcast over every 
portion of the interior. Then the 
Viceroy, on bended knee, proceeds to 
kiss the relics of the virgin saint. 
Illuminations are again universal in 
the Toledo, and the large fountain in 
the Piazza Pretoria is hung with lamps. 
This is the best night for seeing the 
illuminations and the company. 

5th day .—At 10 a.m. high mass is 
held in the Cathedral, at which the 
Viceroy, with the Senate, the magis¬ 
trates, and the magnates of Palermo, 
are all present. In the evening, at 10, 
the silver urn containing the relics of 
the saint is carried in solemn proces¬ 
sion to the Piazza Marina, attended by 
the clergy and chapter of the Cathedral, 
and all the religious bodies of the city. 
Thus with illuminations, fireworks, 
music, and universal rejoicing, closes 
a festival which the Sicilians regard 
as the most magnificent in the world. 


Environs of Palermo. 

La Flora, at the S. end of the Ma¬ 
rina, immediately outside the city. 
This public garden was laid out in 
1775 by the architect Nicola Palma, 
[Sicily.] 


under the viceroy Marcantonio Co- 
lonna, from whose wife it received its 
other name of Pubblica Villa Giulia. 
It occupies the veiy site once rendered 
odious by the exhibitions of the auto- 
da-fe, whose terrors it has obliterated 
by its attractions. It is of square form, 
of no great size, 1000 palms, or 240 
yards, each way, with a gate in the 
middle of each side. Its principal 
front opens on the Marina, in a heavy, 
ugly portal of yellow stone, erected in 
1788. Considerable taste is exhibited 
in its plan, as well as beauty in its 
shady avenues of orange and lemon 
trees, mulberry and pepper trees, in its 
hedges of ever-blooming roses, and gay 
parterres of flowers; while the date- 
palm, banana, and bamboo impart a 
tropical, and the cypress and plane- 
tree an Oriental character to the spot. 
Fountains and statues, aviaries and 
summer - houses, made rains and 
mounds, increase its charms in the 
eyes of the Palermitans. The seclu¬ 
sion and gloom of the cypress-grove 
have been appropriately chosen for the 
erection of cenotaphs to illustrious 
Sicilians; but latli-and-plaster obe¬ 
lisks, and stucco urns and sarcophagi, 
insult the memory of Archimedes, 
Empedocles, and Stesichorus. In the 
centre of the garden is a circular piazza 
with a fountain in the midst, where a 
juvenile Atlas sustains a dodecahedral 
universe. Over another fountain on 
the W. side, the royal Genius of Pa¬ 
lermo presides, with a rock for his 
throne, a snake for his sceptre, and an 
eagle, a dog, and fruits for liis insignia. 
The whole is explained by an inscrip¬ 
tion :— 

“ Anguem, aqnilam, atque canem, prudens, 
augusta, tidelis, 

Palladis et Cereris arma Panormus habet.” 

This figure is from the chisel of Ignazio 
Marabitti. 

The Flora is a favourite lounge at 
all seasons for idle Palermitans, but on 
Sundays and festas it is thronged by 
gay crowds of all classes, drawn by 
some military band which plays from 
1 to 3 p.m. ; but never does the garden 
attract a greater concourse than during 
the five days’ festa of Santa Rosalia in 

F 




98 


PALERMO—PONTE DELL* AMMIRAGLIO. 


July, when it is illumined nightly by 
myriads of variegated lamps. 

Orto Botanico, adjoining the Flora. 
Admission is readily granted to fo¬ 
reigners who send in their cards to the 
director, Professor Agostino Todero. 
The grounds comprise a space of 270 
yards in length, by 90 in width. At 
the entrance is a modern building, 
a sort of temple of flowery Doric, 
with a double portico in the centre, 
surmounted by a cupola, and wings 
containing a lecture-room, library, and 
the director’s residence. The architect 
was a Frenchman named Fourny. The 
steps are flanked by 2 sphinxes of 
grey stone. In the circular hall are 
statues of Dioscorides, Theophrastus, 
Toumefort, and Linnaeus, while above 
them are busts of those eminent in 
botanical science, from Empedocles 
and Celsus, to Ray, Dillon, and Jus¬ 
sieu. The walls are inscribed with 
sentences from Pliny. In the portico 
behind are statues of Aesculapius and 
Hygeia. 

In this garden you see the climate 
of Palermo put to the test. The date- 
palm attains a great altitude, far out- 
topping the stunted growth of Rome, 
Naples, and other cities of Italy. The 
dwarf fan-palm here rises from its 
humble uncultivated condition of a 
shrub into that of a tree 15 or 20 feet 
in height. The sago flourishes and 
bears fruit in the open air. The sugar¬ 
cane and bamboo attain respectable 
though not tropical dimensions. The 
productions of the Cape here find a 
kindred climate; and that South Ame¬ 
rican marvel, the Victoria Regia, covers 
the pool with its sliield-like leaves 
throughout the winter. 

Scint'Antonino di Padova, outside the 
Gate of the same name, contains a 
picture of the Conception by Giuseppe 
Marchese (ob. 1708), of the school of 
Novelli. In the Oratory at the back 
of the church is an altarpiece of the 
Nativity by Monrealese himself, in his 
second style, painted on stone iu 1G30, 
after the manner of Caravaggio; the 
Virgin and surrounding figures are il¬ 
luminated by the Infant. 


Ponte dell ’ Ammiraglio. —The road 
that runs straight from the Porta di 
Termini leads, at the distance of 
scarcely half a mile, to a curious old 
relic of Norman times. It is a lofty 
bridge, now spanning the diy land, 
but originally thrown over the bed of 
the iittle river Oreto. The course of 
this having been changed in more re¬ 
cent times, the bridge has become 
useless; but it is in such admirable 
preservation that, if need were, it 
would answer its purpose as well now 
as it did 7 centuries and a half ago. 
It was erected in the year 1113, by 
the same George of Antioch, grand 
admiral to Count Roger, that built the 
church of the Martorana, and to this 
day it is called from him “ The Ad¬ 
miral’s Bridge.” It has 6 plain pointed 
arches, each with a double row of 
voussoirs; the central arch is much 
loftier and larger than the rest, being 
more than 20 ft. from the ground, 
with a span of nearly 31 ft. In each 
abutment opens a small, narrow arch, 
to give a freer passage to the winter 
torrents. The masonry is large irre¬ 
gular ashlar, excellently constructed 
with cement; and the material is that 
yellow disintegrated limestone, con¬ 
taining shells, which abounds in the 
plain and neighbouring mountains, 
and was probably quarried close at 
hand. 

It must have been between this spot 
and the city that the consul L. Csecilius 
Metellus defeated Asdrubal in the year 
250 b.c. On the advance of the Car¬ 
thaginians against Panormus, Metellus 
made no attempt to oppose them until 
they had crossed the Oreto, and were 
approaching the walls, when the Ro¬ 
mans with darts and arrows so mad¬ 
dened the elephants which led the van 
of the African host, that they turned 
round on their own forces, trampled 
them down in their fury, and every¬ 
where broke the ranks. Metellus, 
profiting by the confusion, fell on the 
enemy in flank, and put him to utter 
rout, thus obtaining one of the most 
decisive victories in the First Punic 
War—a victory regarded by the Ro¬ 
mans as won rather over the elephants 
I than over the Carthaginians. 





99 


PALERMO—S. GIOVANNI DE* LEPROSI—MAR DOLCE. 


8. Giovanni de' Leprosi. —Just be¬ 
yond tlie Admiral’s Bridge the road 
forks. The branch to the 1. leads, at 
a short distance, to this church, the 
most ancient vestige of the Normans 
in the neighbourhood of Palermo. 
Fazello and other chroniclers refer its 
foundation to Duke Robert Guiscard 
and Count Roger, dining then siege 
of Palermo; but others, with more 
probability, ascribe it to Count Roger 
alone, who raised it, they say, imme¬ 
diately after the capture of the city, 
to mark the spot where his forces were 
encamped during the siege. It is, 
therefore, of earlier construction than 
any of the chinches within the walls, 
dating from 1072, or 6 years only later 
than the conquest of England. A 
hospital for lepers was shortly after 
added, which was ultimately used as 
a madhouse, and has now entirely dis¬ 
appeared under successive restorations, 
but the church has retained its un¬ 
wholesome appellation. 

It is of small size, of basilica form, 
with 3 aisles and 3 apses. Much of 
what exists is reconstruction— e. g. the 
round arches and octagonal pillars of 
the nave ; but the side-walls with their 
small pointed lights, the tiny red cu¬ 
pola with its pointed arches, and pro¬ 
bably the small square towers which 
flank the entrance, form parts of the 
original structure. The Avails are of 
regular masonry, noiv plastered over 
with stucco. The cupola has pen- 
dentives in the angles, as at S. Gio¬ 
vanni degli Eremiti. No traces of 
mosaics, or any other ancient decora¬ 
tion, are visible. Near this church 
once flourished a grove of palm-trees 
. of vast size and great antiquity, but 
they A\ r ere cut down in 1325 by the 
Count of Squillace, the Neapolitan 
admiral, out of mere spite, when he 
made a descent on Sicily, and laid 
Avaste the plain of Palermo. 

Mar Dolce, or La Favara. —About a 
mile do Aim the road, beyond S. Gio¬ 
vanni de’Leprosi, stand the remains 
of an ancient palace, generally sup¬ 
posed, like those of the Cuba and 
Zisa, to have been erected by the 
Saracenic princes. The tivo names 


by which it is knoivn have reference 
to its environments, not to itself, and 
stand in the relation of cause and 
effect; for Favara (from the Arabic 
Faivarah) means “a spring, or gushing 
water,” and Mar Dolce alludes to the 
fresh-water lake once existing on the 
spot, which that spring used to supply. 
The latter is but a translation of the 
term Albeira, applied to the lake by 
Benjamin, the ivandering Jew of Tu- 
dcla, who visited Sicily in 1172, in the 
reign of William the Good, and ivho 
designates the building here as Al- 
Hacina, or “ the Castle.” Ibn Djobair, 
the Spanish Arab ivho travelled in 
Sicily in the same reign, calls it Casr 
Djiafar, or “the Fortress of Djiafar,” 
probably from some Moslem prince of 
that name. Benjamin describes it as 
a favourite resort of the Norman court. 
The Avails of the palace, he says, were 
covered ivitli gold and silver, and its 
pavement displayed, in its mosaic- 
ivork of different coloured marbles, 
“the representation of everything on 
the globe.” He speaks of orchards 
of all kinds of fruit-trees, of the lake 
ivell stocked ivitli fish, and of royal 
vessels, painted and gilt, floating on 
its surface, in ivhicli the king and his 
wives ivere wont to sail about for recre¬ 
ation. Its delights ii'ere also sung by 
a Sicilian Arab, Abderrahman of Tra¬ 
pani, who describes the castle as rising- 
in the midst of a lake on an island of 
orange and citron trees, Avith a park 
adjoining of more than a league in cir¬ 
cuit, stretching doivn to the sea, and 
intersected by nine canals bordered 
with trees, abounding in fish, and fed 
by two springs from the neighbouring 
mountain. Tivo palms of great age 
marked the spot from afar off, in the 
time of King Roger. 

The construction of this royal re¬ 
treat, however, is ascribed by Fazello 
to King Roger, just as that of the Zisa 
is attributed to King William. But 
though it be true that at the Favara, 
as at the Zisa, there is ivork of the 
Norman period, it is much more pro¬ 
bable, thinks Galhj Knight, that the 
generally received tradition of its Sara¬ 
cenic origin is correct. “ The tradition 
is supported by the present appearance 

f 2 






100 


PALERMO—S. CIRO—GROTTA DE’ GIGANTI. 


of the place, the construction of the 
building, the baths, and the numerous 
Arabic associations connected with the 
spot. It is evident that the site was 
situated agreeably to Oriental habits. 

. . . The truth of the matter seems to 
be that King Roger, struck with the 
charms of so delightful a spot, repaired 
the Saracenic pile, added the chapel for 
his own use, and then acquired the 
reputation of having created the 
whole.” 

The castle is a large square pile of 
yellow stone, not so lofty as the Cuba 
or Zisa, but much more extensive. 
The walls are decorated with similar 
pointed panels, and the doors and win¬ 
dows are of the same form. The ma¬ 
sonry is very large ashlar, of the same 
conchiliferous limestone as composes 
the Bridge of the Admiral. The en¬ 
trance is on the N. side, and leads 
into a spacious court, with pointed 
arches in its walls. On the E. and S. 
are a number of ruined vaults ; on the 
W. others preserving their roofs; and 
on the N. rise a tower and the Chapel 
of King Roger. Of the few apart¬ 
ments left, none retain traces of deco¬ 
ration. The chapel is almost a mini¬ 
ature of S. Giovanni de’ Leprosi, but 
without side-aisles, and having win¬ 
dows only in the outer wall. Exter¬ 
nally a singular stone cornice sur¬ 
rounds the little cupola. The roofs 
are in waves, or convex swellings, the 
originals of the maccaroni roofs of the 
Bay of Naples. The view hence of 
the city, the blue deep, the plain in 
its varied luxuriance, and the rugged 
mountains which enclose it, is among 
the most glorious around Palermo. 

Outside the building, to the N., are 
the remains of vapour-baths, such as 
Orientals usually employ. They consist 
of vaulted rooms of brickwork, with 
chambers beneath in which the water 
was heated, and whence the steam rose 
to the baths. The flues which let out 
the smoke and steam still remain, as well 
as the pipes which supplied the water. 
The whole now forms a picturesque mass 
of ruin, overrun with cactus, acanthus, 
fennel, and fig-trees. The lake which 
once surrounded the castle has long 
been dried up and converted into an 


orchard, but fragments of the massive 
walls which embanked it are extant. 
On the S. side just below the castle 
are the piers of a ruined bridge, now 
crossing a brook, and probably con¬ 
structed since the lake ceased to exist. 
The stream, which has given its name 
to the castle, gushes, as Ebn Haucal 
9 centuries ago described it, from the 
very nose of Monte Grifone, which 
projects into the plain some 400 paces 
from the castle. 

Santo Giro .—At the base of Monte 
Grifone, which rises to the height of 
2777 ft. above the sea, and close to 
the church of Santo Giro, are 3 large 
arches obtusely pointed, faced with 
long bricks, but forming the entrance 
to parallel vaults of masonry, such as 
the Romans would have called conca- 
merationes. Indeed the structure has 
been taken by the local antiquaries to 
be Roman, and has received the name 
of La Naumachia, though it much more 
nearly resembles a Nymplueum; for 
the spring which once fed the lake 
rises close at hand, and forms a large 
pool in front of the structure. The 
pointed arches and the masonry, how¬ 
ever, alike prove its Saracenic or Nor¬ 
man construction. A little higher up 
the slope are further remains of early 
masonry. 

Grotta de Giganti. — Above these 
vaults, and in the face of Monte Gri¬ 
fone, are many natural caverns, one of 
which is full of fossil bones of extinct 
animals. The rock in which they are 
deposited is grey limestone abounding 
in fossil shells. “ The cave is about 
20 ft. high, 10 wide, and 180 above 
the sea. Within it is found an an¬ 
cient beach, formed of pebbles of va¬ 
rious rocks, many of which must have 
come from places far remote. Broken 
pieces of coral and shell, especially 
of oysters and pcctens, are seen inter¬ 
mingled with the pebbles. Imme¬ 
diately above the level of this beach 
serpuke are still found adhering to the 
face of the rock, and the limestone is 
perforated by lithodomi. Within the 
grotto, also, at the same level, similar 
perforations occur; and so numerous 




PALERMO—STA. MARIA D1 GESt>. 


101 


are the holes, that the rock is com¬ 
pared by Hoffmann to a target pierced 
by musket-balls. But in order to ex¬ 
pose to view these marks of boring- 
shells in the interior of the cave, it 
was necessary first to remove a mass 
of breccia, which consisted of nume¬ 
rous fragments of rock and an im¬ 
mense quantity of bones of the mam¬ 
moth, hippopotamus, and other qua¬ 
drupeds, embedded in a dark-brown 
calcareous marl. Many of the bones 
were rolled, as if partially subjected 
to the action of the waves. Below 
this breccia, which is about 20 ft. 
tliick, was found a bed of sand filled 
with sea-shells of recent species ; and 
underneath the sand, again, is the 
secondary limestone of Monte Grifone. 
Above the level of the marine sand 
the rock is jagged and uneven, as is 
usual in the roofs and sides of lime¬ 
stone caverns; below, the surface is 
smooth and polished, as if by the at¬ 
trition of the waves.”— Lyell. 

The cave is commonly called the 
Grotto of the Giants; and the bones 
are vulgarly believed to belong to the 
Cyclops or Lsestrygons, the fabulous 
inhabitants of the island. Modern 
science, however, informs us that they 
are chiefly those of the mammoth, with 
some belonging to a sort of hippopo¬ 
tamus distinct from the known species, 
and to animals of the dog, deer, and 
bear tribe. 

Santa Maria cli Gesii. —If, on reach¬ 
ing the fork in the road just beyond 
the Bridge of the Admiral, you take 
the branch to the rt., you will reach, 
after a drive of 3 m., the Franciscan 
monastery of this name lying on the 
lower slope of Monte Grifone, and a 
most conspicuous object in the scenery 
round Palermo. It may be reached 
also from Santo Ciro, from which it is 
little more than half a mile distant, 
but the path is rugged enough for a 
pedestrian, and utterly impracticable 
for any vehicle. The traveller, there¬ 
fore, who would take this short cut on 
foot must send his carriage round to 
meet him at the convent. The ascent 
is by a winding road shaded by cy¬ 
presses. The church dates from 1420, 


and was erected on the site of a 
chapel sacred to Sant’ Antonio di Pa¬ 
dova, who had resided here for a short 
time when he visited Sicily. In the 
original portions it shows, like most 
buildings of that period, much of the 
Pointed style of Northern Europe. 
The N. door has projecting mouldings 
and shafts with foliated capitals in a 
chaste style. By its side is another 
door with flamboyant tracery, leading 
into the chapel of the Vanni family. 
The W. door is of the Renaissance pe¬ 
riod, with the Almighty and his angels 
on the lintel, and the Apostles on the 
doorposts, in relief. 

The church itself is of small size, 
with an apse at the E. end, and of 
plain architecture, but rich in relics. 
On the head of a Virgin beneath one 
altar is a crown of silver-gilt, which, 
with the robe she wears, is calculated 
to be worth 700 ounces. Over one 
altar is preserved the body of a certain 
St. Benedict, a canonized negro; and 
over the opposite altar is the body of 
San Matteo, Bishop of Girgenti, and 
founder of this church. His corpse, 
records an inscription, “ when laid be¬ 
fore the altar, rose from the bier on the 
elevation of the host, and devoutly re¬ 
verenced the mass; ” and since then it 
has wrought a standing miracle in ever 
“ giving forth sweet odours, to the re¬ 
freshment and healing of weaiy limbs.” 
In the tribune are some nice fragments 
of cinquecento decoration in marble. 

On the walls of the Chapel of the 
Vanni family, adjoining the church, 
are some curious drawings, attributed 
to Antonio Crescenzio, nearly coeval with 
the structure, and once covering the 
whole walls, but now only preserved in 
one corner, where a monk is represented 
of life-size against a background of 
Gothic architecture. In the next scene 
the body of St. Francis is lying on a 
bier in cloisters; beneath, is his tomb 
with people crowding around it, and 
hanging ex-votos at his shrine; and 
above, lie is represented studying under 
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 
These scenes are sketched with great 
boldness and freedom. The faces of 
the monks around the bier are full of 
expression. 





102 


PALERMO—TORRE DE’ DIAYOLI—SANTO SP1RITO. 


In the court around the church are 
numerous sepulchral monuments, and 
an octagonal fountain with a triple 
basin rises in the centre, erected by the 
Duke of Alcala in 1634. The Cloisters 
adjoining the church are surrounded by 
segmental arches, resting on massive 
columns, with curious octagonal capi¬ 
tals, some with foliage such as is often 
observed in the cloisters of the North. 
Nothing can be more picturesque than 
the situation of the convent surrounded 
by orchards of oranges and citrons, cy¬ 
presses of immense growth, clumps of 
stone-pines, and here and there a soli¬ 
tary date-palm, and overhung by steep 
slopes sprinkled with olives and al¬ 
monds, and by cliffs of red rock studded 
with cactus. A winding path climhs 
the steep till it attains a small chapel 
overshadowed by ivy-covered rocks and 
a gigantic yew-tree. The view this 
commands of Palermo on the curve of 
the blue bay, especially at the hour of 
sunset, when the sky is one blaze of 
orange glory, when a golden mist veils 
the luxuriant plain, and the mountains 
around are masses of the richest purple, 
is one never to be forgotten. You can 
return to the city by the Vallata della 
Guadagna, and enter it by the Porta 
di Sant’ Antonino, in which case you 
pass the 

Torre de’ Diavoli. —At the distance 
of half a mile outside the Porta di Sant’ 
Antonino flows the Oreto through a 
shallow but picturesque glen, with 
orange- and almond-groves on its banks, 
and cliffs of travertine on either hand 
hung with cactus. This glen is called 
the Vallata della Guadagna, an Arabic 
word, which, according to Morso, im¬ 
plies the resort of washerwomen, who 
beat their clothes on the rocks, a name 
and custom which have come down 
from Saracenic times. You cross the 
river by a modern bridge, but high on 
the 1. bank, down the stream, stands a 
single, sharply pointed arch, the relic 
of an early structure. On the rt. bank, 
above the bridge, and on a high ledge 
in the travertine cliff overhanging the 
glen, are some ruins, popularly called 
La Torre de’ Diavoli, or the Tower of 
the Devils. By some it has been taken 


for a palace, by others for a monastery. 
Little now remains but a large hall, 
with a small pointed door, and with 
windows pointed outside but rounded 
within, divided into 2 lights. Beneath 
the windows runs a string-course with 
the dog-tooth ornament. Gaily Knight 
believes it to have been erected so late 
as the days of the Aragonese kings, but 
Morso regards it as the remains of the 
ancient Norman convent of Santa Ma ria 
d’ Oreto, corrupted into “ di Loreto,” 
from which in 1148 the nuns were 
transferred to the Convent of S. Salva- 
dore within the city. The spot com¬ 
mands a beautiful view up the glen to 
Monreale, and the castled height of 
Monte Caputo, the'- church of Santo 
Spirito with its cypress-grove on the 
opposite cliff forming a picturesque fea¬ 
ture in the middle distance. 

Santo Spirito. —About half a mile 
to the S. of Palermo, outside the Gates 
of St. Agatha, or of Montalto, is the 
Campo Santo, or public burial-place 
of tire citizens, a square enclosure of 
moderate size, honeycombed with 
tombs, adorned with sepulchral monu¬ 
ments, and shaded by gloomy cypresses, 
which form a striking feature in every 
view of the plain of Palermo. The 
public tombs are arranged in long 
rows beneath the trees, and are deep 
pits, one of which used to be opened 
every day in the year, but they have 
remained closed since 1837, when in 
the first 3 weeks of July they were 
filled with fearful rapidity by the vic¬ 
tims of the cholera, which in that short 
space of time carried off one-sixth of 
the inhabitants of Palermo. Half the 
monuments bear some date in that ter¬ 
rible month. 

Within this enclosure, and on the 
brink of the ravine of the Oreto, stands 
a Norman church dedicated to the Holy 
Ghost, which, together with a Cister¬ 
cian monastery formerly adjacent, was 
founded in 1173 by Walter Offamilio, 
Archbishop of Palermo. The early 
chroniclers have not failed to record 
that on the day on which the first 
stone was laid the sun was darkened 
by an eclipse, an event ominous to 
[ their minds of the direful tragedy 




PALERMO-SICILIAN VESPERS. 


103 


which occurred a century later on 
the spot, and which has rendered it 
memorable to all ages. It is also 
recorded that in digging the founda¬ 
tions of this church a large treasure 
was discovered, which enabled Walter 
to rebuild the cathedral. A consi¬ 
derable portion of this church is of 
ancient construction, but it has been 
so altered by subsequent restorations 
as to have lost its original character. 
Externally there are no traces of an¬ 
tiquity, save in the 3 apses, which are 
ornamented with flat interlacing arches, 
as at Monreale, now painted black, so 
as to be visible from a great distance. 
The arches which separate the nave 
and side aisles are pointed and stilted, 
but the columns on which they rested 
are now cased up in massive piers, 
painted in imitation of granite. The 
windows in the aisles and clerestory are 
pointed; as are also the apses. In the 
i t. transept is a monumental slab bear¬ 
ing the figure of an abbot; and there 
is also a nice cinquecento sarcophagus, 
with a warrior reclining’in effigy on the 
lid. 

In the court in front of the church 
are ranges of massive piers, marking 
the plan of a vast building commenced 
in 1782, when this spot was first turned 
to a cemetery, but never completed. 
Adjoining the church are long galleries 
fuli of desiccated corpses, as in the 
vaults of many convents in Sicily. The 
dead are here exposed in coffins and 
cases, clothed in their holiday attire, 
many of them being children, from “ a 
span long ” upwards. “ On one side,” 
says a recent traveller, “ might be seen 
the bones of a soldier invested in all 
his regimental finery, and on the other 
a female with her hands clothed in 
white kid gloves , her skull grinning 
horribly from the midst of ribbons and 
laces, and, but for the chapless jaws, 
reminding one of the expostulation of 
the fine lady in Pope :— 

“ One would not, sure, be frightful when 
one’s dead; 

And, Petty, give this cheek a little red.” 

Sicilian Vespers. — This site will 
ever be memorable in the annals of 
Sicily as the spot where the terrible 


massacre, known by this name, had its 
origin. The plain between it and the city 
is at the present day in great part encum¬ 
bered with walled enclosures and gar¬ 
dens ; it was then an open esplanade. 
On Easter Tuesday, in 1282, which in 
that year fell on the 31st of March, 
this then cheerful plain, carpeted with 
the flowers of spring, was at the hour 
of vespers crowded with citizens wend¬ 
ing their way towards the church. 
“ Divided into numerous groups, they 
walked, sat in clusters, spread the 
tables, or danced upon the grass; and 
whether it were a defect or a merit of 
the Sicilian character, threw off for the 
moment the recollection of their suffer¬ 
ings,—when- the followers of the Jus¬ 
ticiary (the French Governor) suddenly 
appeared among them, and every bosom 
thrilled with a shudder of disgust. 
The strangers came, with their usual 
insolent demeanour, as they said, to 
maintain tranquillity; and for this 
purpose they mingled in the groups, 
joined in the dances, and familiarly 
accosted the women, pressing the hand 
of one, taking unwarranted liberties 
with others, addressing indecent words 
and gestures to those more distant; 
until some temperately admonished 
them to depart, in God’s name, without 
insulting the women, and others mur¬ 
mured angrily; but the hot-blooded 
youths raised their voices so fiercely 
that the soldiers said to one another,— 
‘ These insolent pater ini must be armed 
that they dare thus to answer,’ and 
replied to them with the most offensive 
insults, insisting on searching them for 
arms, and even striking them with 
sticks or thongs. Every heart already 
throbbed fiercely on either side, when 
a young woman of singular beauty, 
and of modest and dignified deport¬ 
ment, appeared with her husband and 
relations bending her steps towards the 
church. Drouet, a Frenchman, im¬ 
pelled either by insolence or licence, 
approached her as if to examine her for 
concealed weapons; laid hold of her 
and searched her bosom. She fell 
fainting into her husband’s arms, who, 
in a voice almost choked with rage, ex¬ 
claimed, * Death, death to the French ! ’ 
At the same moment a youth burst 



104 


PALERMO—SICILIAN VESPERS. 


from the crowd which had gathered 
round them, sprang upon Drouet, dis¬ 
armed and slew him; and probably at 
the same moment paid the penalty of 
his own life, leaving his name unknown, 
and the mystery for ever unsolved, 
whether it were love for the injured 
woman, the impulse of a generous 
heart, or the more exalted flame of 
patriotism, that prompted him thus to 
give the signal of deliverance. 

“Noble examples have a power far 
beyond that of argument or eloquence 
to rouse the people, and the abject 
slaves awoke at length from their long 
bondage. ‘ Death, death to the French ! ’ 
they cried, and the cry, say the his¬ 
torians of the time, ‘re-echoed like the 
voice of God through the whole country, 
and found an answer in every heart.’ 
Above the corpse of Drouet were heaped 
those of victims slain on either side; 
the crowd expanded itself, closed in, 
and swayed hither and thither in wild 
confusion, the Sicilians with sticks, 
stones, and knives, rushed with despe¬ 
rate ferocity upon their fully-armed 
opponents; they sought for them and 
hunted them down; fearful tragedies 
were enacted amid the preparations for 
festivity, and the overthrown tables 
were drenched in blood. The people 
displayed their strength, and con¬ 
quered. The struggle was brief, and 
great the slaughter of the Sicilians; 
but of the French there were two hun¬ 
dred—and two hundred fell. 

“ Breathless, covered with blood, 
brandishing the plundered weapons, 
and proclaiming the insult and its 
vengeance, the insurgents rushed to¬ 
wards the tranquil city. ‘ Death to 
the French! ’ they shouted, and as 
many as they found were put to the 
sword. The example, the words, the 
contagion of passion, in an instant 
aroused the whole people. The multi¬ 
tude continued to increase; dividing into 
troops, they scoured the streets, burst 
open doors, searched every nook, every 
hiding-place, and, shouting ‘ Death to 
the French! ’ smote them and slew 
them; while those too distant to strike 
added to the tumult by their applause. 
The darkness of night failed to arrest 
the slaughter, and it was resumed on 


the morrow more furiously than ever, 
nor did it cease at length because the 
thirst of vengeance was slaked, but 
because victims were wanting to appease 
it. Two thousand French perished in 
this first outbreak. Tradition relates 
that the sound of a word, like the Shib¬ 
boleth of the Hebrews, was the cruel 
test by which the French were distin¬ 
guished in the massacre; and that, if 
there were found a suspicious or un¬ 
known person, he was compelled, with 
a sword to his throat, to pronounce the 
word ‘ Ciceri,’ and the slightest foreign 
accent was the signal of his death. 

“ Forgetful of their own character, 
and as if stricken by fate, the gallant 
warriors of France neither fled, nor 
united, nor defended themselves; they 
unsheathed their swords, and presented 
them to their assailants, imploring, as 
if in emulation of each other, to be the 
first to die. Even the altars afforded no 
protection; tears and prayers were alike 
unheeded; neither old men, women, 
nor infants were spared; the ruthless 
avengers of the ruthless massacre of 
Agosta swore to root out the seed of the 
French oppressors throughout the whole 
of Sicily; and this vow they cruelly 
fulfilled. The French were hunted 
down in the mountains and forests, as¬ 
saulted and vanquished in the castles, 
and pursued with such fury that, even 
to those who had escaped from the 
hands of the Sicilians, life became a 
burden, and from the most impregnable 
fortresses, from the remotest hiding- 
places, they gave themselves up into 
the hands of the people, who summoned 
them to die. A very few, aided either 
by fortune or by their own valour, 
escaped with their lives and sought 
refuge in Messina. But the fate of 
William Porcelet merits eternal remem¬ 
brance. He was lord or governor of 
Calatafimi, and, amid the unbridled 
iniquity of his countrymen, was distin¬ 
guished for justice and humanity. On 
the day of vengeance, in the full flush 
of its triumphant fury, the Palermitan 
host appeared at Calatafimi, and not 
only spared the lives of William and of 
his family, but treated him with dis¬ 
tinguished honour, and sent him back 
to Provence; a fact which goes far to 



PALERMO-CASA DE’ MATTI. 


105 


prove that for the excesses committed 
by the people ample provocation had 
not been wanting.” 

Thus records Signor Michele Amari, 
the historian of the Vespers. The re¬ 
searches made by him into the history of 
that interesting period have proved that 
this dreadful tragedy was not the fruit of 
the matured conspiracy of John of Pro- 
cida, as has been generally represented, 
but the result of an unpremeditated 
outburst of popular fury, caused by a 
deep sense of accumulated wrongs and 
long-endured injuries. It was the abuse 
of power, as Dante says, that stirred 
Palermo to the cry of “ Death, death ! ” 

“ E la bella Trinacria che caliga 

Tra Pachino e Peloro sopra ’1 golfo 
Che riceve da Euro maggior briga, 

Non per Tifeo, ma per nascente solfo, 

Attesi avrebbe li suoi regi ancora, 

Nati per me di Carlo e di Ridolfo, 

Se la mala signoria che sempre accuora 
Li popoli suggetti, non avesse 
Mosso Palermo a gridar—Mora, mora! ” 

Santa Teresa .—Just outside the Porta 
Nuova is the spacious Piano di Santa 
Teresa, adorned with pepper-trees and 
a fountain, having the battlements of 
the Royal Palace on the E., the palace 
of the Due d’Aumale on the S., and 
the church of Santa Teresa on the W. 
This church, belonging to barefooted 
Carmelites, is of the 17th century, 
erected on the site of a Norman chapel 
dedicated to the Vergine de’ Remedi. 
It contains several pictures. In the 4tli 
chapel to rt. is a Holy Family, hitherto 
attributed to Giacomo to Verde, but now 
believed to be the work of Vallone, 
another pupil of Monrealese. The Virgin 
and Joseph are leading the youthful 
Christ between them, bearing his cross. 
There is much of Novelli’s treatment 
and colouring in this picture. The 2nd 
chapel to 1. contains another Holy 
Family, with a St. Anne, by Giacomo 
lo Verde, an excellent copy of the 
original by Novelli in the church of the 
Annunziata of the Zisa. In the sacristy 
is a St. Joseph and Child illumined 
by a candle, by Stommer, the pupil of 
Honthorst; with heads of the 12 Apostles 
by some Flemish painter. 

Casa de ’ Matti .—The road to the 1. of 
the church of Santa Teresa runs to Parco 


and Piana de’ Greet; and in it at the 
distance of some furlongs from the city 
stands the Madhouse, one of the most 
interesting institutions of Palermo. It 
was established in 1802 by a Sicilian 
nobleman, the Baron Pietro Pisani, who, 
shocked at the inhuman treatment to 
which lunatics had previously been sub¬ 
jected, renounced a life of ease and 
pleasure to devote himself to the ame¬ 
lioration of the condition of this portion 
of his fellow-creatures. He perceived 
that the system which had hitherto 
been followed was false; that to effect 
the cure of madness it was unnecessary 
to have recourse to fetters, strait-waist¬ 
coats, or other harsh and restrictive 
measures; that such tended to confirm 
rather than relieve the malady; but 
that much more might be effected by 
gentleness, persuasion, and humouring 
to some extent the peculiar folly or 
fancy of each patient; and especially, 
that the most efficacious means to divert 
the mind from dwelling on imaginary 
evils was occupation, constant but 
varied. Acting on this principle, bis 
exertions were attended with wonderful 
success; 40 per cent, of his patients on 
the average were restored to reason. 
After many years of unremitting devo¬ 
tion to this noble cause, to which he 
sacrificed his fortune, the venerable 
Baron was cut off by the cholera in 
July 1887, in the 74th year of his age. 

The present building, a large cheerful 
pile of simple architecture, was erected 
in 1825, somewhat on the plan of an 
old Roman villa. Admission is readily 
granted to foreigners. The establish¬ 
ment is divided into 2 distinct sections 
for male and female patients, and each 
section is separated into 4 wards for 
those suffering under different forms 
and degrees of the malady. In the 
spring of 1857 the number of inmates 
was 283, of whom 1G3 were men and 
120 women, all chargeable to the esta¬ 
blishment, save 35, whose friends contri¬ 
buted the sum of Is. 4d. a-day towards 
their support. The first court you enter 
is surrounded by the kitchen, the re¬ 
fectory, the baths, the dispensary, and 
the chapel. Its walls, as well as those 
of many of the chambers, display groups 
of caricatures, whose attitudes and 

f 3 





10G 


PALERMO—ALBERGO DE* POVERI—LA CUBA. 


countenances proclaim them to be lu¬ 
natics, and the work of a lunatic pencil: 
many are the portraits of the patients, 
painted by one another. 

In an inner court is suspended a 
massive chaiu, with the inscription 
“ Nunc laic non stridor ferri tractseque eaten®,” 

to which the poor inmates point with 
triumph and satisfaction. It is sur¬ 
prising how much liberty they are 
allowed, and yet what quiet and order 
reign through the establishment, even 
in the ward of the frenetici. Those 
who are inclined to labour find occu¬ 
pation in the shops of the carpenters, 
shoemakers, and tailors within the 
walls, while others who have a less 
utilitarian bent find employment in 
fitting up courts, passages, and grottoes, 
with many strange conceits worked out 
by their hands. The garden absorbs 
the labour of others, and displays a 
number of exotics, besides fruit-trees 
and flowers in abundance, together with 
a small theatre, r which boasts, in Greek, 
to be “ the most wonderful in all Sicily,” 
a description explained in Latin by the 
fact that it is the work of unskilled 
madmen. 

In the female department the patients 
are encouraged to labour at spinning, 
weaving, lace-making, and embroidery, 
and in other industrial occupations, for 
the benefit of the establishment. The 
revenue of the institution amounts to 
about 2000/. a-year. 

Albergo de' Poveri .—About half a 
mile from the Porta Nuova, on the 
road to Monreale, stands a vast pile 
of massive architecture of appropriate 
plainness, raised by Charles III. in 
1746 for the reception of the poor of 
the city. The architect was Nicola 
Palma (1694-1779). It has a facade 
500 ft. in length, and contains a church, 
several handsome courtyards, and a 
garden. Admission is readily granted 
to foreigners who send-in their cards to 
the superintendent, Count Luccliesi- 
palli. The institution is now confined 
to the poor of the female sex, of whom 
there were in 1857 as many as 861, of 
all ages, under the care of 8 Sisters of 
Charity. The greater part are children 


and young girls, w r ho enter at an early 
age, and never leave the institution 
until they quit it to be married, when 
they receive a downy of 15 ounces, or 
about 11 10s. Their chances of this 
seem small, for they are kept steadily 
employed during the week, and are 
allowed to communicate with the outer 
world only on Sundays and festas for a 
few hours through the gratings of the 
Parlatorio. They are taught to read 
and write, and instructed in household 
matters, as well as in the making of 
maccaroni and other paste, and in the 
manufacture of silk and cotton goods. 
The silk department for the last 60 
years has been under the superintend¬ 
ence of M. Bienvenu Parvin of Paris, 
who does the honours with all the 
courtesy of his nation. The silks and 
bareges are of superior quality to those 
of Catania, and may be purchased on 
the spot at moderate prices. In the 
sacristy of the church is. a Nativity, 
attributed to Pietro Novelli, but its 
authenticity may well be questioned. 
In laying the foundations of this build¬ 
ing a number of ancient tombs were 
discovered, and numerous sarcophagi 
containing human remains, with wea¬ 
pons, armour, coins, vases, and small 
figures of Egyptian character, were 
brought to light. 

La Cuba.—A little beyond the Al¬ 
bergo de’ Poveri, about f of a mile 
from the gates, is a lofty yellow tower, 
enclosed in a courtyard to the 1. of the 
road. It is now used as barracks for 
cavalry, and is sometimes called I 
Borgognoni, from a regiment of Bur¬ 
gundian horse which first occupied it, 
but it is more generally known as La 
Cuba, the name given to it by the Sa¬ 
racens who constructed it. The vulgar 
tradition is, that it received this name 
from a Moorish.prince, who built this 
and its sister-palace the Zisa, and 
named them after his tw r o daughters; 
but it is more probable that it derives 
its appellation from “ Cubat,” a vault,, 
or dome, or from “ Caabali,” a square 
house, as others opine; and in truth, it 
has the appearance of a gigantic block 
cut to a cube, with a square projection, 
in the centre of each side. 






PALERMO—LA CUBA. 


107 


The monotony of the exterior, which 
has few windows, is relieved by pointed 
panels sunk in the surface, as in the 
Zisa, the Favara, and the Torre di Santa 
Ninfa. It is constructed of large ashlar 
masonry, cut with extreme care, and 
now glowing with those warm tints 
which age imparts in southern climes. 
The whole is surmounted by a parapet 
with Arabic inscriptions in relief on a 
red ground, in large Niskhi or running 
characters. The blocks composing the 
parapet fell to the ground some years 
ago, and have only recently been re¬ 
placed ; but whether this has been done 
hi an intelligible manner must be left to 
a De Sacy or Hammer to determine. 
Before they fell, however, the inscrip¬ 
tion was carefully traced by M. Noel 
des Vergers, who gives the following as 
in part the translation :—“ In the name 
of God, the Compassionate, the Mer¬ 
ciful ! Direct hither thy attention, stop, 
and behold ! Thou wilt see a magnifi¬ 
cent object belonging to the best of the 
kings of the earth, William the Second! 
No castle can be worthy of him, and his 

palaces are not sufficient for him. 

It hath been established according to 
the signs of the times, and the chro¬ 
nology of the Lord the Messiah, 1182. 
Praise be to God! may He ever come 
to thine assistance in granting thee 
all kinds of benefits ! Oh, my God! 
from whom cometh all power and all 
security! ” 

The building is so purely Saracenic 
in character, without the slightest trace 
of Norman work about it, that it is 
startling to find it ascribed by this 
Arabic inscription to William the Good, 
in the year 1182. It is possible, how¬ 
ever, that William only repaired an 
edifice previously existing, as there is 
reason to believe was the case with the 
Zisa. The entrance is in the E. front. 
In the centre of the tower is an open 
court, which retains in a recess on the 
S. side a fragment of a honeycomb pen- 
dentive with arabesque reliefs. In a 
chamber on the upper fioor are also 
some slight remains of this honeycomb 
work. But beyond these, all traces of 
the splendour of this once luxurious 
Trianon of the Sicilian sovereigns have j 
long since disappeared, and the bou¬ 


doirs of William the Good and Frede¬ 
rick II. are converted into the bar¬ 
rack-rooms of troopers. This tower was 
polluted by those fearful scenes of blood 
and torture by which the ferocious 
Henry VI. in 1197 took his revenge on 
the followers of Tancred. But it is 
better known as the spot where Boc¬ 
caccio laid the scene of the 6th tale of 
the 5th day of his Decameron. The 
summit of the tower commands a glo¬ 
rious view of Palermo and its plain. 

Whether it be of Moslem or Norman 
construction, the accounts that have 
come down to us of the Cuba in former 
times accord well with its Saracenic 
architecture and appellation. It is thus 
described by Fazello, who wrote in 
1560 : “Attached to the palace, winch 
stood outside the city to the W., was 
an orchard about 2 m. in circumference, 
which was called the Park, or royal 
enclosure. Within it were delightful 
gardens planted with trees of all de¬ 
scriptions, and refreshed by never- 
failing channels of water. Here and 
there also evergreen thickets of laurel 
and myrtle perfumed the ah’. Across 
the enclosure, from the entrance to the 
opposite side, stretched a very long 
portico, with domed pavilions at fre¬ 
quent intervals, open on all sides for 
the enjoyment of the princes; one of 
these pavilions remains entire to this 
day. In the midst of the park was a 
vast fish-pond, containing live fish, 
whose walls were of wonderful thick¬ 
ness, and built of huge squared blocks 
of great antiquity, which, pond remains 
perfect to tliis day, and wants nothing 
but the water and the fish. Over this 
pond impended, and, as it were, brooded, 
the palace built for the delight of the 
princes, of magnificent structiu’e, with 
Saracenic letters graven on the summit, 
the meaning whereof I have not yet 
been able to discover. That nothing 
might be wanting to the royal luxury, 
in one part of this enclosure wild ani¬ 
mals of almost every sort that could 
afford pleasure to the eye or delight to 
the palate were kept in great numbers. 
But all these things are now gone to 
ruin, and their place is occupied by 
private gardens and vineyards. Only 
the outline of the park can be distinctly 






108 


PALERMO—LA CUBOLA-1 CAPPUCCINI. 


traced, because the greater part of its 
walls remains almost perfect. The 
Palermitans still call the place by its 
Saracenic name of Cuba.” It is not 
easy to perceive the ancient reservoir in 
the court around the palace, where the 
troopers now exercise their horses ; and 
the boundary walls of the Park have 
almost disappeared. Traces, however, 
of both still exist, and the vast thick¬ 
ness attributed to the walls of the fish¬ 
pond is borne out by the extant frag¬ 
ments. The “ vaulted pavilion” remains 
entire, as in Fazello’s time. It is known 
by the name of 

La Cubola, and stands some 3 or 4 
furlongs beyond the Cuba, on the oppo¬ 
site side of the road, in the garden 
of the Cavaliere Napoli. His house 
may be recognised by a shield in the 
pediment, bearing a fleur-de-lis. If 
your knock at the portal is not an¬ 
swered, turn down the lane just beyond, 
and try the first large door to the rt. 
In the midst of an orange and lemon 
orchard stands this pavilion, a low 
square tower of ashlar masonry, with 
an open arch of beautiful proportions 
on each side, surrounded by the pecu¬ 
liar Saracenic billet-moulding seen in 
the tower of the Mar tor ana and the 
oldest windows of the Cathedral. The 
tow r er is surmounted by a small and 
graceful cupola, closely resembling 
those of S. Giovanni degli Eremiti, 
with similar pendentives at the angles. 
The whole building is hardly 30 ft. in 
height. A fountain formerly played 
in the centre, and traces of seats are 
visible within the piers. This little 
lodge in its orange-grove is perhaps the 
most genuine relic of Saracenic archi¬ 
tecture around Palermo; so thoroughly 
oriental is it, that it transports you in 
imagination to the neighbourhood of 
Cairo or Damascus. 

Convento de' Cappuccini .—A little 
beyond the Cuba a road opens to the 
rt., terminated by the Capuchin con¬ 
vent, which stands about a mile from 
the city. It contains nothing remark¬ 
able beyond a subterranean cemetery, 
such as are common enough in Sicily, 
but strange to the northern traveller. 


Before descending, the attention is 
arrested by two paintings at the side of 
the door, one representing the death of 
the good man, surrounded by priests 
and angels; the other that of the 
sinner, whose last moments are em¬ 
bittered by visions of fiends and flames. 
The cemetery has been well described 
by M. P. E. Botta. 

“ The subterranean parts of the con¬ 
vent are divided into a great number 
of galleries, in the walls of which many 
niches have been cut, as if it had at 
first been intended to place statues 
there; but nov T there are ranges of 
monuments, much more expressive 
than statues. These are dead bodies. 
Monks and nobles, priests and laymen, 
are there to be seen standing in the 
costume of their rank or profession. 
Each of these corpses occupies a small 
cell, to which it is attached by the 
back. It must not be imagined by 
this description that they resemble a 
collection of mummies. They seem 
to have preserved their vitality, and 
to move and gesticulate, and some 
ciceroni even pretend that they have 
sometimes spoken to the astonished 
tourist. As, with the exception of 
their clothing, these corpses are not 
at all confined, and their members are 
not in the least restrained, they are 
subject to no other influences than 
the curious phenomena which result 
from the greater or less contractibility 
of their tissues. Some of them are as 
stiff and upright as a sentinel in his 
box; others, on the contrary, seem to 
bend in different positions; others, 
again, are thrown backward, and their 
members are distorted as if they were 
suffering horrible torments. One ap¬ 
pears in a state of demoniac fury ; you 
see another like a victim tied to a 
stake; and further on, one whose gro¬ 
tesque postures and manners remind 
you of the buffoonery of a clown. 
There is, indeed, no violent passion or 
exaggerated expression which does not 
find a representation here.” By the 
process of desiccation the skin and 
muscles become as hard as a piece of 
stock-fisli, and, though some have been 
here nearly 3 centuries, it were vain 
to look for a skeleton among them. 



PALERMO-LE CATACOMBE— CASINO BUTERA. 


109 


The scene would be grotesque enough 
if it were not unspeakably ghastly, 
and few will behold it for the first 
time without strong feelings of dis¬ 
gust at this degrading caricature of 
Death. It is not so with the Sicilians. 
“ Here the people of Palermo pay daily 
visits to their deceased friends, and 
recall with pleasure and regret the 
scenes of their past life; here they 
familiarise themselves with their fu¬ 
ture state, and choose the company 
they would wish to keep in the other 
world. It is a common thing to make 
choice of their niche, and to try if then- 
body fits it, that no alterations may 
be necessary after they are dead; and 
sometimes, by way of a voluntary 
penance, they accustom themselves to 
stand for hours in these niches.” — 
Brydone. “This abode of melancholy 
has its fete- day — the jour des morts. 
Upon that solemn occasion the dark¬ 
ness is dissipated by the lustre of the 
illuminations, and the usual stillness 
is broken by the clamour of crowds. 
The dead bodies are previously decked 
out in gala array; the old clothing of 
the last year is replaced by new, which 
is to serve for the next; and in order 
that nothing may be wanting to set 
them off, nosegays are placed in their 
hands, and their foreheads are sprinkled 
with odoriferous scents; but this pious 
and melancholy duty is never fulfilled 
by wives aud mothers; for, by a strange 
law, no living woman is allowed to 
visit this tomb, and no dead one to 
inhabit it.”— Botta. 

Le Catacombe. — Just outside the 
Porta d’Ossuua is a subterranean ceme¬ 
tery, discovered in the year 1785, the 
only relic of the classic days of Palermo 
which remains in situ to satisfy the 
curiosity of the traveller. The key 
is in the possession of the Prince of 
Trabia, but on application to him 
through the landlord of the hotel he 
will send his servant with it at the 
hour appointed. You descend into a 
narrow winding passage cut in the 
rock, lighted at intervals by holes in 
the roof, and with large semicircular 
vaults opening in the walls on either 
hand. These vaults contain sarco¬ 


phagi sunk in the rock, sometimes 
side by side, sometimes stretching in 
different directions, generally open, but 
here and there still covered with stone 
slabs. No remains have been found 
here to mark the period when, or the 
race by whom, this cemetery was con¬ 
structed, and the rock has so crumbled 
away as to lose whatever architectural 
decorations it may once have possessed. 
But though the local antiquaries 
ascribe to it a Carthaginian origin, 
there can be little doubt that this 
cemetery, which in general character 
closely resembles the catacombs at 
Rome, Naples, and other places in Italy, 
as well as those at Syracuse, must 
be referred chiefly, if not entirely, to the 
early Christian inhabitants of Palermo. 

Casino Butera. — The broad road 
which runs from the western angle of 
the city, between orchards and gar¬ 
dens, leads at the distance of half a 
mile to the Piano deW Olivuzza , an open 
space flanked by the Casini, or coun¬ 
try-houses of the Palermitan nobility. 
Here to the 1. is the villa of the Duke 
of Monteleone; to the rt. those of the 
Princess of Butera and the Duke of 
Serradifalco. Admission to that of 
Butera is granted only to those bring¬ 
ing an order, which is easily obtained 
through the landlord of the hotel, for 
which he charges 2 tar'i. 

The Casino is a long low building, 
half Gothic, half classic, with a large 
garden attached, adorned with statues, 
fountains, and pavilions, and where 
the productions of the tropics flourish 
side by side with those of the island 
and of other temperate climes. Here 
you see the sago, the banana, the pan- 
danus, the bamboo, the arum, the 
Norfolk Island pine, the tree mag¬ 
nolia, and the floral glories of Aus¬ 
tralia and the Cape, growing with the 
date, the dwarf-palm, the papyrus, the 
oleander, the orange, and the citron, 
while flowers in gay and varied pro¬ 
fusion charm the eye and load the 
atmosphere with perfume. The gar¬ 
dens are laid out with much taste, and 
the limited space is turned to the best 
advantage. The view from an Ionic 
pavilion over Palermo and its environs 




110 


PALERMO—CASINO SERRADIFALCO—LA ZISA. 


is remarkably fine. Several trees are 
pointed out as planted by the Emperor 
Nicholas, when, as General Romanoff, 
he occupied this casino during the 
winter of 1845-6 ; and in the house is 
shown a superb malachite vase pre¬ 
sented by the autocrat to the Princess 
of Butera. 

Casino Serradifalco. — This house 
contains a gallery of pictures, among 
which are a Holy Family by Ghirlan- 
dajo , an Interior by Rubens, the Is¬ 
raelites in the Desert by G. Poussin, a 
Monk by Champagne, a Martyrdom 
of St. Stephen by Novelli, and other 
works by Teniers, Polidoro, &c. There 
is also a choice collection of vases and 
other objects of antiquity. The Duke 
has acquired an European reputation 
for his researches into the antiquities 
of his native. island, mediaeval as well 
as classical, which he has made known 
to the world in many elegant and 
princely folios. The gardens attached 
to the casino are not so extensive as 
those of the Butera, but tastefully laid 
out. As you wander through the 
winding alleys and shady groves you 
perceive here a statue or monumental 
bust, there a fountain; now some relic 
of ancient days, now an ivy-mantled 
ruin; in one quarter a pavilion domi¬ 
nating the grounds and surrounding 
country, in another a labyrinth of 
tangled shrubs, with rustic hermitages 
full of humorous conceits and startling- 
illusions. In one pavilion is a Bac¬ 
chante in marble, by Valerio Villareale, 
sculptured in 1838. Her attitude and 
face are full of abandon ; her figure vo¬ 
luptuous, but wanting in refinement. 

La Zisa. —Close to the Olivuzza, to 
the S., stands the old palace of the 
Zisa, at the distance of nearly a mile 
from the Porta Nuova. Its origin and 
name are Saracenic. Fazello, on the 
authority of Moslem antiquaries, re¬ 
fers the latter to Azisa, the daughter 
of one of the Moslem princes of Sicily, 
whose sister Cuba gave her name to 
the neighbouring palace; but Morso 
derives it from the Arabic aaziz —“ ex¬ 
cellent, magnificent ”—a name it may 


well have received from the richness 
of its decorations. 

It was built, according to Fazello, 
as a voluptuous retreat by the Sara¬ 
cenic fprinces; and with its gorgeous 
decorations of marble, porphyry, and 
mosaic-work, it surpassed in splendour 
all the royal palaces of Italy of his 
day. It stood, not open to the road 
as at present, but in the midst of a 
spacious garden full of fruit-trees, and 
watered by perpetual springs. The 
palace was altered by William I. to 
such an extent that he is said by Ro- 
mualdo of Salerno to have built it ; 
but this must not be received literally, 
for the said king is stated by a con¬ 
temporary writer to have built the 
Royal Palace within the walls, though 
we know he only effected certain addi¬ 
tions and repairs. In truth, the vari¬ 
eties of style within the building, the 
purely Saracenic character of the con¬ 
struction and architecture, and the ma¬ 
nifest Norman alterations, bear out the 
generally received tradition of its Mo¬ 
hammedan origin. 

The Zisa is a lofty square tower of 
3 stories, constructed of large ashlar 
masonry of yellow stone neatly put 
together. The exterior is relieved and 
ornamented with long pointed panels, 
as in the Cuba, the Favara, and the 
ancient portion of the Palazzo Reale; 
the windows are now small and square, 
whatever form they may originally 
have had. A battlement surmounts 
the whole, and on this is an Arabic 
inscription, not continuous, as in the 
Cuba, but running from stone to stone 
between the embrasures, and in most 
portions quite obliterated. The faqade 
lias been disfigured by the insertion of 
windows, balconies, and a large es¬ 
cutcheon. Nor is the doorway with its 
low segmental arch, now opening on 
the road, in its original state. It had 
a lofty pointed arch rising half-way into 
the 2nd story, as may be traced by the 
voussoirs in the masonry. It is now 
closed only by an iron grating, so that 
the beautiful hall within is visible from 
the road. To enter, however, you 
must ascend a flight of steps at the 
side of the palace, from which you de¬ 
scend again to the hall. 




PALERMO—LA ZISA. 


111 


The hall is in the form of a Greek 
cross, having a deep alcove on three 
of its sides, vaulted with that elabo¬ 
rate honey comb-work so co mm on in 
the roofs of the Alhambra. In the two 
side recesses are lattice-work gratings, 
but in that opposite the doorway is a 
fountain which gushes from the wall 
down an artificial slope, and flows in 
a channel across the pavement. This 
fountain is unlike any in Saracenic 
buildings, and is proved to be a Norman 
innovation by the chevron on the 
slope. The places of the original foun¬ 
tains are marked by octagonal sinkings 
in the pavement, and the channel 
which connected them and carried their 
waters into the garden still remains. 
The hall, as Mr. Knight observes, “ is 
not the less curious for having been 
worked upon by the Normans, in con¬ 
sequence of which it now exhibits the 
blended performances of the two na¬ 
tions — Norman and Saracenic orna¬ 
ments side by side. The Norman 
additions are small marble pillars and 
mosaics.” The granite columns intro¬ 
duced at the angles, with bases and 
foliated capitals of white marble, are a 
Saracenic feature, yet the capitals, with 
birds in pairs plucking fruit from the 
volutes, show a Norman restoration. 
The mosaics above them, on a gold 
ground, are of the same period; some 
representing archers and peacocks in 
medallions over the fountain are almost 
the counterparts of those in the Palazzo 
Beale; while the band of foliage which 
encircles the hall is purely Byzantine 
in character. Nothing, indeed, of the 
hall, beyond its plan, its honeycomb 
roof, and the fountains in the pave¬ 
ment, can be referred to the Saracens. 
Of its pristine beauty little remains, 
for the colour and gold which blazed 
on its fretted roof are lost under suc¬ 
cessive coats of whitewash, and a great 
part of its mosaic decorations lias been 
replaced by wretched frescoes which 
have been attributed to Novelli, though 
it is difficult to suppose them the work 
even of his earliest days. 

The doorway which separates the 
hall from the antechamber lias now a 
segmental arch like the outer door, 
but this is also a restoration, for it 


originally rose in a lofty pointed arch 
to correspond with that in the facade. 
Both inner and outer arches rest on 
coupled columns of cipollino, granite, 
and porphyry, with Corinthian capitals 
of white marble sharply cut. The 
abaci, which are continuous, are adorned 
with beautiful scroll foliage in relief, 
of Byzantine character. 

As usual in Arabian buildings, the 
vestibule is very wide but shallow. 
On its inner wall, about 12 ft. from 
the ground, and on a line with the 
abaci of the columns, is a long Arabic 
inscription in the cursive character, 
in letters about a foot high, which has 
puzzled the learned and received a 
variety of interpretations. The last 
word is “Alaziz,” which is believed 
to have given its name to the palace. 
Above the inscription is a band of 
foliage, from which probably sprung 
a pointed roof, instead of the waggon¬ 
headed vault which now covers the 
antechamber. On the walls are a 
number of inscriptions in Spanish 
verse, in the inflated style of Gongora 
and his school, sounding the praises 
of the palace and its proprietors of 
the Sandoval family, one of whom re¬ 
paired it in 1G3G, “ut nova prseberet 
otia Panonni Paradisus,” to which 
period the stanzas are probably to be 
referred. 

The Zisa now belongs to the Mar- 
chese di San Giovanni, and is inha¬ 
bited; but it has been so altered to 
suit modern convenience that there is 
little to see on the upper floors be¬ 
yond the honeycomb vaultings within 
the recesses of the windows. Let not 
the visitor, however, fail to ascend the 
116 steps to the roof, which is flat and 
surrounded by battlements, and which 
commands a view of such unparalleled 
beauty over the city and Conca d’Oro 
that the inscription above the doorway 
in no way exaggerates its charms : 

“ Del orbe Europa es honor— 

De Europa Italia verjel— 

Sicilia compendio del— 

Y esta vista la mejor! ” 

At the back of the palace is the 
garden, or what remains of it. It was 
in good preservation 3 centuries since, 
for it is thus described by Leandro 



112 


PALERMO—LA ZISA—STA. OLIVA. 


Alberti, wlio visited it in 1526 :—“ At 
a short distance in front of the prin¬ 
cipal entrance appears a beautiful 
square fishpond, which is fed by the 
waters of the fountain in the hall. It 
has a circuit of 200 ft., and is lined 
with reticulated masonry, skilfully 
wrought, each side being 50 ft. in 
length. In the midst thereof is a 
beautiful square edifice, approached by 
a little bridge of stone, which leads to 
a small oblong chamber, with a win¬ 
dow on each side. From this you 
enter a decorated chamber, with 3 
beautiful windows, the front one look¬ 
ing on the palace, each divided by a 
banded pillar of the finest marble. 
The ceiling is vaulted and superbly 
ornamented in the Moorish style ; the 
floor is paved with an elaborate tessela- 
tion of marble. In this room the ladies 
of the palace used to assemble and 
amuse themselves by looking from the 
windows at the fish swimming in the 
clear waters below; while their dam¬ 
sels, from the windows of the outer 
room, enjoyed the same recreation. A 
flight of marble steps led down into 
the pond. All round it was a beautiful 
garden of orange, citron, lemon, and 
other fruit-bearing trees. Many re¬ 
mains of ancient buildings are yet to 
be seen in the neighbourhood, which 
show that here stood many large and 
handsome edifices, both for the family 
of the princes and for the entertain¬ 
ment of strangers.” Luxuriant orange- 
groves still stretch in unbroken sheets 
of foliage almost to the foot of the steep 
mountains which bound the plain on 
the W. The fish-pond has ceased to 
exist, but in front of the palace is a 
fountain with a female figure, erected 
in 1669, and an inscription which 
claims for the* Zisa an antiquity of 11 
centuries. 

It is difficult to believe with some 
modern writers that the Cuba and 
the Zisa were constructed by the Nor¬ 
man princes. That they were the 
work of Saracenic artists there exists 
not a doubt, and that they were erected 
in Moslem tunes seems highly pro¬ 
bable from the fact that they show no 
mixture of the Norman element in 
their architecture or in their decora¬ 


tions, save where these are manifest 
innovations. “ Independent, ’ says 
Mr. Knight, “ of the Arabic names, 
the Arabic inscriptions, and the con¬ 
current testimony of several ancient 
historians, the evidence of the cha¬ 
racter, the plan, and the construction 
of these buildings, affords the most 
convincing proof of their Saracenic 
origin. Dissimilar in plan from the 
keeps of the north, the Zisa and Cuba 
exactly resemble the palaces of the 
Arabs, as described by Leo Africanus 
and other ancient writers, and as re¬ 
produced at this day in the countries 
which that nation inhabits.” 

L' Addolorata, or parisli-cliurch of 
La Zisa, contains a large altar-piece 
by Pietro Novelli, representing the 
Holy Trinity. Dark in tone and in a 
wretched light, it is not easy at once 
to perceive the merits of this picture, 
but he who lias patience to examine it 
will find much beauty in the heads, 
particularly in those of St. Anne, St. 
Joseph, and an attendant angel. The 
picture is in a wretched condition, with 
the paint peeling from the canvas. In 
the sacristy attached to the church 
may be recognised a chapel of Norman 
times. 

L' Annunziata. —The church oppo¬ 
site the Zisa, attached to the Fran¬ 
ciscan convent, and conspicuous with 
its red dome, has in the 3rd chapel to 
1. a good picture of the Holy Family, 
inferior in size, but not in merit, to that 
just described. It is also from Novell i's 
pencil. 

Santa Oliva, belonging to the Mi¬ 
norite friars of S. Francesco di Paola, 
by which name it is also known, is 
a few hundred yards outside the 
Porta di Carini, and not far from the 
Porta Macqueda. The church, though 
founded in 1518, in its present con¬ 
dition has little architectural interest. 
Its attractions lie in 2 large pictures 
in the tribune, by unknown masters. 
That on 1. wall, representing the Ado¬ 
ration of the Shepherds, is an excellent 
picture, as regards conception, composi¬ 
tion, and drawing, and, in colour, hardly 





PALERMO-GIARDINO INGLESE—LA FAVOR1TA. 


113 


inferior to the best works of the Vene¬ 
tian school. 

On the opposite wall of the tri¬ 
bune is the Birth of John the Baptist. 
Here the composition wants simplicity 
and unity, the figures and incidents 
are commonplace, the lights scattered, 
but there is truth to nature, elabora¬ 
tion of ornament, and surprising Bril¬ 
liancy and richness of colour. 

In the 5th chapel to rt. is a modern 
monument to the Princess Trabia r by 
Villareale of Palermo, executed in his 
78th year; and in the 1. transept a 
more ancient and interesting one to a 
lady of the Caravelli family, who died 
in 1546, and whose figure reclines on 
the sarcophagus. The 1st chapel to 
1. contains a picture by Giuseppe Al- 
vino, called Lo Sozzo, with the date of 
1607. It represents the dead Saviour 
in the arms of the Almighty, with St. 
Lawrence and St. Bartholomew in the 
foreground. 

Villa Filippino,, outside the Porta di 
Carini, and close to S. Francesco di 
Paola, is a large quadrangular garden 
enclosed by high walls, and surrounded 
by an arcade resting on piers and sup¬ 
porting a terrace which forms a de¬ 
lightful promenade. The walls of the 
arcade are covered with frescoes illus¬ 
trating the life and miracles of our 
Saviour, bv Vito <T Anna and Antonino 
Manno. The villa belongs to the 
brethren of S. Filippo Neri, at the 
Olivella, and an order from one of them 
is necessary for admittance. 

Giardino Inglese or Strada Liberia. 
—This promenade runs from the Porta 
Macquetla towards the Colli, where 
most of the villas of the Palermitan aris¬ 
tocracy are situated. It is fianked by 
stone seats and shaded by young plane- 
trees enshrouded with roses, while on 
either hand are groves of the olive, 
cactus, and orange, varied by wide- 
spreading pines or dusky cypresses. At 
the further end is a garden, to whose 
picturesque variety of surface, pathway, 
and production, the promenade owes 
its name. This is the Hyde Park of 
Palermo. In the afternoon it is peo¬ 
pled by a gay crowd driving up and I 


down in smart equipages, in which 
many a compliment is paid to English 
taste, or parading beneath the trees 
and enjoying the view over the luxu¬ 
riant foliage to the soft blue bay, with 
its rampart of rugged mountains. 

La Favorita, a royal villa, 4 or 5 
miles from Palermo, lying beneath 
the precipices of Monte Pellegrino. 
To obtain admittance an order from 
the Marchese di S. Giorgio is neces¬ 
sary, which can be procured by the 
landlord of the hotel. The road to it 
lies through the English Garden, and 
then across 1 Colli, a portion of the 
plain thickly studded with villas, 
passing the fiery red casino of the 
Marchese Spaccaforno, with the more 
sober Villa Ranchabili on the 1., and 
the long Villa Airoldi on the rt., 
fronted with an array of female busts 
in varied fashions of head-dress, but 
all with one bosom bare. Just be¬ 
yond this a large gateway, flanked by 
couchant lions, gives access to the 
gardens of the Favorita ; but to reach 
the palace you must drive a mile or 
two farther, taking the road to the 
rt. The casino, built by Ferdinand I. 
during his forced residence in Sicily, 
is in the Chinese style, ugly and un¬ 
couth, and in its every part gives proof 
of eccentricity. You first descend into 
the ball-room, which is underground; 
then mount to the dining-room, where 
by a simple contrivance the table is 
supplied directly from the kitchen, so 
as to dispense with the services of 
attendants. In the bed-rooms the 
Chinese style gives place to others. 
One room is furnished a la Turque, with 
divans presented by the Sultan ; an¬ 
other has decorations from the walls of 
Pompeii; a third is lined with Siculo- 
Norman mosaics; a fourth is adorned 
with bas-relief portraits of the royal 
family, with inscriptions that do credit 
to the heart of the old king. Two 
corkscrew staircases lead up to the 
Chamber of the Winds on the roof, 
which commands a magnificent view 
over the plain and encircling moun¬ 
tains. 

Hard by the palace is a handsome 
fountain surrounded by Egyptian heads, 




114 


PALERMO—THE PORT. 


with a Doric column in the centre sup¬ 
porting a cast of the Farnese Hercules. 
The grounds are very spacious, extend¬ 
ing for several miles along the base 
of Monte Pellegrino as far as the little 
secluded bay of Mondello. They are 
filled with foliage in rich profusion 
and variety, in which the utile con¬ 
tends with the dulce; the olive, the 
orange, the walnut, and the manna-ash, 
mingling with the ilex, the plane, the 
cypress, and the laurestinus, while the 
vine, the sumach, and corn diversify 
the glories of southern horticulture. 
You are allowed to drive through the 
grounds. The Favorita was so called 
from being the favourite abode of Ferdi¬ 
nand I. during his residence in Sicily 
at the beginning of this century, and 
has sundry interesting associations con¬ 
nected with the English occupation of 
the island. Chief of these is the coup 
d'etat of Lord William Bentinck in 
1812. The old king had resigned the 
sovereign power unreservedly to his 
son Francis, the hereditary prince, and 
had engaged to send his queen, who 
was continually plotting against the 
British, out of the island. But sud¬ 
denly resuming the reins of govern¬ 
ment, he placed himself in opposition 
to Lord Bentinck, who demanded that 
lie should strictly keep his engage¬ 
ments, on pain of being treated as an 
enemy of Great Britain, and gave him 
a few days for consideration. The 
king refused to comply with these de¬ 
mands, and left Palermo for La Favo¬ 
rita, where he thought, in the midst of 
his adherents, to be able to set the 
British Minister at defiance. The Paler¬ 
mitans flocked out to the Favorita, not 
from sympathy with their monarch, 
whom they abhorred, but to witness 
the threatened contest between him and 
his allies, and they established a sort 
of fan- around the royal villa. But 
Lord Bentinck, on the night preceding 
the day on which the king was to 
return a definitive answer, marched all 
the British troops in Palermo to the 
gates of the villa, when the king, find¬ 
ing him in earnest, and that resistance 
was useless, acceded to all his demands. 

Idituto Castelnuovo .—On your re¬ 


turn from the Favorita stop at a large 
yellow building with an open Doric 
colonnade, bearing the inscription, 
“To Sicilian agriculture.” This was 
erected by the bequest of Carlo Cot- 
tone, Prince of Castelnuovo, some 30 
years since, for the instruction of youths 
in the principles and practice of agri¬ 
culture. They are admitted between 
the ages of 12 and 19, and remain 
7 years in the institution, when they 
are fitted to take posts as fattori, or 
stewards to landed proprietors. Each 
pays 20 onze, or about 10 guineas, 
a-year, which sum covers all expenses 
of clothing, boarding, and instruction, 
not only in agriculture, but in the usual 
branches of a commercial education. 
There is a free school within the build¬ 
ing, where the children of the neigh¬ 
bourhood are taught the rudiments of 
knowledge on the Lancasterian plan. 
There are also a chapel and a museum 
attached, and extensive grounds for the 
practice of the students. Here are long 
avenues of cypresses and laurestinus, 
a rustic theatre, and a fountain with a 
statue of Music by Ignazio Marabitti. 


The Port. 

The road which runs from the Porta 
di S. Giorgio along the shores of the 
Port towards Monte Pellegrino, passes 
through the noisy, bustling, crowded, 
and dirty suburb of 11 Bor go, the resort 
of soldiers, sailors, and fishermen, and 
of those who minister to their wants 
and prey upon them. At the distance 
of a mile from the gate is a large open 
space called Piano de’ Quattro Yenti. 
Here the road forks; one branch runs 
straight on beneath the walls of the 
Vicaria towards the Favorita; another 
a little to the rt. terminates at the foot 
of Monte Pellegrino; and a third con¬ 
tinues round the shores of the Port to 
Belmonte. 

Vicaria .—Tins prison is of recent 
erection, and externally resembles a 
polygonal fort of yellow stone, with 
towers at the angles, enclosing 3 lofty, 
detached buildings, arranged on the 
panoptical principle, with their inn er 




PALERMO-THE TORT-CASINO BELMONTE. 


115 


ends converging towards a common 
centre. This prison was completed in 
1840, previous to which the inmates 
had been confined in the building now 
known as the Reali Finanze in the 
Cassaro, in the most frequented portion 
of the city, which became not only an 
eyesore, but a positive nuisance, literally 
and morally polluting the atmosphere 
of the neighbourhood. 

Arsenale. —Taking the road round 
the Port, between long lines of Bar¬ 
racks raised by Philip IV., and now 
the principal quarters of the troops 
stationed in Palermo, and passing 
the Beale Casa di Correzione, or 
Royal House of Correction, you pre¬ 
sently reach the Arsenal, erected in 
1630 by Mariano Smiriglio, architect 
to the Senate. It is a wide building 
of yellow stone, resting on 4 noble 
arches, intended as slips for the con¬ 
struction of small craft, but now used 
as magazines for naval stores. The 
upper floor, whose lowness injures the 
majesty of the edifice, is now em¬ 
ployed as a prison for galley-slaves. 

Beale Seminarlo Nautico. --Adjoin¬ 
ing the Arsenal is the Royal Nautical 
College, founded in 1789 by Giuseppe 
Gioeni, a mean building, enclosing a 
court, in which stands a figure of Nep¬ 
tune, but an excellent institution, as 
it furnishes Sicily with skilful pilots 
and mariners. 

Molo. —At the entrance to the Mole 
is a small square battlemented fort, 
with towers at the angles. The Mole 
is a fine work, nearly | of a mile in 
length, defended to seaward by an 
artificial barrier of rocks. The natural 
port of Palermo having been almost 
choked in the course of centuries, it 
was found necessary in the reign of 
Philip II. to provide a substitute, and 
the first stone of this Mole was laid 
in 1567 by the Viceroy Don Garcia 
de Toledo; it was completed in 1590 
by the Viceroy D. Diego Henriquez 
de Guzman, the architect being Ma¬ 
riano Smiriglio , and was esteemed in 
that day a triumph of art, not inferior 
to the works of ancient Rome. At its 


extremity is a lighthouse, erected in 
1593 by the Count of Olivares, with a 
telegraph, enclosed by a small battery. 
The whole cost the Senate nearly a 
million sterling. The port is capable 
of containing a large number of vessels, 
and is defended from every wind save 
those between the E. and N.E., which 
render it difficult for a ship to leave 
the port, as the W. and N.W. winds 
prevent it from entering. 

Lazzaretto. —About J of a mile be¬ 
yond the Mole towards Monte Pelle¬ 
grino, and on the rocky bay of Acqua 
Santa, is the Lazzaretto, founded in 
1628, and restored and enlarged in 
1833, which has no interest for the 
English traveller, beyond containing 
within its walls the Protestant ceme¬ 
tery, shaded by cypresses. 

Casino Belmonte. —On the slope above 
the village of Acqua Santa stands the 
villa of the Prince of Belmonte, a hand¬ 
some pile of yellow stone, with a double 
portico. It is situated amid the rocky 
declivities at the foot of Monte Pelle¬ 
grino ; its grounds, adorned with foun¬ 
tains, statues, temples, and pavilions, 
with a gorgeous array of flowers, and 
a luxuriant vegetation of orange and 
other fruit-trees, sobered here and there 
by the lofty pine and cypress, have all 
the additional charms of a most pictu¬ 
resque variety of surface, of a back¬ 
ground composed of the stupendous red 
precipices of the mountain, and of a 
view in front of unparalleled magnifi¬ 
cence. This is seen to most advantage 
from the Moorish kiosque, at the highest 
part of • the grounds. On the side of 
the house is a stone bearing the auto¬ 
graph of the Emperor Nicholas, who 
spent the winter of 1845-6 in Palermo. 

Near the Casino is a spring of saline 
water, said to resemble Epsom salts, 
which lias given the name of Acqua 
Santa to the hamlet. 

Mondello. —Beyond Belmonte a pic¬ 
turesque path leads round the base of 
Monte Pellegrino to the little bay of 
Mondello, which separates that moun¬ 
tain from Monte Gallo. Carriages 
cannot proceed much beyond Bel¬ 
monte, but a delightful excursion may 



116 


PALERMO—MONDELLO. 


be made on foot or horseback to that 
bay, returning to Palermo through the 
grounds of the Favorita. A little 
beyond Belmonte a road opens to rt. 
to the hamlet of L'Arenella, where is 
a tunny-fishery. Rather more than 
1 m. beyond Belmonte is the Campo 
Santo Comunale, a large enclosure, 
where the victims of the cholera in 
1854 were interred. Beyond this is 
the Tonnara della Vergine Maria, an¬ 
other village, where the tunny-fishery 
gives employment to some 200 souls. 
The mountain rises above the road in 
tremendous walls of red or grey rock, 
feathered with spurge and cactus ; 
and apparently on the highest point, 
at the very verge of the precipice, the 
white statue of Santa Rosalia gleams 
against the blue sky. There are sun¬ 
dry caverns of vast size in the preci¬ 
pices above you, hung with stalactites 
in fantastic forms, which have received 
various names from the peasantry, 
such as Grotta de' Morselli, facing the 
E.; Grotta del Passarello, more to the 
N.; and Grotta dell’ A lloro, or G. Per- 
ciata. Others of the same description, 
and called Le Giarraffe, are hollowed 
by the sea in the low cliffs at your 
feet. Crossing the slopes at the base 
of the mountain, which are green with 
corn, sumach, and vines, and dotted 
with olives and carobs, you pass a 
rocky point, and the sandy bay of 
Mondello opens to the view. It is a 
quiet, secluded spot, surrounded by the 
vineyards and shrubberies of the Fa¬ 
vorite, and overhung by the precipices 
of Monte Pellegrino, which here termi¬ 
nates in an abrupt wedge of rock. The 
geologist should not omit to visit a 
cavern, called Grotta Perciata, at the 
northern point of M. Gallo, and at 
160 feet above the sea, which was dis¬ 
covered in 1859 to contain a quantity 
of fossil bones of various animals. On 
the return to Palermo the road lies 
through the royal grounds of La Favo¬ 
rita, which on this side are open, with no 
jealous Cerberus to guard the portal. 

To those fond of the water the ex¬ 
cursion from Palermo to the bay of 
Mondello by sea will offer many attrac¬ 
tions. Besides the wild magnificence 
of Monte Pellegrino, whose red preci¬ 


pices tower to the very zenith on the 
one hand, the low cliffs at their base 
have most singular and picturesque 
features, thus described by the French 
naturalist, M. de Quatrefages: “ Na¬ 
ture has here produced one of those 
beautiful effects which would be a 
study to the painter. The porosity 
and unequal density of the calcareous 
stone of which the shore is formed 
have made it yield in every direction 
to the force of the waves, which have 
entered every crevice and washed over 
every point, until the entire mass has 
been undermined and broken up on all 
sides. These semi-arches, which are 
crowned and garlanded by the cactus 
and other shrubs, give rise to a perfect 
labyrinth of grottoes, which defies all 
description. It would require the skill 
of the most accomplished artist to give 
an idea of the marvellous admixture 
of forms, colours, and effects produced 
by the vast halls, where irregular 
porticoes, with strangely contorted pil¬ 
lars, seem cut out of colossal agates; 
and where all the most widely differing 
colours, from milky white to blood red 
or raven black, are blended together, 
varied and contrasted in the most 
striking manner. But no artist’s 
touch can convey an idea of those sub¬ 
marine grottoes, those narrow and 
deep fissures, in which the waves are 
engulfed and swallowed up amid the 
strangest and wildest sounds. The 
slight ripple raised by our small bark 
sufficed to awaken these singular 
voices, which fell upon the ear like the 
prolonged cry of some giant monster 
whose rest had been abruptly dis¬ 
turbed. What, then, must be the 
awful rush of sounds given forth from 
these thousand-mouthed oj>enings when 
they meet the shock of the high bil¬ 
lows as they are driven onwards by the 
blast of the tempest!” 


Monte Pellegrino. 

Monte Pellegrino is a mass of calca¬ 
reous rock, rising to the height of 
1963 Eng. ft. above the sea, and sur¬ 
rounded on all sides by inaccessible 



PALERMO—MONTE PELLEGRINO—GROTTA DI S. ROSALIA. 117 


precipices, save on that facing Palermo, 
where a natural depression has been 
taken advantage of to form a zigzag 
road to the summit. The mountain 
was called Ercta (’Ep/cWj) by the Greeks 
—a word expressive of its impregnable 
character. By the Saracens it was 
designated Belgrin, or “ neighbouring 
mountain,” which has been corrupted 
into Pellegrino, a name now rendered 
appropriate by the pilgrimages made 
for more than two centuries past to the 
shrine of Santa Rosalia on the summit. 
The Carthaginians made this height 
a stronghold, which they were com¬ 
pelled to yield to the assault of Pyr¬ 
rhus and his Epirots; though in the 
First Punic War Hamilcar Barcas 
held it for nearly 3 years against all 
the efforts of the Romans to dislodge 
him. Polybius accurately describes it 
as a rough and craggy mountain rising 
from the plain to a considerable height, 
and surrounded by almost inaccessible 
precipices; but he exaggerates its size 
when he calls it more than 100 stadia 
or 12 m. in circumference at the top. 
It is about that size at its base, and 
may measure round the edge of its 
dills between 8 and 9 m. 

The mountain is not of difficult ac¬ 
cess, as there is an excellent road as 
far as the Grotto, constructed in the 
last century at great expense. No one 
who is not absolutely an invalid should 
omit to ascend Monte Pellegrino, and 
a clear day should be selected, when 
the view from the summit well repays 
any amount of fatigue. It is possible 
to reach the Grotto in a carriage, but 
the true lover of mountain-scenery will 
do it on foot, in which case he may 
drive to the base of the mountain, 
rather more than 2 m. from the city, 
for the sum of 3 or 4 tari, and the 
ascent from this point to the Grotto 
will take him little more than one 
hour. Or he may charter a donkey in 
Palermo to carry him to the summit 
for 4 tari, with an equal sum in addi¬ 
tion for the driver, should he take 
one. 

The lower part of the ascent is 
paved and very steep, zigzagging up¬ 
wards in short and sharp turns, by a 
series of bridges spanning a hollow, 


which in winter is the bed of a tor¬ 
rent. This causeway is aptly termed 
La Scala, or the Staircase. When it 
is surmounted, halt a moment to enjoy 
the enchanting scene that lies beneath 
you of Palermo, its port, the plain, the 
bay, and the mountainous coast to 
the eastward, seen through a frame¬ 
work of naked precipices. The road 
now runs in a more gentle ascent 
northwards, with the bare craggy 
slope above it on the rt., and a deep 
rocky hollow on the other hand, be¬ 
neath which stretches the rich plain 
of Palermo, sprinkled with hamlets 
and villas, among which the parti¬ 
coloured Favorita is conspicuous amid 
its dark groves. At the shoulder of 
the mountain, and at the height of 
1474 Eng. ft. above the sea, is a small 
oratory, or wayside cross, called La 
Croce, where the Hermitage or Grotto 
of Santa Rosalia comes into view at a 
short distance. It is a gloomy-looking 
building at the base of a lofty eliffi 
and occupies the very spot where, on 
the 15th July, 1G24, the bones of the 
saint were discovered for the salvation 
of Palermo. To satisfy curiosity we 
will give a slight sketch of the history 
of the patron-saint, according to the 
version received by the citizens. 

Santa Rosalia was born at Palermo 
in the year 1130, of parents nearly 
allied to the blood-royal of Sicily, and 
boasting also a descent from Charle¬ 
magne. She is generally supposed to 
have been the niece of King Roger, 
and to have been brought up in the 
royal palace. Yet, though reared in 
all the luxury and refinement of the 
period, at the early age of 12, urged 
by a strong spirit of devotion, she 
abandoned the splendours of the court 
and the shelter of her father’s roof, and 
fled to the mountain of Quisquina, some 
40 m. from Palermo, where in a damp 
and gloomy cave she passed some years 
in solitude, prayer, and penance. After a 
while she was removed by an angel to 
Monte Pellegrino, where she took up her 
abode in a similar cavern for the rest of 
her life, which terminated in 1166. Her 
sanctity being recognised by the Pa¬ 
lermitans, she received the honours of 




118 


PALERMO-MONTE PELLEGRINO. 


beatification, but did not attain her 
present position as chief protectress 
of the city till 4 or 5 centuries had 
elapsed. When in 1624 a pestilence 
ravaged Sicily and committed fearful 
havoc in Palermo, and when the 
virgin-martyrs Santa Ninfa and Santa 
Cristina had been invoked to little 
purpose, Santa Eosalia appeared in a 
vision to a woman sick in the hospital, 
cured her in an instant, and com¬ 
manded her to visit her Grotto on 
Monte Pellegrino. She did so, and 
fell asleep within the cave, when the 
saint again appeared to her, and 
pointed out the spot on which her 
remains were to be found. After 
much research these were discovered 
enclosed within a hollow mass of rock, 
and were collected with due reverence 
and consigned to the archbishop. The 
violence of the pestilence was at first 
in some measure allayed, but, as scep¬ 
ticism was entertained in certain quar¬ 
ters as to the authenticity of the 
relics, the plague soon broke out with 
redoubled fury. One day in February, 
1625, a certain citizen named Vin¬ 
cenzo Bonelli, wandering over the 
mountain in pursuit of game, with 
the view to divert his thoughts from 
the loss he had just sustained in the 
person of his wife, suddenly encoun¬ 
tered a beautiful damsel, who ad¬ 
dressed him thus : “ Fear not: come 
with me, and I will show thee my 
grotto.” So saying, she led the way 
upwards to the cavern where her 
bones had been brought to light. 
Vincenzo then ventured to inquire 
her name. “ I am Eosalia,” she re¬ 
plied. “ Then why,” cried he, pros¬ 
trating himself at her feet, “do you 
leave your native city a prey to so 
much affliction?” “ Heaven hath so 
willed it,” answered the saint; “but 
the scourge will be stayed when they 
put an end to their vain disputes 
about my bones, and carry them in 
solemn procession throughout the en¬ 
tire city.” She then enjoined Vin¬ 
cenzo to confess his sins, and make 
known what he had witnessed to his 
confessor, and, foretelling that within 
4 days he would fall a victim to the 
pestilence, she vanished from his sight. 


No sooner had he reached the city 
than lie was seized with the disease. 
He sent for his confessor, made all 
known to him, repeated it in the pre¬ 
sence of two Capuchins, received the 
last consolations of religion, and ex¬ 
pired at the time predicted by the 
saint. All scepticism was now at an 
end. In obedience to her command 
the relics were carried in procession to 
the cathedral, and then through the 
city, attended by the archbishop and 
clergy, the nobles and senate of Pa¬ 
lermo, and from 100 a day the number 
of victims fell suddenly to 4 or 5, 
and the plague ceased altogether when 
the relics had made the circuit of the 
entire city. In commemoration of this 
deliverance a festival is annually held 
in honour of the saint, when for 5 days, 
from 11 to 15 July, the whole popu¬ 
lation of Palermo give themselves up 
to a frenzy of pious dissipation. 

Entering the Hermitage you are 
conducted to the chapel, through a 
vestibule supported on twisted co¬ 
lumns of the local alabaster, called 
cotognino, and through an open court 
overhung by the cliff. At the other 
end, in a dark, damp cavern, is the 
chapel of the saint. High in the rock 
to the 1. a hole is pointed out as the 
spot in which her remains were found. 
Beneath the altar, and enclosed by an 
iron railing, lies a marble statue of 
the saint in the act of expiring, the 
work of Gregorio Tedeschi , a Florentine 
sculptor of the 17tli century. The 
robe that covers her is of beaten gold, 
chased with flowers, the gift of Charles 
III. in 1748; a wreath of gold flowers 
encircles her brow, a cross and staff 
lie on her bosom, and a book and 
skull by her side—all of pure gold. 
A cherub in marble leans over her, 
offering a lily of gold. “We found 
the saint,” says Brydone , “ lying in 
her grotto, her head reclining gently 
upon her hand, and a crucifix before 
her. This is a statue of the finest 
white marble, and of most exquisite 
workmanship. It is placed in the 
inner part of the cavern, on the very 
same spot where Santa Eosalia ex¬ 
pired. It is the figure of a lovely 



EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—MONREALE. 


119 


young girl of about fifteen. Tlie artist 
has found means to throw something 
that is extremely touching into the 
countenance and air of this beautiful 
statue. I never in my life saw one 
that affected me so much, and I am 
not surprised that it should have cap¬ 
tivated the hearts of the people.” 

An inscription is shown in the grotto 
as being a copy of one carved by the 
saint’s own hand on the rock in the 
cave on Monte Quisquina, expressive 
of her determination to dwell there for 
the love of Jesus Christ. On the 3rd 
and 4tli September a festa is held in 
the grotto In commemoration of the 
saint’s death; and crowds of people 
come up from Palermo, and set up 
booths in front of the hermitage. 

On the highest peak of the hill, 489 
ft. above the grotto, is an ancient 
beacon-tower, one of those which in 
former times were erected all along 
the coast of Sicily, to give warning by 
large fires of the approach of Barbary 
corsairs, or of an enemy’s fleet. On 
the shoulder of the mountain below 
it, to the N.E., is the telegraph; and 
at about a mile from the hermitage, 
in that direction, stands, within a 
ruined oratory at the very verge of 
the cliff, and on a lofty pedestal, a 
colossal statue of Santa Rosalia, which 
serves as a landmark to mariners. It 
is of the grey limestone of the moun¬ 
tain, save the head, hands, feet, and 
crucifix, which are of white marble. 
It was shattered by lightning in 1841, 
and has only recently been restored by 
JRosolino La Barber a. 

The traveller must not omit to visit 
this statue, as the view from it over 
the bay and coast is glorious beyond 
conception. Here you are at the 
height of 1504 ft. above the bay, so 
high that the tallest ships are dwin¬ 
dled to sea-birds on its glassy surface. 
The city itself is not visible, being 
concealed by the grand cliffs to the rt., 
but the whole coast is mapped out 
beneath you. The picturesque pro¬ 
montory of Zaffarana, some 10 miles 
distant, appears almost at your feet; 
you look over it into the beautiful 
bay beyond, with Termini at the base 
of Monte Calogero, and the square 


scarped rock of Cefalii bounding the 
bay at the distance of some 45 miles. 
The islands of Alicudi and Pelicudi 
rise like two lofty cones from the 
deep; and even the other iEolian 
Islands (Saline, Lipari, and Volcano) 
are all dimly visible on the horizon, 
though at the distance of 100 miles. 
The faint headland of Capo Orlando 
is almost as remote, and the snowy 
crest of Etna gleams in the sun at a 
considerably greater distance. At the 
foot of the mountain, to the N., lies the 
little bay of Mondello, overhung by 
the red cliffs of Monte Gallo; and 
far beyond it the low island of Ustica 
stretches along the horizon. Nothing 
can be bolder or wilder than the out¬ 
line of the mountain itself as seen 
from this point. The precipices around 
and beneath you are stupendously 
lofty and steep, and the summit is an 
uneven plain, without tree or shrub, 
and rugged with sharp grey rocks, 
among which herds of cattle and 
horses are picking what seems to be 
an impossible pasturage, and over 
which the eagle appears to be in vain 
hovering for his prey. From April to 
June, however, these uplands are full 
of quails, which afford abundant sport 
to the citizens of Palermo. 


Excursion to Monreale. 

One of the first objects of the 
stranger in Palermo is to visit Mon¬ 
reale. As it lies at the distance of 
little more than 4 m. from the gates, 
this is of easy accomplishment. To 
the pedestrian it is a delightful walk. 
Horses may be hired for 1 dollar, 
donkeys at 4 tari each, for the excur¬ 
sion ; and if you take a boy, he expects 
the same pay as his beast. Those 
who would drive must take a car¬ 
riage with 2 horses, for the ascent is 
steep and tedious. This may be had 
for 12 or 14 tari, the toll of 16 grant 
at the barriera included. They who 
would rather spare their purse than 
legs may take a carriage to the foot of 
the ascent, 3 m. from Palermo, for 4 or 
5 tari, and order it to come out again 



120 


EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—MONREALE. 


and meet them there at any hour they 
may appoint, for another such sum, 
securing the performance of this en¬ 
gagement by deferring payment until 
the return. 

The road to Monreale runs straight 
from the Porta Nuova to the S.W. 
At \ in. you pass the Albergo de' 
Poveri, and the nunnery of S. Fran¬ 
cesco de Sails opposite, the chief edu¬ 
cational establishment for young ladies 
in Palermo; at f m. the church of the 
Vittoria and the Cuba palace; at m. 
the Cubola, and a little beyond, on the 
same side, the Palazzo Palagonia, 
with a pretentious facade; at 24 m. 
the entrance to the grounds of Bocea 
di Falco, a casino belonging to the 
hereditary prince. At 3 m. you reach 
the barriera or tollgate, and begin to 
ascend by a road constructed in 1765 
by Archbishop Testa at his own ex¬ 
pense. Higher up by a fountain the 
old road crosses the new, and the spot 
is marked by appropriate Latin cou¬ 
plets. The road winds up supported 
by strong buttresses, adorned with 
urns, fountains, and flowering shrubs, 
and overhung by the rugged cactus- 
grown steeps of Monte Caputo, whose 
crags threaten to topple down on you 
as you pass. All the way up the eye 
wanders over an earthly paradise of 
olive, almond, carob, and orange trees; 
and every breeze comes laden with per¬ 
fume. Half-way up, a large fountain, 
overshadowed by cypresses and adorned 
with figures of children climbing the 
rock, offers refreshment to the pas¬ 
senger. At the top of the ascent, just 
without the gate, stands the Poor- 
house, or “ Ptocliotropliium, ’ as it 
is pedantically called, of Monreale, 
erected in 1834. 

Monreale is a long straggling town 
on the shoulder of Monte Caputo, with 
no inn fit for any one more civilised than 
a muleteer; but as the town may be 
regarded as a suburb of Palermo, this 
want is of little moment. Monreale 
owes its origin to a Benedictine convent 
founded here in 1174 by William the 
Good. Below the hill had long stood 
the little chapel of Santa Cyriaca, or 
Santa Domenica, where, till the Norman 
conquest, the Greek archbishop had 


been wont to celebrate the rites of 
Christian worship in humble obscurity, 
but no church occupied the spot until 
the reign of William II.; and although 
Fazello tells us a Saracenic village 
named Buleliar formerly stood here, 
the more general opinion is that the 
site was previously a wild forest where 
the Norman princes indulged their 
hereditary passion for the chase. Tra¬ 
dition states that William, once hunt¬ 
ing in this forest, stopped to repose 
awhile beneath a tree, and there fell 
asleep, when the Virgin appeared to 
him in a dream, and commanded him 
to erect a church to her honour on the 
very spot where he lay. Prompted by 
religious zeal, he erected a church, 
“ the like of which,” said Pope Lucius 
III., who in 1182 raised it to a cathe¬ 
dral, “hath not been constructed by 
any king even from ancient times, 
and such a one as must compel all 
men to admiration.” William also 
added a monastery, which he filled 
with monks of the Benedictine order of 
La Cava, and endowed with ample 
territory and rich gifts. A town soon 
sprang up around the monastery, and, 
from its situation and the rank of its 
founder, received the name of Monte 
Reale, or the Royal Mount. It now 
contains many other churches, and a 
population of 15,638 souls. 

Tl Duomo. —The Cathedral, which 
stands near the entrance of the town, 
on the brow of the hill overhanging 
the plain, is unquestionably the most 
beautiful and elaborately decorated 
temple that the Normans erected in 
Sicily, and the most splendid monu¬ 
ment of that peculiar style, or mixture 
of styles, produced by the employment 
of Byzantine, Saracenic, Italian, and 
Norman workmen. It is on a scale 
not inferior to the cathedrals erected 
by the Norman kings in France or 
England, being externally 313 ft. in 
length, and 124 in breadth. In plan 
it is a Latin cross, and nearly resem¬ 
bles the cathedral of Cefalu, having 3 
apses, no central tower or cupola, but 2 
square towers at the W. end, which 
j are connected in the same manner by a 
i portico. The exterior has undergone 




121 


EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—MONREALE. 


alterations at various periods, except 
the E. end, which remains in its ori¬ 
ginal state. “ Externally, it must be 
admitted, this cathedral is but little 
imposing. Here are none of the lofty 
towers, decorated windows, and pon¬ 
derous buttresses of the North. The 
sides of the edifice are plain, and but 
poorly relieved by a few small lights. 
The W. front is uninteresting, if we 
except the great portal; but the E. 
end presents a very remarkable speci¬ 
men of the tall and slender pillars, 
interlacing arches, and elaborate mo¬ 
saics peculiar to this style of architec¬ 
ture. Great richness and piquancy are 
produced by this style of ornamentation, 
the arches being formed of alternate 
blocks of black and white stones, and 
the panels diversified with various de¬ 
vices and colours. The general effect 
of this style of architecture is very 
graceful, especially when seen under 
the brilliant light of a southern sun.’’ 
— Bartlett. From this work you may 
learn the original character of the orna¬ 
mentation on the apses of the Cathedral, 
Santo Spirito, and other Norman 
churches of Palermo, before this was 
overlaid by paint and plaster. 

The North Portico was added in 
1569 by the Cardinal Alessandro Far- 
nese, then Archbishop of Monreale. 
The bronze doors are contemporary 
with the church, and the work of Bari- 
sano cli Trani, who flourished at the 
close of the 12th century. The style 
of art, like all Italian works of that 
early period, is Byzantine, both in the 
figures and ornamentation. The doors 
are divided into 28 square compart¬ 
ments in 7 tiers, 4 squares in each, 
separated and surrounded by relieved 
arabesques of great beauty and delicate 
execution. In the upper tier the 
Saviour is represented in the 2 central 
compartments in the usual Byzantine 
manner, with open book on his lap and 
right hand raised in benediction; the 
outer squares contain figures of St. 
John the Baptist and Elijah. In the 
next row are the Deposition, the Re¬ 
surrection, the Virgin and Child, and 
St. Nicolas. In the 3rd row are the 
apostles SS. John, Matthew, Peter, and 
Paul; in the 4tli, SS. Bartholomew, 

[Sicily.] 


Andrew, Philip, and James; in the 
5th, St. George and St. Eustace, both 
on horseback, in the outer squares, and 
lions’ heads in the inner; in the 6tli, 
SS. Thomas, James, Simon, and Thad- 
deus. The bottom row contains the 
figures of a genius and archer in the 
inner squares, the outer being filled 
with the arms of the cardinal arch¬ 
bishop Giovanni di Roano. All these 
saints have their names inscribed in 
intaglio; and the compartment of St. 
Nicolas, in the 2nd row, also contains 
the name of the artist, “ Barisanus 
Tran, me fecit.” These bronze gates 
closely resemble, in subjects, ornamenta¬ 
tion, and execution, those at Trani and 
Ravello in the kingdom of Naples. 
Those of Trani also bear the name of 
Barisano; those of Ravello the date of 
1179, and may be presumed to be by 
the same hand. The door is enclosed 
by a band of mosaic-work, above which 
are the arms of the Norman kings, also 
in mosaic. 

The 2 square towers that flank the 
W. front had originally 5 stories, and 
rose to the height of 190 ft. : that to 
the N. does not now rise above the roof 
of the church, and the other has lost 
its upper stoiy. They are heavy struc¬ 
tures without external ornament, with 
plain pointed windows, divided in the 
highest stoiy only by slender pillars. 

The West Portico is an innova¬ 
tion of 1770, in the Italian style, and 
its round arches are out of character 
with the pointed architecture of the 
building; but the great door itself 
is ancient, and a rich and elaborate 
specimen of a Siculo-Norman portal, 
showing a blending of Greek foliage 
and mouldings with Saracenic mosaics 
and Norman zigzags. It is obtusely 
pointed, with 4 orders or fasciae of white 
marble, the inner displaying the quad¬ 
ruple chevron, and the others scroll- 
foliage, acanthus-mouldings, and bands 
of mosaics. The pilasters below the 
imposts have similar enrichments ; and 
the capitals, which are continuous, bear 
curious hunting-scenes, or contests be¬ 
tween men and beasts, all in relief. 
Round the whole is a pedimented label 
enriched with Greek mouldings. It 
encloses a magnificent door of bronze, 

a 





122 


EXCURSIONS FROM P. 

richly ornamented with arabesques and 
Avith Scripture subjects in relief, in 42 
compartments. An inscription at the 
bottom records the name of the artist 
and the date of his work: “ Anno Dei 
mclxxxvi. Indictione III. Bonannus 
Ci vis Pisanus me fecit.” Bonanno 
da Pisa, who is believed to have been 
a Greek, was so celebrated in his day 
as to be engaged, in 1180, to make the 
great bronze gates of Pisa cathedral, 
which were destroyed by tire in 1590 ; 
and from the representations of those 
gates still extant, it is proved that 
many of the scenes in this of Monreale 
are but reproductions of those of Pisa. 
Bonanno had equal renown as an archi¬ 
tect, and, jointly with Guglielmo 
Tedesco, erected, in 1174, the cele¬ 
brated Leaning ToAver of Pisa. The 
broad band of arabesques up the centre 
of the door is not by him, but by some 
Sicilian artist, as it displays a mixture 
of Greek and Saracenic designs. The 
figures in relief are of Byzantine cha¬ 
racter, rudely but boldly designed, 
better in motive than in execution. 
The series commences at the bottom on 
the 1. hand, above the lions and griffons 
—the Creation of Man, the Birth of 
Eve, Adam and Eve in Paradise, and 
the Fall; in the 3rd roAV, the Curse, 
Eve serving Adam, the Birth of Cain 
and Abel, and the First Sacrifice; in 
the 4th, the Death of Abel, Noah’s 
Ark, Noah drinking Wine, Abraham 
entertaining the Angels; in the 5th, 
the Sacrifice of Isaac, the three Patri¬ 
archs, Moses and Aaron, and Balaam's 
Ass; in the 6th, Prophets in pairs; in 
the 7th, the Annunciation, the Visita¬ 
tion, the Nativity, and the three Kings 
of the East; in the 8th, the Slaughter 
of the Innocents, the Flight into Egypt, 
the Purification, the Baptism of Christ ; 
in the 9tli, the Temptation of Christ, 
the Raising of Lazarus, Christ entering 
Jerusalem, and the Transfiguration; 
in the 10th, the Last Supper, the Be¬ 
trayal, the Crucifixion, and “ the Prince 
of this World is judged; ” in the 11th, 
the Sepulchre, Christ and Mary in the 
Garden; the Disciples at Enimaus, the 
Ascension. In the head of the door are 
two larger compartments, with the 
Virgin in heaven, and the Saviour on 


A LERMO—MON RE ALE. 

liis throne in glory. The inscriptions 
attached to these reliefs are curious, as 
showing the first steps of the process 
by which the Latin Avas corrupted into 
that vernacular which in the next cen¬ 
tury Avas cultivated with such success 
by the Suabian monarchs of Sicily. 

“ When the bronze doors are tliroAvn 
open, the effect of the interior covered 
Avith gold and mosaic, and sunk in a 
rich half-shadow, is indescribably gor¬ 
geous.”— Bartlett. “ The magnificence 
of William II.’s creation Avas reserved 
for the interior; but nothing can less 
resemble the interior of Norman 
churches in the North than the inte¬ 
rior of Monreale. Here are no massive 
buttresses, no round arches, no tri- 
forium. Single pillars, taken from Ro¬ 
man buildings, support pointed arches 
on each side of the nave.”— Knight. 
Like the Cappella Palatina, this cathe¬ 
dral has little Norman but the name; 
and save the pointed arches, which are 
nevertheless unlike any in northern 
churches, nothing of Gothic architecture 
is here to be seen. All is Latin, 
Byzantine, or Saracenic. “ There is' 
scarcely one single form or detail in the 
whole building which can strictly be 
called Gothic, or which points to any 
connexion with northern arts or races. 
The plan is that of a Roman basilica, 
far more than of a Gothic church. No 
vault Avas ever built or intended. The 
central is divided from the side aisles 
by pillars of a single stone, generally 
borrowed from ancient temples, and, in 
this instance at least, Avith capitals of 
great beauty, suited to then’ form, and 
to the load they have to support. The 
pier-arches are pointed, but not Gothic, 
having no successive planes of decora¬ 
tion, but merely square masses of 
masonry, stilting arches of equally 
simple form. The windows, too, 
though pointed, are undivided, and 
evidently never meant for painted glass. 
The root of the nave is of open framing, 
like those of the basilicas, ornamented 
in Saracenic taste. The aisles, the 
intersection of the transepts and nave, 
and the first division of the sanctuary, 
are richer, and consequently more truly 
Moorish. The apse again is Roman. 
Taken altogether, it is only the accident 



EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—MONREALE. 


123 


of the pointed arch having been bor¬ 
rowed from the Moors that has led to 
the idea of a Gothic feeling existing in 
these edifices. It does exist at Messina 
and Cefalii, bnt here is almost wholly 
wanting.”— Fergusson. In truth, though 
the plan is Roman, the architecture is 
almost entirely Saracenic, as is also the 
marble panelling of the side-aisles, 
while the mosaics on the walls afford 
the most gorgeous display of Byzantine 
decoration now in existence. “ Com¬ 
bining as it does so many styles, 
nowhere else seen in juxtaposition, and 
wrought into one grand whole by the 
master-mind of the architect, the Ca¬ 
thedral of Monreale is the most curious, 
as well as magnificent monument of 
the period which gave it birth.”— 
Bartlett. It is the latest, and, beyond 
all question, the most splendid of the 
works of the Norman kings. 

The church is divided into 3 aisles, 
by 18 columns of grey granite, 11 of 
which are monoliths. Their capitals 
and bases are of white marble; the 
latter, either Attic or Corinthian, rest 
on square plinths of dark marble; of 
the former 9 are Corinthian and ancient, 
the rest are contemporary with the 
church, and of an uniform pattern, 
having acanthus foliage below, cornu¬ 
copias in the place of volutes, and 
female heads of classic character in 
medallions between them, all elabo¬ 
rately and delicately cut. The walls 
of the church are lined to a certain 
height with sheets of white marble, 
crossed vertically with narrow bands of 
Saracenic mosaics in wonderful variety, 
every band being of a different pattern, 
i and surmounted by a broad horizontal 
border, with a sort of antefixal orna¬ 
ment in mosaic, which is carried round 
i the church. The roof of wood, gabled, 
with tie-beams resting on brackets and 
pendentives, all blazing with colour 
and gilding, is a restoration, in imita¬ 
tion of the old roof, which, after haying 
undergone several previous restorations, 
was in 1811 destroyed by fire. 

The eastern end of the church is 
raised 5 steps above the nave. In it 
rise 4 massive piers supporting large 
pointed arches, on which rests the roof, 
painted and gilt like that of the nave; 


and between these piers, and enclosing 
the choir, extend screens of marble, 
panelled and pierced, and adorned with 
elaborate mosaics. Against the first 
pier to the rt. originally stood the 
Baptistery, but this now stands in an 
apsidal recess in the rt. aisle, opposite 
the 3rd arch. The porphyry pedestal 
which supports the small bronze figure 
of St. John is of Norman times; but 
the statue itself is of the 16th century. 
The E. end of the church retains its 
original pavement, except in the N. 
transept, where it was reconstructed in 
1526 by Pietro di Oddo. It is of opus 
Alexandnnum, composed of bands of 
mosaicsinterlacing in squares,hexagons, 
and other geometrical patterns, en¬ 
closing disks of porphyry and serpentine. 
Against the piers on the inner side of 
the choir are 2 thrones composed of 
marble and porphyry panels, orna¬ 
mented with stripes and bands of the 
richest and most elaborate mosaics. 
That on the rt., occupying the place of 
the ambone, or pulpit, is the seat of the 
archbishop; that opposite, of much 
larger size, and raised on 5 steps, is 
the throne of royalty. The sides or 
shoulders of the latter are pierced with 
griffons and foliage, with both Saracenic 
and Greek patterns. The pavement, 
the steps, and the back are covered 
with mosaics in part restored; but those 
at the back, enclosing 2 slabs of por¬ 
phyry, are in their original state, and 
purely Saracenic in character. In the 
pediment are 2 lions, and above it are 
the amis of the Norman kings, and 2 
golden stars on a blue field—the de¬ 
vice of the cathedral. 

Mosaics .—“ It is evident,” says Mr. 
Fergusson, “that all the architectural 
features in the building were subor¬ 
dinate, in the eyes of the builders, to 
the mosaic decorations which cover 
every part of the interior, and are in 
fact the glory and the pride of the 
edifice, and alone entitle it to rank 
among the finest of mediaeval churches. 
All the principal personages of the 
Bible are here represented in the stiff 
but grand style of Greek art, sometimes 
with Greek inscriptions, and accom¬ 
panied by scenes illustrating the Old 
and New Testaments. They are sepa- 

G 2 







124 


EXCU RSIONS FROM PALERMO-MON REALE. 


rated and intermixed with, arabesques 
and ornaments in colour and in gold, 
making up a decoration unrivalled in 
its class by anything the middle ages 
have produced. The church at Assisi 
is neither so rich nor so splendid. The 
Certosa is infamous in taste as com¬ 
pared with this Sicilian cathedral. No 
specimen of opaque painting of its 
class, on this side of the Alps, can 
compete with it in any way. Perhaps 
the painted glass of some of our ca¬ 
thedrals may have surpassed it, but 
that is gone. In this respect the 
mosaic has the advantage. It is to be 
regretted that we have no direct means 
of comparing the effect of these two 
modes of decoration. In both the 
internal architecture was subordinate 
to the colour—more so, perhaps, as a 
general ride, in these Sicilian examples 
than in the North. In fact, the archi¬ 
tecture was merely a vehicle for the 
display of painting in its highest and 
most gorgeous forms.” 

The mosaics on the walls of this 
church, which cover the enormous 
space of 95,169 square palms (or 
80,629 square ft.), are all illustrative 
of Scripture history, and historically 
may be divided into 3 classes. First, 
those relating to the old dispensation, 
and which allude to the coming of the 
Messiah; secondly, those illustrative 
of the life and miracles of Jesus Christ; 
and thirdly, those which in the lives of 
the Apostles set forth the triumph of 
the Christian faith. They are arranged 
on the walls chronologically; but to 
follow them in this order will involve 
more running to and fro than to take 
them according to their local arrange¬ 
ment. 

The series may be said to commence 
with the representation of the Supreme 
Wisdom adored by the Archangels 
Gabriel and Michael, over the arch 
of triumph, which faces the W. door. 
High above your head, and just beneath 
the beams of the roof, a broad border 
in the form of a Greek guilloche sur¬ 
rounds the nave, each circle enclosing 
one of the heavenly host. Below this 
the Avails of the nave are divided into 
2 bands, in the upper of which, on the 
S. wall, by the choir, the historical series 


commences, each subject occupying one 
of the spaces between the Avindows of 
the clerestory. This band, which is 
continuous on the W. and N. Avails, con¬ 
tains 22 subjects of the World before the 
Flood, viz.;—1. The Creation of hea¬ 
ven and earth. 2. Of day and night. 

3. Of the firmament. 4. Separation of 
the land and Avater. 5. Creation of the 
greater and lesser lights. 6. Of fish 
and birds. 7. Of beasts and man. 8. 
God resting from his labours. 9. 
Placing Adam in Paradise. 10. Adam 
in Paradise. 11. The Birth of EA r e. 
12. God conducting her to Adam. 13. 
The Temptation of Eve. 14. The Fall. 

15. God calling Adam in the garden. 

16. The Expulsion from Paradise. 

17. The Cultivation of the ground. 

18. The Sacrifices of Cain and Abel. 

19. The Death of Abel. 20. God 

cursing Cain. 21. Lamech shooting 
Cain ! 22. Noah commanded to build 

the ark. 

The lower band, which surmounts 
the arches of the nave, and is also 
continuous on the W. Avail, comprises 
20 subjects from the history of the- 
Patriarchs. 1. Noah constructing the 
Ark. 2. Taking in the animals. 3. 
The return of the dove. 4. Noah 
leaving the Ark. 5. The Rainbow. 

6. Noah’s drunkenness. 7. The Tower 
of Babel. 8. Abraham receiving the 
3 angels. 9. Entertaining them. 10. 
Lot with the 2 angels. 11. The De¬ 
struction of Sodom, and of Lot’s wife. 
12. God commanding the Sacrifice of j 
Isaac. 13. Staying the Sacrifice. 14. i 
Rebecca at the well. 15. Rebecca 
going Avitli Abraham’s servant. 16. | 

Isaac demanding meat of Esau. 17. 
Isaac blessing Jacob. 18. Jacob’s flight. 
19. His dream. 20. His Avrestle with 
the angel. 

In the aisles are represented the 
miracles of Our Lord. Commencing 
with the rt. or S. aisle, over the arcli- 
way by the transept, Ave have, 1. 
Christ healing the woman of Canaan’s 
daughter. 2. Healing the dumb pos¬ 
sessed of a devil. 3. Healing the 
Leper. 4. Restoring the withered 
hand. 5. Walking on the sea and 
saving Peter. 6. Raising the widow’s 
son. 7. Healing the issue of blood. 









EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—MONREALE. 


125 


8. Raising tlie daughter of Jairus. 9. 
Healing Simon’s mother-in-law. 10. 
Feeding the five thousand. In the N. 
aisle are, 11. The Miracle of the woman 
made straight. 12. Christ healing the 
dropsy on the Sabbath. 13. Healing 
the 10 lepers. 11. Healing the blind. 

15. Driving out the money-changers. 

16. The Woman taken in Adultery. 

17. Christ restoring the sick of the 
palsy. 18. Healing the blind and 
lame. 19. Mary Magdalen wiping his 
feet. 20. Christ healing the centurion’s 
son. 

It only remains to mention the mo¬ 
saics at the W. end of the church. 
Over the door are the Virgin and 
Child between the archangels Michael 
and Gabriel. The scene to the rt. de¬ 
picts S. Castrense, the tutelar saint 
of Monreale, casting out a devil, and 
walking on the waves in a storm; that 
to the 1., a miracle of the saints Cassio 
and Casto, who, when led out to mar¬ 
tyrdom, caused a heathen temple to 
fall and crush the idolaters. In the 
scene below the window, the same 
saints are depicted cast to the lions, 
which fawn upon them and lick their 
feet. 

Stepping now into the choir, you see 
on the soffits of the great arches which 
surround it half-lengths of Enoch, 
Noah, Melcliisedec, and 23 of the pro¬ 
genitors of Jesus Christ from Abraham 
to Achaz, all in circular medallions. 
The head of Noah is a restoration of 
1526. The royal arms of Sicily next 
it were inserted in 1811. Over the 
arches which separate the tribune from 
the chancel - aisles are the figures of 
12 Prophets, each with a scroll, con¬ 
taining a prophecy of the coming of 
the Messiah. Between these figures, 
and over the arch of the tribune, is the 
Annunciation, the Virgin standing in 
one spandril, and the archangel in the 
other. 

The second class of subjects, or those 
relating to the life of Our Saviour, 
commences within the choir. In the 
upper band, between the windows, are 
12 scenes, viz.:—1. Zachariah struck 
dumb. 2. The Jews amazed at his 
dumbness. 3. The Annunciation. 4. 
The Visitation. 5. Joseph reposing. 


6, 7. The Nativity, in 2 compartments. 

8. The Announcement to the Shepherds. 

9. The Star in the East. 10. The 
Adoration of the Magi. 11. Herod’s 
Decree. 12. The Slaughter of the 
Innocents. In the lower band are 6 
scenes, one in each spandril, viz.:—1. 
Joseph’s Dream. 2. The Flight into 
Egypt. 3. The Presentation. 4. The 
Dispute with the Doctors. 5. The 
Miracle at Cana in Galilee. 6. The 
Baptism of Christ. All the scenes on 
the N. wall of the choir, save that last 
mentioned, are restorations. 

The chronological series is now car¬ 
ried into the S. aisle, from which it 
runs into the N. aisle; then back again 
into the S. transept, terminating in the 
N. transept. But to finish with the 
choir, we have over the royal throne a 
curious scene representing William II. 
crowned by Jesus Christ, who is seated 
on his throne with angels hovering 
above him. The Norman prince ap¬ 
pears in the same dalmatica which king 
Roger wears in the similar mosaic in 
the Martorana. These scenes are pro¬ 
bably intended to express that the 
Sicilian monarchs derived their autho¬ 
rity, not from the Pope, but from God 
alone. For it is well known that Sicily 
was never a fief of the Church, and it 
was the proud boast of her sovereigns 
that Rome possessed no temporal au¬ 
thority over the island, though the 
pontiffs often endeavoured to exercise 
such power. On the wall, above the 
archbishop’s throne, King William is 
represented offering his church to the 
Virgin. It may be observed that the 
prince approaches her in an attitude of 
profound reverence, while lie stands 
erect before the Saviour. 

From the vault of the central apse, 
a colossal half-length of Our Saviour, 
holding an open book, and with his 
right hand raised in benediction, do¬ 
minates the whole church, riveting 
the eye at the moment of entering, 
and, from its vast size and solemn ex¬ 
pression, impressing the mind with 
reverential awe. He is styled 'O irav- 
TOKparccp. Beneath him the Virgin, 
with the Child on her lap, sits on a 
throne between the archangels Gabriel 
and Michael, and full-length figures of 






126 


EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO-MONREALE. 


the Apostles, 6 on either hand. In the 
lowest band are 12 similar figures of 
saints and martyrs; and in the soffit of 
the arch above are the 4 archangels and 
as many seraphim. 

In the vault of the apse to the rt. 
sits a gigantic figure of St. Peter 
blessing the faithful. Over the apse is 
represented the delivery of that saint 
from prison, and on the walls of this 
chancel-aisle are other scenes illus¬ 
trative of well-known events in his life, 
though the fall of Simon Magus from 
the sky, to which he had been carried 
by 2 devils, will not readily be recog¬ 
nised by the Protestant traveller. 

Entering the S. transept, you see 
over the eastern arch the Martyrdom 
of St. Peter, crucified with his head 
downwards. Tliis transept contains 
scenes in the life of Our Saviour. His 
3 temptations by the Devil; the Pool 
of Bethescla; Christ healing the man 
born blind; talking with the Woman 
of Samaria; the Transfiguration; the 
Resurrection of Lazarus; the Disciples 
fetching the Ass; Christ entering 
Jerusalem on it; the Last Supper; 
Clnist washing his Disciples’ feet; the 
Agony in the Garden; the Betrayal; 
Jesus led before Pilate; and Pilate’s 
wife warning him not to shed the blood 
of a just man. 

The N. apse contains a gigantic 
figure of St. Paid, also in the attitude 
of benediction; and this cliancel-aisle 
is covered with scenes from his life; 
his martyrdom being pictured above 
the E. arch in the transept. He is 
represented bald, with a black beard, 
whereas St. Peter is depicted with a 
hoary head. The subjects in the N. 
transept are the Passion, Death, and 
Resurrection of Our Lord, viz.:— 
Christ led to his Cross; the Crucifixion; 
the Deposition; the Entombment; the 
Resurrection; the empty Sepulchre; 
Christ and Mary Magdalen in the 
Garden; the Journey to Emmaus; 
Christ eating with the 2 Disciples; the 
latter recalling his words, and telling 
them to the rest; the Incredulity of 
Thomas; the Miraculous Draught of 
Fish; the Ascension; and the Day of 
Pentecost. 

The spandrils and soffits of the 


arches, and all spare spaces on the 
walls, are covered with angels, saints,, 
martyrs, prophets, and kings, in full 
or half-length, too numerous to spe¬ 
cify. Many of the saints are peculiar 
to the Greek calendar. “ These figures 
are always represented according to a 
determinate form, motionless, in grave 
and majestic attitudes, and arrayed so 
as to leave no portion of their body 
exposed. Their costumes in every 
case mark the various rank each held 
in the world, or in the hierarchy of 
saints. The martyrs and confessors, 
as well as the virgin-saints, bear tokens 
of the degree of nobility each had 
during life, distinguishable by the 
borders of their robes, of gold mixed 
with colour, like the laticlavi, which 
among the ancient Romans were indi¬ 
cative of dignity. The bishops with¬ 
out mitres, a distinction in the Oriental 
Church only accorded to the patriarch 
of Alexandria, and without rings and 
gloves, not in use in the East; the 
archangels arrayed in the dahnatica; 
the storied pictures without perspec¬ 
tive ; the dry and inanimate figures; 
the mountains and trees represented 
according to the conventional manner 
of the Byzantines,—are all so many 
proofs that the mosaicists of this ba¬ 
silica derived their art undoubtedly 
from the Greeks of the low empire, 
and that they worked constantly ac¬ 
cording to a conventional and unvary¬ 
ing type.”— Serradifalco. Yet in spite 
of all the conventionality, stiffness, 
and dryness of design in these mosaics, 
there is often much dignity and ex¬ 
pression, and sometimes even vigorous 
movement in the figures; and how 
much they are in advance of Italian 
art, not only of the same age, but even 
of the following century, is proved by 
a comparison of them with the paint¬ 
ings of those periods. 

Opening on the rt. transept is the 
Chapel of S. Benedict , whose walls are 
covered with reliefs illustrating the 
life of that saint, by Ignazio Moral) itti 
(1719-1795), esteemed chefs-d'oeuvre , 
but they have more singularity than 
beauty. Over the altar is a relief by 
the same hand, representing S. Bene¬ 
dict borne to heaven by angels. Here 









EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—MONREALE. 


127 


is a monument to the excellent Arch¬ 
bishop Testa, raised by Ferdinand I. at 
his own expense in 1785. 

' Boyal Tombs .—This transept contains 
the tombs of William I„ and his son 
William II., the founder of this cathedral. 
The first, with his queen, Margaret, and 
two sons, Roger and Henry, was origin¬ 
ally interred in the old church of St. 
Mary Magdalen at Palermo, which 
was the burial-place of all the early 
sovereigns of Sicily. But in 1187, 
when Archbishop Walter transferred 
the rest to his new cathedral, William 
had the remains of his own immediate 
family removed to this church, and 
placed those of his father in the por¬ 
phyry sarcophagus which still encloses 
them. It resembles those in the Duomo 
of Palermo, and like them originally 
stood under a canopy supported by G 
porphyry columns ; but this was 
crushed by the falling of the roof in the 
fire of 1811. These porphyry tombs 
are of Byzantine, if not of Norman 
times. Some have supposed them of 
classic antiquity, but there is no reason 
to entertain that view. This sarco¬ 
phagus of William I. shows indeed 
Greek mouldings, and has something 
of a classic style about it, but is of 
Byzantine art, and those in the Cathe¬ 
dral of Palermo are manifestly of 
Christian origin. 

William the Good, who thus ho¬ 
noured his father’s remains, was not 
himself so fortunate. At his death in 
1189, at the early age of 36, he was, at 
his dying request, interred in Monreale, 
but in a wretched tomb of brick and 
plaster, quite unworthy of a monarch 
who was acknowledged to be “the 
mirror of virtue and the delight of his 
subjects.” In 1575 Monsignor Ludo¬ 
vico Torres, then archbishop, had a 
marble tomb constructed at his own 
expense, to which he transferred the 
good king’s remains. The sarcophagus, 
which is of white marble, adorned 
with gilding and cinquecento ara¬ 
besques, bears two inscriptions in his 
honour, in which he is described as 
illustrious in the arts both of war and 
peace, as never making war save for 
just and pious ends, as assisting the 
Holy See against all its foes, as freeing 


Sicily from imposts; and for his good 
deeds is extolled as far greater than 
Alexander the Great. After the fire 
in 1811 the royal tombs were opened to 
ascertain if they had suffered injury, 
and this marble sarcophagus was found 
to contain a wooden coffin, painted 
with yellow stars on a blue ground, 
and bearing the king’s arms on a cir¬ 
cular shield—argent, bend chequy of 8, 
impaling; gules, 5 castles, quincunxed. 
The skeleton was not well preserved; 
but the skull, which had separated 
from the body, still bore fan- hair. The 
remains were simply wrapped in a 
gold-coloured cloth, probably that in 
wliich they had been placed on their 
transfer to this sarcophagus. On the 
same occasion the tomb of William the 
Bad, who died in 1166, was opened, 
and found to contain the body entire, 
in a coffin of cypress-wood, covered with 
crimson satin. The costume in which 
the body was arrayed, as remarked by 
the Abbate di Gregorio, who describes 
the remains, is conformable to the pri¬ 
vilege granted to King Roger by Pope 
Lucius II., in the year 1141. 

The High Altar is covered with reliefs 
in silver, of poor design and mannered 
art, yet the altar as a whole deserves 
praise, and would be magnificent if it 
exhibited superior taste. At the angles 
of the tribune, as well as at those of 
the apses, are small porphyry columns 
let into the wall, a feature borrowed 
from the Saracens. 

In the N. chancel-aisle is the domed 
Cappella del Crocijisso, erected in 1690, 
by Archbishop Juan Ruano, and sur¬ 
charged with many-coloured marbles, 
in the wretched rococo style of that 
day; but, as it is an excrescence from 
the cathedral, it does not disturb the 
harmony of the Siculo-Norman archi¬ 
tecture. Within the chapel are 4 me¬ 
diaeval statues; those of Isaiah and 
Jeremiah, by Giovanni Battista Firrera 
of Palermo, and those of Daniel and 
Ezekiel, by another native sculptor, 
named Pampillonia . Two small wooden 
doors in this chapel have panels carved 
in the Flemish style, and in good taste, 
representing the closing scenes in Our 
Saviour’s life. One of these doors leads 
to the Sacristy, where is a vestiarium 




128 


EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—MONREALE. 


carved in tlie same style, with the 
Deposition and Entombment of Christ, 
the Brazen Serpent, Moses striking the 
Rock, the discovery of the Cross by the 
Empress Helena, and Constantine car¬ 
rying the Cross in procession. 

By the door of this chapel a Reli- 
quiary of white marble, and of quattro¬ 
cento . art, probably the work of the 
elder Gagini, deserves notice. Below 
are figures of St. Peter and St. Paul, 
with pilasters nicely foliated. In the 
lunette Pilate is showing Christ to the 
Jews ; and on each side is the Annun¬ 
ciation, the Virgin being in one corner, 
and the archangel in the other. 

Beneath an altar in the N. transept 
is a sarcophagus of variegated marble, 
with an inscription stating it to con¬ 
tain the viscera of Louis IX. of France, 
who died of the plague while besieging 
Tunis in 1270, and was canonized in 
1297. The monument was raised in 
1035 by the Duke of Alcala, Viceroy 
of Sicily and Naples, who prided him¬ 
self on being “affinitate conjunctus, 
conjunctior religione." 

On the wall just beneath the win¬ 
dow is a mosaic inscription on a gold 
ground, hardly legible, to the memory 
of Roger Duke of Apulia, who died in 
11 GO ; and of Henry Prince of Capua, 
who died in 1170; sons of William the 
Bad, and of Margaret his queen, who 
died in 1183—all of whom were interred 
in this cathedral. 

The king addressed in this inscrip¬ 
tion is William II., who came to the 
throne in consequence of the death of 
his elder brother Roger. The sarco¬ 
phagi which contained the remains of 
these princes were destroyed in the fire 
of 1811 ; and though that in which 
their mother was interred met with a 
similar fate, her remains were rescued 
from the flames, and are preserved in a 
new sarcophagus of marble in the same 
transept. On the wall high above it is 
an inscription of equal quaintness and 
antiquity. 

The Piazza in front of the cathedral 
was originally enclosed by an arcade 
of pointed arches, from which the co¬ 
lumns, now in the N. portico of the 
church, were taken. In the centre | 


stands, on a lofty pedestal, a statue of 
the Immaculata, by whom “the city 
has been saved from earthquake, and 
the trembling hearts of the citizens 
from despair! ” 

Convento de’ Benedettini.— Ad¬ 
joining the cathedral is the Benedictine 
monastery, founded by William II. at 
the same tune as the church. It was 
erected on a scale of regal magnificence, 
and enclosed by a massive wall with 
12 towers, whose existence is hardly 
recalled by the few fragments now ex¬ 
tant. The monastery, as it now stands, 
is of comparatively modern construction. 
But a great portion of the ancient dor¬ 
mitory still exists, and, fortunately for 
art, the spacious and beautiful cloister 
remains almost perfect, presenting one 
of the most elegant architectural monu¬ 
ments of the 12tli century, and is 
a veritable museum of the choicest 
works of the Siculo-Norman chisel. 

The Cloister is of considerable size, 
being no less than 200 palms (169 ft.) 
square, the space within the enclosure 
forming a quadrangle of 137 ft. It is 
surrounded by an arcade of small 
pointed arches, supported by coupled 
columns of white marble, on a low 
stylobate, with a group of 4 at each 
angle. The arches, of which there are 
25 on each side of the quadrangle, 
have 2 flat members, enriched with 
diaper-work. In the S. corner a small 
portico projects into the court, en¬ 
closing a fountain, a feature common 
in the cloisters of Spain and of the S. 
of France. From the basin rises a 
tall chevroned column, supporting a 
bowl, adorned with figures and foliage 
in relief. 

The columns are plain and decorated 
in alternate pairs. They are orna¬ 
mented in various ways; some covered 
with mosaics, now in vertical, now in 
spiral bands; others chevroned in re¬ 
lief; and others, especially at the 
angles, sculptured with the richest 
arabesques or scroll foliage. From 
many the mosaics have been picked out 
by the Spanish cavalry quartered in the 
convent during the War of Succession 
i at the beginning of the last century, 



129 


EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—MONREALE. 


who mistook the brilliant glass of the 
opus Greccinicum for gold. 

But the capitals constitute the chief 
interest and glory of this cloister. They 
are adorned with foliage and figures 
most elaborately and delicately carved, 
often quaint in the extreme, yet gene¬ 
rally beautiful, and always rich; and 
they display a surprising fertility of 
imagination, inasmuch as out of more 
than 200 no two are alike. Some are 
of classic character, imitations, more or 
less close, of the Corinthian or Com¬ 
posite ; but most are of mediaeval de¬ 
sign, with grotesque adornments. Ani¬ 
mals strangely intermingled with fruit, 
flowers, and foliage; hunting scenes; 
men struggling with monsters to sym¬ 
bolise the contest of the good and evil 
principles; miracles of saints, or deeds 
of the champions of the Church; Nor¬ 
man knights engaged in battle or in 
the tournament; scenes from the Old 
and New Testament; such are the 
principal subjects. Many of the latter 
are very quaint and curious, and de¬ 
serve careful attention. On the W. side 
is a scene representing King William 
offering his church to the Virgin. 
Though the imperfection of the design 
in many instances shows how art had 
degenerated from the classic standard, 
3 'et the cleanness and sharpness of the 
outlines, the exquisite carving of the 
foliage and arabesques, and the general 
delicacy of the execution, prove them 
to be tiie work of a Greek chisel. Yet 
the Norman element has crept in, and 
betrays itself in the chevroned shafts, 
the mouldings of some of the abaci, and 
in the character of certain of the sub¬ 
jects. Nor is the Saracenic influence 
wanting in this cloister; for it may be 
traced in the general style of the archi¬ 
tecture, and in the form and decora¬ 
tions of the arches. “ The effect of the 
cloister at Monreale, with the fountain 
in one of its divisions, and a certain air 
of Eastern elegance and richness per¬ 
vading the whole, is not surpassed by 
any of the examples on the Continent 
of its own size, though its dimensions 
do not admit of its competing with some 
of the larger cloisters of France, and 
especially of Spain.”— Fergusson. 

Above the southern arcade of the 


cloister rise the ruins of the Dormitory, 
showing in the lower story a series of 
pointed arches with flat orders diapered 
with black and white; above these, a 
platband of the same work; and in the 
upper story, tall lancet panels alter¬ 
nately blank and half-open; the whole 
elegant and rich in effect. 

A 

The Monastery has a handsome stair¬ 
case of grey marble, called “ luma- 
chella.” Here hangs a magnificent 
picture by Pietro Novelli, which is es¬ 
teemed his chef-d'oeuvre in oil, though 
painted as early as 1635, or 12 years 
before his death. It represents St. 
Benedict, surrounded by the heads of 
the other religious orders derived from 
his rifle, which he is distributing to 
them under the symbolical form of 
bread. Most of those around him are 
like himself in the black robes of his 
order, but 3 of the cavaliers on the rt. 
of the picture, who represent the mili¬ 
tary orders of Spain, are in white, as is 
also St. Bruno, who sits in the fore¬ 
ground, on the opposite side. The 
figure above him in yellow is St. Gre¬ 
gory the Great. In the elderly man 
in red to the rt., with a bushy black 
beard, the artist is said to have repre¬ 
sented his father, and in the young and 
beautiful woman playing with the 
children in the foreground, his wife 
and family; while in the cavalier 
nearest the tree he is believed to have 
painted his own portrait, and in the 
figure next him that of his favourite 
pupil, Giacomo Lo Verde. “ All the 
countenances seem of living flesh, and 
the folds of the drapery are arranged 
with wonderful truth and perfect free¬ 
dom. The robes of S. Romualdo (S. 
Bruno?) are painted with a decision 
and nature that Titian himself could 
not have surpassed; and the head of 
St. Gregory the Great is worthy of 
Raphael.”— Bezzonico. This picture 
was probably painted subsequently to 
that of the same subject in the neigh¬ 
bouring monastery of S. Martino, 
which it surpasses in every respect. 

Opposite this picture hangs one by 
Giuseppe Velasquez of Palermo (1750- 
1827), which represents William the 
Good, through a revelation from the 

G 3 





130 


EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—MONREALE. 


Virgin, discovering tlie treasures con¬ 
cealed by his father, William the Bad. 

It must be observed that ladies are 
not admitted within the convent even 
so far as this staircase, much less to the 
cloisters, without the express permission 
of the Prior, who alone has power to 
relax the strictness of this rule. 

In the spacious corridors of the con¬ 
vent is an Annunciation by Novelli, in 
his second style, before he had studied 
at Borne. Here are also, a Madonna 
between S. Crispino and S. Crispiniano, 
of the close of the 15th century—a 
Death of the Virgin, a curious old 
picture, on a gold ground—an old copy 
of a Byzantine Madonna, on a bluish 
ground, painted in the 14th century— 
and the Martyrdom of S. Placido and 
his sister, by Filippo Paladino, with 
the date of 1614. 

The Library of the convent con¬ 
tains no less than 600 curious diplomas 
of the early kings of Sicily, written in 
Greek, Latin, or Arabic, and in some 
cases bilingual. The earliest are two 
of the year 1144, and one of 1151 in 
Greek and Arabic, with the signature 
of King Koger. There is one of 1162, 
of the time of William I.—A grant of 
certain privileges to the church of 
Monreale by Pope Alexander III., 
dated 1174.—A list of the vassals of 
the monastery in Greek and Arabic, 
1177.—A description of all the fiefs 
dependent on the monastery in 1181, 
in Latin and Arabic.—A confirmation 
by the Emperor Henry VI. of the pri¬ 
vileges granted to the Cathedral by 
William II., dated 1195, &c. 

Among the MSS. in this Library the 
following are worthy of notice :— Con- 
stitutiones Cluniacenses, or the rules of 
the order of St. Benedict, beautifully 
written in black letter on vellum with 
illuminated initials, and dating be¬ 
fore 1176, because the first monks of 
this convent brought it with them from 
La Cava.—A Vulgate of the 13tli cen¬ 
tury, with illuminated initials. — A 
Breviary in 12mo., subsequent to 1389, 
because it contains tire Feast of the 
Visitation instituted in that year by 
Boniface IX., but prior to 1400, for it 
does not contain the Feast of the Con¬ 


ception, universally in use before the 
close of the 14th century.—A Breviary 
in 24mo., of the same century, but of 
later date.—Another Breviary of the 
same period, beautifully illuminated, 
especially in the title-page and frontis¬ 
piece.— Livy, 1st Decade, written in 
1451.— Seneca's Tragedies, with illu¬ 
minated initials, of the 15th century.— 
Antiquitates Sienee, of the same period. 
—Dicta Alphonsi Regis, by Antonio of 
Palermo. — Caesar, with illuminated 
initials.— Boccaccio, black letter, on 
paper.— Dante, black letter, vellum— 
all of the 15th century. 

Among the early specimens of print¬ 
ing may be noticed :— Ladantius, fol., 
Bom re, 1468.—Homilies of Pope St. 
Leo, fol., Bomse, 1470. —Xysti IV. 
Opera, fol., Bom re, 1471.— St. Augustin, 
fol., Venet., 1475.— Idem, 4to. Neap., 
1477.— St. Jerome's Life and Miracles, 
8vo., Messina, 1478; in Sicilian !— 
Psalms of David, fol., Milan, 1481.— 
Euclid, fol., Venet., 1482, with the 
diagrams in the margin. ■— Petrarca, 
fol., Venet., 1490, &c. 

For further information concerning 
the Cathedral and Monastery of Mon¬ 
reale consult DesCrizione del Tempio e 
Monasterio di Monreale, by Giovanni 
Luigi Lello, with additions by Mi¬ 
chele del Giudice, 1702; Vita del Re 
Guglielmo .ZT.,by Archbishop Testa; 1 
Reali Sepolcri del Duomo di Monreale, 
by Padre Giov. Battista Tarallo, Pa¬ 
lermo, 1826; Duomo di Monreale, by 
the Duke of Serradifalco, fol., Palermo, 
1838. 

Convento de' Cappuccini. —On the 
slope of the hill below the Cathedral 
stands the Capuchin Convent, which 
contains an altarpiece of the Nativity 
by Matthew Stommer, an effective pic¬ 
ture, spoilt by the vulgarity of the 
countenances. Beneath the church is 
one of those singular cemeteries of 
mummied monks which please the Si¬ 
cilian taste. 

The other churches of Monreale 
have no interest beyond containing 
some of the juvenile works of Novelli, 
who in the days of his matured power 
painted nothing for his native town 
but the great picture iu the Bene- 




EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—S. MARTINO. 


131 


dictinc convent. In the church of San 
Castrense are “ some frescoes painted 
with much spirit, and in the same 
chapel an oil-picture of the Holy 
Family, in which, although the un¬ 
skilfulness of youth is in many points 
manifest, the beauty of the Virgin 
and of the divine Infant crowned with 
flowers is remarkable.”— Gallo. The 
Madonna dell' Itria shows on its vault 
some frescoes of Old Testament sub¬ 
jects, painted in a somewhat bolder 
and more advanced style, though still 
with inaccuracies of drawing. The Ma¬ 
donna dell' Olio also contains some 
early frescoes by his hand, and an oil- 
painting of the Guardian Angel, “ in 
which he displays an evident imitation 
of Vandyck in the handling, in the 
brilliancy of the colouring, and in the 
beauty of the countenances, which 
might lead an unskilled eye to take 
this for the work of the celebrated 
Fleming, rather than of Monrealese ."— 
Gallo. 

At Monreale mules or donkeys may 
be obtained by those who do not pre¬ 
fer to use their legs, to climb the 
steep mountain-path to the Benedic¬ 
tine convent of San Martino, 3 m. dis¬ 
tant. 

Delightful as was the scenery on the 
approach to Monreale, it appears still 
more glorious on the descent to Paler¬ 
mo. “ What a scene of luxurious 
beauty expands below ! Aloes, their 
stems 20 ft. high, shoot up with asto¬ 
nishing vigour from among the lumps 
of rock ; the prickly pear extends its 
impenetrable thickets; immense orange- 
groves, dense and velvety, extending 
for more than a mile in one unbroken 
mass, completely cover the bed of the 
valley. Here and there a white house 
peeps up among the thick foliage ; and 
lofty mountains, rugged and brown, and 
of abrupt formation, shelter that in¬ 
toxicating luxury of verdure peculiar 
to the most favoured spots in the south. 
Through this the road, adorned with 
fountains and vases, descends by rapid 
traverses towards Palermo, which basks 
in sunshine upon the margin of the 
Mediterranean. What is wanting to 
such a scene as this? To a southern 


eye, probably nothing; to an English, 
the want of meadows and pastures, and 
that rustic neatness that spreads such 
a charm over the face of a country, 
even when devoid of any striking na¬ 
tural features. ”— Baiilett. 


Excursion to S. Martino. 

It is usual to include Monreale and 
the Convent of S. Martino in one ex¬ 
clusion, and most people take Mon¬ 
reale first, and procure donkeys there 
to carry them to S. Martino and back, 
or they send their carriage round to 
meet them at S. Martino and return 
to Palermo by Boccadifalco. This 
plan must be pursued by invalids ; 
but we advise those who would tho¬ 
roughly enjoy the mountain ramble 
to reverse the proceeding, and take S. 
Martino first. By this course the fine 
scenery lies before you all the way; 
whereas, on the ascent from Monreale, 
you turn your back on the magnifi¬ 
cent plain of Palermo, and on the 
descent to Boccadifalco you have 
little beauty in view until you emerge 
from the ravine. Moreover, the as¬ 
cent is much easier, and as you can 
drive to the very gates of the con¬ 
vent, 7 m. from Palermo, you avoid 
much fatigue, and descend to Mon¬ 
reale on foot, with less weariness and 
more safety than on the back of mule 
or donkey. 

We will describe the approach to 
the convent by both roads. First, 
from Monreale, the path, which is 
stony and steep, climbs the bare 
craggy side of Monte Caputo, over¬ 
hanging the rich vale of the Oreto. 
At the distance of somewhat more 
than a mile the shoulder of the moun¬ 
tain is reached, and the path enters a 
gap at its back and turns northward, 
when the yellow pile of the convent 
comes into view at nearly 2 miles’ 
distance, sunk in a lonely hollow 
amid wild and rocky mountains. 
Here, high on the ridge to the rt. 
cresting the bare summit of Monte 
Caputo, stands an ancient castellated 
building, now utterly deserted, called 






132 


EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—S. MARTINO. 


Tl Castellaccio, or the Costello di S. 
Benedetto, which bears at once the 
appearance of a fortress, a watch- 
tower, and a monastery. It is a large 
oblong pile of perfectly plain con¬ 
struction, with lofty and massive walls, 
strengthened by square towers; and 
within the castle-yard stand the ruins 
of a Christian church, and of the 
abodes of priests or monks, all of 
Pointed architecture. Tradition marks 
it as a Saracenic or Norman fortress, 
converted by William II. hito a monas¬ 
tery. It was used again as a fortress 
in the civil feuds of the 14th century, 
and greatly injured in a siege it sus¬ 
tained from the partisans of the Chi- 
aramonte family. Its possession was 
subsequently disputed by the monks 
of the two Benedictine convents of 
Monreale and S. Martino, between 
whom it became the source of fre¬ 
quent brawls. This height, which is 
elevated 2513 ft. above the sea, com¬ 
mands one of the most magnificent 
views in Sicily, over the city, bay, and 
plain of Palermo, with its grand girdle 
of mountains. 

After crossing the ridge you de¬ 
scend towards the convent, which 
raises its long front and tall cupola 
amid groves of magnificent stone- 
pines, and above slopes of olives and 
almonds ; yet, hemmed in by wild and 
desolate peaks, “ it is as completely shut 
out from the world, at the distance of 
a few miles from Palermo, as if it stood 
in an Egyptian wilderness.” 

The other road to S. Martino from 
Palermo lies through the gorge of 
Boccadifalco. To reach this there is 
a direct road across the plain, from 
the Porta Nuova, passing the Capu¬ 
chin Convent and the hamlet of 
Altarello di Baida. But as this is apt 
to be heavy after rains, coachmen 
generally prefer to keep the road to 
Monreale as far as the gates of the 
royal park, and then across this to the 
village of Boccadifalco. The park 
stretches along the base of Monte 
Caputo, and with its luxuriant cul¬ 
tivation, intersected by avenues of 
walnuts and hedges of roses, offers a 
delightful variation on the wall-pent 


drives in the neighbourhood of the 
capital. The palace is now converted 
into a barrack. 

Boccadifalco is a picturesque village, 
3 m. from Palermo, at the mouth of a 
gorge, where a torrent has forced a 
way between steep cliffs hung with 
wild flowers. The road enters this 
gorge, and mounts a series of rocky 
ledges, from which it lias received 
the name of La Scala, or “ the Lad¬ 
der,” a term also commonly attached 
to the convent. The top of the as¬ 
cent commands a beautiful view of 
Palermo. The road then traverses a 
valley rich in olives and almonds, 
corn, sumach, and cactus, which sepa¬ 
rates the huge bare mass of Monte 
Cuccio from the castle-crowned height 
of Monte Caputo; when about midway 
up the hollow, the broad facade of S. 
Martino suddenly rises before you, like 
some palace of romance. 

The Monastery of S. Martino 
stands at the height of 1740 ft. above 
the sea, or halfway up the slope of 
Monte Cuccio. It occupies the site of 
an ancient church of S. Martin, which 
claimed to have been founded by 
Gregory the Great (590-604), and 
which was granted by William the 
Good in 1182 to his cathedral of Mon- 
reale, whose archbishop soon after 
established a colony of Benedictine 
monks on the spot. Of the old church 
and monastery not a vestige remains; 
the present buildings having been 
erected by Ignazio Marabitti in the 
last century. It is an edifice of 3 
stories, and from its very size has an 
air of majesty, though without much 
architectural beauty. 

The entrance to the monastery is 
by a superb hall, worthy of a royal 
palace, supported by 24 columns of 
grey and red marble, and with walls 
and vaults adorned with arabesques. 
Here stands a marble group of St. 
Martin on horseback, sharing his 
cloak with the beggar, reputed the 
best work of Ignazio Marabitti, and 
no great things after all. The rider 
wants expression and spirit, the horse 
is heavy and clumsy, and the action of 
cutting the mantle impossible. The 




EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—S. MARTINO. 


133 


beggar, however, who runs by the side 
of the saint, and holds one end of 
the cloak, is well conceived, simple, 
and spirited. The magnificent stair¬ 
case, whose balustrades are of beautiful 
purple marble, and whose ceilings and 
walls are covered with Raphaelesque 
adornments, leads to a spacious lobby 
which commands a wild but striking 
view over bare heights to the Medi¬ 
terranean, with the iEolian Isles on 
the horizon, and the Casino Belmonte 
alone visible on the shore. Here 
stands a bust of Pius VII., commenced 
by Canova, but abandoned by him on 
discovering a flaw in the marble, and 
finished by Pennino in 1817. Hence 
you enter the long corridors with the 
apartments of the monks on either 
hand; and though each of them has 
two comfortable rooms, yet the build¬ 
ing is a world too wide for the frater¬ 
nity, which has shrunk to the number 
of 14 monks, and 1G lay brothers 
attached to their service. The monks 
are of noble families, as in all Bene¬ 
dictine communities. 

The Church is at the back of the 
monastery, and on a level with the 
2nd story. It is not remarkable for 
its size, architecture, or decorations; 
but it boasts of an organ of great 
power and rich tone. The services 
here are conducted with a magnifi¬ 
cence befitting a community which 
claims to be the wealthiest in all 
Sicily. 

In the 4th chapel to rt. is an altar- 
piece of St. John the Baptist preaching 
in the wilderness, by Filippo Paladino, a 
picture of considerable merit; the figures 
are painted in a bold and broad style, 
but with no beauty of countenances, and 
the artist seems purposely to have con¬ 
cealed those faces which would have 
added most interest to the composition. 
It is much lauded by some critics. “ If 
Paladino painted this, and not Cara¬ 
vaggio, he is certainly a painter of great 
power, and worthy to enter the lists 
with the first masters for truth of ex¬ 
pression, variety of character, correct¬ 
ness of drawing, and richness of colour¬ 
ing.”— Rezzonico. 

The rt. transept contains a large pic¬ 


ture, by Monrecdese, of a subject similar 
to that in the Benedictine convent of 
his native town, but differently treated. 
S. Benedict is surrounded by the repre¬ 
sentatives of the various orders, religious 
and military, that followed his rule, the 
ecclesiastics to the 1., the knights to the 
rt. Pointing with one hand to the book 
of his order, he delivers with the other 
the sword of knighthood to King Sanclio 
III. of Castille, who receives it on 
bended knee. The ecclesiastics in this 
scene are merely spectators; the knights 
are all assisting at the investiture; the 
latter are in white, the former in black 
robes; and the skill with which, by a 
judicious management of the light and 
arrangement of the colours, these incon¬ 
gruous hues are harmonized, is worthy 
of admiration. The work is also re¬ 
markable for the varied character of the 
heads, all true to nature, yet all dif¬ 
ferent, for the beauty of the attitudes 
and drapery, and for the harmonious 
contrast of lines. The upper part of 
the picture, however, which is filled 
with the Trinity and heavenly host, is 
not in harmony with the lower, and the 
figure of the Saviour is wanting in 
dignity and faulty in design. “The 
heads of the monks and knights are 
most life-like and speaking, so that 
Titian himself could not have done 
them better. The composition, grand¬ 
iose with its vast background of archi¬ 
tecture, august with the faces of mature 
manhood and venerable old age, mas¬ 
terly with its well-distributed groups, 
solemn with the glory of the Trinity 
and many angels in the heavens, leaves 
nothing to be desired even in the details 
and accessories.”— Rezzonico. The date 
of 1635 is legible on the canvas. Owing 
to the gloominess of the church and its 
unfavourable position, this fine painting 
is not easily viewed to advantage; at 
mid-day or soon after it is seen to most 
effect. 

The 2nd chapel to 1. has a picture of 
S. Domenico di Silos, a Spanish monk 
of the 11th century, avIio is represented 
blessing some peasants kneeling around 
him. It is attributed, but very ques¬ 
tionably, to Ribera. The choir has seats 
of walnut-wood, in the cinqueeento style, 
of beautiful workmanship. Above these 






134 


EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—S. MARTINO. 


arc 6 pictures by Paolo di Matteis of 
Naples, tlie best pupil of Luca Giordano. 
On the rt. are St. Martin dividing his 
cloak; Tlieodobert king of the Gauls 
assisting Mauro, the pupil of St. Bene¬ 
dict, to found a monastery; and St. 
Benedict receiving his pupils Mauro and 
Placido from their parents. On the 
opposite wall are St. Gregory feeding 
tlie poor, among whom Christ appears 
as a pilgrim; the Martyrdom of St. 
Placido and his sister Flavia; and St. 
Benedict convincing Totila king of the 
Goths. 

The holy-water basin at the door of 
the sacristy bears a small group of St. 
Martin and the beggar, with the date of 
1396. The sacristy is rich in vestments 
of extraordinary splendour; not the least 
gorgeous being one, presented some 4 
centuries since, by tlie Bey of Tunis, to 
a monk of the convent who was sent 
thither on an embassy. The pyx is of 
pure gold studded with jewels. Here 
is an exquisite Madonna by Annibale 
Caracci. The Child is asleep in his 
mother’s arms, who regards him with 
intense tenderness, as she presses him 
to her bosom. Her face is soft, pure, 
and beautiful—a worthy conception of 
the Virgin-Mother; and in the Saviour 
sleeping infancy is admirably repre¬ 
sented. 

There is a crypt beneath the church, 
and a cemetery like that at the Capu¬ 
chin convent, where the dead monks 
are preserved as a “ memento mori ” to 
the living. 

With the church and sacristy ladies 
must rest content, as they are not al¬ 
lowed to enter the convent, where there 
is much food for the curiosity of their 
lords. 

The Apartments of the Abbot contain 
a choice collection of pictures. In the 
First Boom is a portrait of Tandy eh, 
attributed to his own hand; another, 
said to be of Novelli, by himself when 
a young man; a third, of Ignazio Mara- 
bitti, the architect of the convent, by 
Giuseppe Velasquez; and the Garden of 
Eden, by Jacopo Bassano. 

The Second Boom contains a Depo¬ 
sition ascribed to Yandyck—a picture 
excellently composed and full of ex¬ 
pression, but its authenticity may be 


called in question, although it is un¬ 
doubtedly of the Flemish school; —a 
small landscape by Le Brun;— and a 
curious picture, called “ S. Giacomo 
Esercitatore,” in which the saint, when 
called upon to cure a girl who pretends 
to be sick, puts one hand in the candle 
before he ventures to place the other on 
her bosom. It is either by Honthorst 
or his pupil Stommer. 

In the Third Boom is a Nativity by 
Ilonthorst; an effective picture, in which 
the figures are irradiated by the Infant, 
who lies on a napkin in the midst, a 
fragment of celestial glory; but, like 
all the works of this artist, it is spoilt 
by tlie vulgarity of the figures.— Santa 
Bosalia borne to glory by angels, at¬ 
tributed to Vandych; a small and 
masterly sketch, delicately and richly 
painted on copper.—St. Paul the first 
Hermit, and St. Peter repentant, as¬ 
cribed to Ribera.—A Holy Family, by 
the Cavalier Conca. —A landscape, by 
Leandro Bassano. —A S. Francesco 
d’Assisi, by Girolamo Muziano. —The 
Martyrdom of St. Lawrence, by Novelli, 
in the style of Caravaggio; an inferior 
work of the master.—Last, but not 
least, is a Judith, a half-length figure, 
standing with sword raised about to 
take vengeance on Holofernes. Her 
bold attitude, her noble countenance, 
her fixed grey eyes, and resolute lips, 
all speak the heroine. The execution 
hardly comes up to the conception. It 
is an early picture on panel, attributed 
to Raphael; and probably of his school. 
An inscription on her bracelets, now 
illegible, seems to indicate the name 
of tlie painter. 

In the Noviciate of this monastery is 
a picture by Novelli, of the Virgin and 
Child with St. Benedict, and his sister 
Santa Scolastica; bearing the date of 
1634. “The Infant sitting on his 
mother s lap might have been painted 
by Yandyck—it is the most beautiful, 
the most flesh-like, the most graceful 
cherub I have ever seen by Novelli. 
No less beautiful and charming is the 
profile of the female saint, and brilliant 
is her complexion. The head of the 
Madonna, as usual, has that gravity 
which borders on the grand and severe, 
and might be taken for one of Caracci’s 





EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO— S. MARTINO. 


135 


female heads, were the features less 
elegant. Noble and full of character is 
the head of the Patriarch, but it does 
not equal in beauty that of the same 
saint in the picture in the church. 
The picture is brilliant with light, 
perhaps too much so, and is painted 
with lively colom’s.”— Gallo. 

The vault of the Summer Refectory 
shows a fresco by Novelli of astonishing- 
power and boldness, though painted in 
1G29, when he was only 20 years old. 
It represents Daniel in the Lion’s Den, 
and an angel letting down by the hair 
of his head the prophet Habakkuk, who 
is laden with good things for his suf¬ 
fering brother. It is wonderfully fresh 
and bright, and lias all the force of 
oil; yet what calls forth most admira¬ 
tion is the foreshortening of the figures 
of the angel and Habakkuk, which are 
most daringly conceived and truthfully 
executed. “ This fresco of Novelli has 
few equals. It is painted with a touch 
so masterly and resolute, that at first 
sight I should have judged it a Guer- 
cino, and it resembles those most beau¬ 
tiful frescoes of Night, Aurora, and 
Fame in the Villa Ludovisi. Nothing- 
can bo more masterly than the fore¬ 
shortening of the angel and Habakkuk. 
I have seen nothing better studied or 
more ingenious; and yet the much- 
lauded artifices of foreshortening by 
Caracci, by Guercino in the Casa Sam- 
pieri, by Correggio, and by Buonarotti, 
are fresh in my memory. Novelli was 
a first-rate man, and too little known in 
Italy.”— Rezzonico. The architectural 
adornments of this refectory are also 
painted by Monrealese. Four virgin- 
saints on the walls are by his daughter 
Rosalia Novelli, after Vandyck. The 
large picture of the Last Supper at the 
upper end of the room is attributed to 
Raphael Morgaens. 

In the Winter Refectory is a picture 
of Christ and the disciples at Emmaus, 
of the Neapolitan school. 

The Museum contains a variety of 
objects of ancient art discovered in 
Sicily, besides numerous articles of vertu 
of mediaeval date, and is under the care 
of the Padre Giulio Benzo. In the 
First Room are ancient vases of plain 


ware, a sarcophagus of terracotta, an 
amphora incrusted with marine shells ; 
all found in Sicily. On the walls are 
ancient inscriptions in Greek, Latin, and 
Arabic. Here are also 4 canes elabo¬ 
rately carved with minute scenes by 
the hand of some shepherd. Second 
Room. Mediaeval armour—2-handed 
swords, crossbows, battle-axes, pistols 
with quaint handles inlaid with ivory; 
and Saracenic dishes and bowls of 
bronze, with Arabic inscriptions. Third 
Room. Quaint chests and cabinets of 
the middle ages inlaid with ivory, or 
bearing small scriptural scenes, carved 
in wood. A marble capital of the 
Renaissance period. Two canephorse 
found among some ruins at Militello, 
A few early pictures, among which re¬ 
mark the Virgin and Child on a tin-one 
surrounded by the angelic choir, and a 
small Pieta, full of expression. Fourth 
Room . Vases, Greco-Siculan, of various 
descriptions, some of the best period, 
with yellow figures on a black ground, 
and of great beauty; others of inferior 
art; all from Sicilian sites. Among 
them is shown a small black skyphos, 
purporting to be the identical goblet 
from which Socrates drank the hemlock, 
and in proof thereof it bears a Greek 
inscription: kvAos KitiVtov Trepl rou 
'SooKparyv. Lamps and alabastra of 
terracotta. A collection of ancient coins, 
chiefly Greco-Siculan, some of great 
rarity. Some pretty Saracenic pots, 
which in Spain would be called alccir- 
razas, painted and gilt. Most of the 
pottery in this room was presented by 
the Duke of Monteleone in 1819. Fifth 
Room. Ancient Penates of bronze of 
small size, some very archaic. Similar 
deities in terracotta, among which re¬ 
mark two of Ceres in a sitting pos¬ 
ture, crowned with the modius or 
bushel. Heads in terracotta. Two 
small bowls of black ware with spirited 
reliefs of the Death of the Niobidse, and 
the Wars of the Gods and Giants. 
Egyptian figures of smalt. Ancient 
camei of pietra dura. Articles of vertu, 
in marble, glass, ivory, china, shell, 
coral, &c. Specimens of geology and 
mineralogy. Sixth Room. Specimens 
of natural history, and anatomical pre¬ 
parations. 




136 


EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—S. MARTINO. 


Library .—In tlic antechamber to 
the Library is a beautiful picture of 
the Annunciation, by Novelli, a subject 
often painted by him, yet always with 
a different treatment. “The head of 
the Virgin is incontestably the most 
beautiful of those painted by Novelli 
as regards the purity and elegance of 
the outlines, and a certain grace tem¬ 
pered with dignity, which makes it 
appear a copy from some antique statue. 
It proves that our Peter, when he chose, 
was well able to grasp the ideal. I 
cannot praise the numerous minute 
folds of the angel's drapery. The upper 
part of the picture is not equal in merit 
to the lower, for the light in that part 
is too much broken, and disturbs the 
general effect. The head of the Eternal 
Father is not one of the painter’s best, 
and the short and curly beard tends to 
render it somewhat ignoble, so that the 
attention is diverted from it to the 
choir of angels and seraphs full of 
beauty. In general the colouring is 
managed with extreme delicacy, soft¬ 
ness, and beauty, and this is perhaps 
among the most finished of his works 
in oil.”— Gallo. 

Opposite this is a Nativity, by Ri¬ 
bera, bearing his name and the date 
1627. This lias been a fine picture, 
but it has sustained so much injury, or 
the colours have so sunk in, that it has 
lost many of its attractions. It has 
beauties, nevertheless, of composition, 
design, and chiaroscuro, and much 
truth to nature, but, like most of Ri- 
bera's works, it is deficient in elevation. 
The Virgin is a pretty Neapolitan, 
with no pretensions to be blessed above 
women; and the Babe at her feet, 
though well painted, is commonplace. 
She is a repetition in great measure of 
the Madonna in his celebrated work in 
the Certosa at Naples ; and the cherubs 
in glory above her find their counter¬ 
parts also in that picture. 

Here are some other pictures—He- 
rodias’ daughter, by Guercino; the 
Martyrdom of St. Stephen, and Jacob 
blessing his sons, of the Neapolitan 
school; and small sketches of two of 
Domenichino's great pictures in S. An¬ 
drea della Valle at Home. 

The Library is commodious and 


handsome, supported by neat Corin¬ 
thian columns of walnut-wood. It 
contains 22,000 volumes, many of early 
and rare editions, and some interesting 
MSS. Among the latter, notice an 
illuminated Bible in 2 volumes, small 
fol., very beautifully written in black 
letter, and as early as 1005 ; a Breviary, 
with illuminations on gilt grounds, 
bearing the date of 1370, bound with 
silver, and adorned externally with 
paintings protected by tortoiseshell. 
Several other illuminated missals, and 
one in particular of the loth century, 
which cost a monk 32 years to execute. 
Among the later literary curiosities 
are some quattrocento editions of Lucre¬ 
tius, Juvenal, Lactantius, and other 
classics; and a copy of Luther’s works, 
which is carefully locked up, and only 
referred to by special permission. 

Here is also an Arabic IMS. which 
at the end of the last century was 
connected with one of the most extra¬ 
ordinary instances of literary impos¬ 
ture on record. The Abbate Vella, of 
Malta, after first giving out that he 
had discovered the lost decades of 
Livy in an Arabic IMS. found by h im 
in the mosque of Santa Sophia, at 
Constantinople, which he undertook to 
translate, next pretended to have dis¬ 
covered in another MS. in this library 
a histoiy of Sicily under the domination 
of the Saracens. Vella was employed 
by the Viceroy to translate these works, 
and he played his part with such 
address, that in a few years 6 volumes 
were in the press, and he obtained not 
only a large remuneration for his labour, 
but was honoured with the professor¬ 
ship of Arabic in the University of 
Palermo. The supposed discovery ex¬ 
cited much interest in Europe, and 
certain of the learned visited Sicily to 
gratify themselves with a sight of the 
manuscripts ; among others "a German 
named Hager, intimately acquainted 
with the languages of the East, was 
attracted by the renown of this treasure; 
but, on an examination of the docu¬ 
ments, he pronounced the whole to be 
an impudent forgery and gross impos¬ 
ture. Vella, being brought to trial on 
a charge of fraud, was convicted, and 
punished by 15 years’ imprisonment. 





EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—BAIDA. 


137 


Excursion to Baida. 

The loftiest mountain in the neigh¬ 
bourhood of Palermo is Monte Cuccio, 
or Monte Aguzzo, as it is indifferently 
called—names it owes to the sharp 
peaked outline it presents as viewed 
from Palermo and the bay. Cuccio, 
however, is derived not directly from 
acutus, but from cuz, which in Arabic 
has the same signification, and was 
the term by which the mountain was 
known to the Saracens. It is a severe 
pull up its steep craggy slopes to the 
long ridge at the summit, which rises 
to the height of 3470 ft. above the 
sea; but those who will brave the 
fatigue are repaid by a most glorious 
view over the deeply bayed coast of 
Sicily. On its lower slope, overhang¬ 
ing the plain, stands the old Franciscan 
convent of Baida, 4 m. from Palermo, 
from which it forms the object of a 
delightful excursion. 

The road runs westward, crossing 
the Piano dell’ Olivuzza, and just be¬ 
yond the large, porticoed palace of 
Belmonte, it branches to the rt. to the 
Oratorio dell’ Olivella, at the foot of 
Monte Billemi. Keeping the direct 
route and traversing the plain, here 
rich in corn and olives, at 3 m. from 
Palermo you reach the spot called 
Passo di Riano, where the road forks 
again; the direct line continuing to 
Carini; that to the 1. running to Baida, 
1 m. distant, smiling from the brow of 
a' dark precipice. Instead of taking 
this direct and carriageable route, the 
pedestrian may continue towards Ca¬ 
rini, as fir as the base of the Monte 
Bellolampo, 5 m. from Palermo, where 
the road begins to ascend by steep 
zigzags. Here he must leave it, and 
climb a rugged but picturesque path 
to the 1. at the back of Monte Sant’ 
Isidore, which will lead him through 
a wild valley at the foot of Monte 
Cuccio, and over richly cultivated 
slopes, down to the Convent of Baida. 

Baida, which in Arabic signifies 
“ white,” received its name from the 


earth of the locality, which is a combi¬ 
nation of carbonate of lime, carbonate of 
magnesia, oxyde of iron, and alumen, 
and some 2 centuries since was in great 
repute as a panacea under the names 
of “ elixir vital ” and “ Catholic pow¬ 
der.” A village stood here in Moslem 
times, which in the 10th century was 
connected with the capital by a con¬ 
tinuous line of habitations. It was 
granted in fee by William II. to the 
Archbishop of Monreale in 1177. A 
convent of monks of the order of St. 
Bernard was established here in 1388, 
under the name of Santa Maria degli 
Angeli, by Manfred Chiaramonte, Count 
of Modica. Falling into decay, it was 
restored and enlarged in 1507 by Gio¬ 
vanni Paterno, Archbishop of Palermo, 
and from an altar in the church, raised 
by him in honour of the Baptist, it has 
received the name of S. Giovanni di 
Baida. It is now occupied by a poor 
fraternity of Franciscan Minorite friars, 
who act as attendants on an hospital 
adjoining. 

The church is of the 14th century, 
having a portico with 3 pointed arches, 
and a pointed window above it, which 
dominates 2 lights separated by a 
marble shaft, and is enclosed by a 
large cinquefoil label. The portal is 
of the Renaissance, restored in 1507. 
The interior is modernised; the only 
remains of early architecture being seen 
in a pointed arch of 4 orders at the 
back of the altar, and in 2 pairs of 
coupled columns of marble, about 5 ft. 
high, elaborately carved; those to the 
1. of the altar being decorated with ivy 
foliage mingled with figures of men 
and beasts, and bearing on the capitals 
small scenes of the Annunciation, the 
Nativity, and the Visitation; those on 
the rt. enriched with vine foliage inter¬ 
twining with figures, and having reliefs 
of the Shepherds and Star in the East, 
and the Adoration of the Magi, on the 
capitals. The abaci also are quaintly 
adorned. These columns are of Byzan¬ 
tine art, and cannot be later than the 
12th century; they seem to indicate 
the existence of a cloister here in very 
early times; a surmise which receives 
confirmation from the fact of their 




138 


EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—BAIDA. 


having- been dug up in the present 
garden of the convent. 

The 2nd altar to the rt. is decorated 
with reliefs. On the predella are the 
Last Supper, Christ washing his Dis¬ 
ciples’ feet, the Agony in the Garden, 
and the Betrayal—all of quaint quat¬ 
trocento art. On the paliotto is the 
Pentecost, flanked by the Evangelists 
and 4 ecclesiastics, and by pilasters 
with arabesques, of the same period, 
but of superior merit. Over the 1st 
altar to the 1. is a marble statue of St. 
John the Baptist, smaller than life, 
by Antonio Gagini, which displays the 
usual characteristics of his chisel in the 
expressive head, the meagre limbs, and 
broad and simple drapery, which is 
here adorned with gilt patterns in re¬ 
presentation of embroidery. 

Attached to the church are remains 
of cloisters of the same period, now 
blocked up, but with plain pointed 
arches resting on a single shaft with 
a capital of acanthus foliage. The 
bays are groined; and the architecture 
shows some features of a Northern cha¬ 
racter. On a staircase at the back of 
the church is a bas-relief of the Nati¬ 
vity, of quattrocento art. Fail not to 
step out on a terrace overhanging the 
cliff on which the convent is built. The 
view hence over the plain and bay of 
Palermo, and their mountain environ¬ 
ments, is magnificent in the extreme, 
and even stirred the enthusiasm of old 
Eazello, who truly pronounced it to be 
“ prospectum jucundissimum ac vere 
regium.” 

Above Baida is a curious natural 
cavern, called Grotta delle Quattro Arie, 
in the mountain of the same name. 
Those who would explore it must be 
provided witli torches and ladders. You 
first descend into a pit, from which you 
enter a series of 3 long, tortuous, narrow 
alleys, each at a lower level than the 
former, connected by passages so small 
as hardly to admit of a person creeping 
through them on all fours. Great cau¬ 
tion is necessary in these alleys, which 
are slippery with the constant damp, 
and the stalactites which cover the 
walls must be grasped to assist the 
descent. At the bottom open 3 gal¬ 


leries, the largest of which is 30 ft. 
long, 20 wide, and 16 high, and is 
almost filled Avitli a pool of water of 
great purity, 6 ft. deep. The walls and 
roof are covered with stalactites, which 
assume a great variety of fantastic forms, 
rendered more grotesque by the effect 
of the shifting lights by Avliich they are 
seen. They are composed of alabaster, 
either white, or of that brown sort called 
cotognino, or more vulgarly “ sugar- 
stone,” Avhich is much used in deco¬ 
rating the churches of Palermo. In 
the whole grotto there is not a vestige 
of animal or \ r egetable life. It is said 
that, when the guides break oft’ pieces 
of the stalactites, those at the mouth 
of the cavern hear a noise like distant 
thunder; and that on applying the ear 
to the surface of the ground, the Alices 
of those Avithin sound like the rever¬ 
beration of the bass notes on a piano¬ 
forte. 

On the return from Baida to Pa¬ 
lermo the excursion may be agreeably 
varied by following the road to Bocca- 
difalco, a short mile distant, along the 
edge of the cliffs overhanging the plain, 
over slopes covered Avith corn, sumach, 
and olives, among which a mediaeval 
toAver rears its ruined battlements and 
machicolations. The road descends upon 
Boccadifalco, at the mouth of its pic¬ 
turesque gorge. On the way thence to 
Palermo it passes through the village 
called 

Altarello di Baicla. —Here, just oppo¬ 
site the little church, is a lane to the 
rt., called Yicolo Yanadone, running 
betAveen Avails. Entering a gate to the 
1., and crossing a field, which contains 
a curious ancient reservoir sunk in the 
rock, you reach a feAV cottages in an 
orange-orchard, among which are the 
remains of a Saracenic palace half buried 
beneath the debris of subsequent ages. 
The most prominent feature among 
these ruins is a chapel, which, from the 
pointed panellings in its walls, and the 
neat yellow masonry, appears to be of 
Norman antiquity. The door, however, 
is of the Renaissance period, and bears 
an inscription recording its restoration 
by the Archbishop of Palermo in 1433, 






EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—SEGESTE. 


139 


Traces of old frescoes may be seen over 
the altar. 

In the E. wall of the ruins a door 
gives access to a small chamber, 
formed like a Greek cross, with a 
recess in each wall. That opposite 
the entrance has a wide pointed arch 
filled with honeycomb pendentives, as 
in the Cuba and Zisa, but of coarser 
execution. In those to the rt. and 1. 
the arches are also obtusely pointed, 
but stilted and re-entering, like the 
Persian arch, which is common enough 
in the Moorish buildings of Spain, but 
not found in any other Saracenic 
structure in Sicily. The arches are 
curiously ribbed with ridges of ma¬ 
sonry meeting in the head, and giving 
the recess the appearance of a shell. 
At the angles of the recesses are traces 
of columns, as in the Zisa. In fact, 
the apartment closely resembles on a 
smaller scale the hall of that palace, 
and is similarly situated with refer¬ 
ence to the garden around it. Under 
the mass of debris now choking it may 
probably exist traces of the fountain 
which played up in the centre. To 
the S. of this you pass through a small 
chamber, and descend by a flight of 
steps into an oblong vaulted hall dimly 
lighted by 2 small loophole windows. 
A cornice of stucco foliage, like that 
in the interior of the Cuba, surrounds 
the apartment. All this ground-floor 
of the building is purely Saracenic in 
character; but on the upper story are 
traces of Norman tunes in a narrow 
passage, with small pointed double 
lights, surrounded by dog-tooth mould¬ 
ings on foliated corbels, now almost 
crushed by the ruins of a modem 
palace. 

There can be little doubt that these 
are the remains of the palace of Mim- 
nernum, mentioned by Ugo Falcando 
as constructed by King Roger, recog¬ 
nised by Leandro Alberti in 1526 as 
resembling the Cuba and Zisa ; and 
vainly sought for by Gaily Knight. 
Like the Cuba, Zisa, and Favara, it 
stood in the midst of an artificial lake, 
the bottom of which is often brought to 
light by the spade of the husbandman, 
though the walls which enclosed it 
have utterly disappeared. 


Excursion to Segeste. 

Those who have neither time nor 
inclination to make the tour of the 
island, or even to visit the stupendous 
remains of ancient days at Selinunte 
and Girgenti, may yet with small in¬ 
convenience and much profit reach 
Segeste, and gratify taste or curiosity 
with the sight of one of the most 
superb temples and best preserved 
monuments of the Greeks in Sicily. 
The distance is about 47 m. from Pa¬ 
lermo ; the road as far as Calatafimi,. 
or 43 m., is carriageable and excel¬ 
lent, and at that town beasts may be 
readily procured for invalids, or those 
who would avoid an 8 or 9 miles’ tramp 
over Sicilian by-roads. Side-saddles 
may also be had. The excursion 
occupies 2 days; and as 3 stout and 
strong horses are needed for the 
mountain-roads, and a relay of the 
same must be sent on the previous 
day to Partenico, 19 hi., the charge 
usually made for a carriage is 15 
dollars, with a dollar extra as buona- 
mano to the driver. The beasts must 
be well up to their work—no limping,, 
raw-backed, broken-wiuded cattle—or 
the traveller may be benighted. The 
maitre-d’liotel should be called on to 
engage a trustworthy vetturino and an 
efficient team. 

As the accommodation at Calata¬ 
fimi is truly Sicilian, the tourist should 
sleep at Alcamo, 11 m. short of it, 
where he may be sure of at least clean 
beds. To accomplish this it is neces¬ 
sary to make one day’s journey much 
longer than the other—either to stop 
at Alcamo the first day, and pursue 
the journey the next morning to Se¬ 
geste, returning to Palermo the same 
evening; or to push on at once to Se¬ 
geste, returning to Alcamo to sleep, 
and retracing one’s steps leisurely on 
the morrow to Palermo. The weather 
or other causes may induce the tra¬ 
veller to give the preference to one 
plan over the other, but whichever he 
adopts he should signify to the vetturino 
the day beforehand. 




140 


EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—BAG ARIA. 


For the description of the temple 
and road to it, see Rte. 2, p. 143. 


Excursion to Bagaria and Solunto. 

It is an agreeable drive of 9 m. to 
Bagaria, a small town surrounded by 
the villas of the Palermitan nobility. 
A carriage and pair may be hired for 
the excursion for 15 to 18 tan. A 
diligence runs every morning, return¬ 
ing the same day; fare each way, 3 
taxi. But since the 28th April, 1863, 
a railroad, the first in Sicily, has been 
opened to this town : trains run several 
times a day, and the fare is 1 lira 45 
centesimi for the 1st class. Those who 
like boating may run in a couple of hours 
from Palermo across the bay to Aspra, 
at the foot of the headland of Catal- 
fano, whence a path through an avenue 
of cypresses leads to Bagaria, about a 
mile distant. The boatman’s charge, 
to wait at Aspra and return to Palermo, 
should not exceed one dollar. 

The road follows the shores of the 
bay, skirting the richly cultivated 
strip of land enclosed between it and 
the chain of bold detached heights— 
Monte Grifone, Monte Gibelrossa, and 
Monte Buongiomo — which stretch 
from the entrance of the Golden Shell 
to the isthmus of Bagaria. Soon after 
quitting the Marina the road crosses 
the Oreto by the bridge of Sant’ Eras- 
mo, and for some distance is bordered 
on one side by houses; then traverses 
orchards and gardens hedged by the 
aloe and cactus. At 2 m. is a fork 
back to Palermo, which passes the 
Admiral’s Bridge, and enters the city 
at the Porta Garibaldi. Here on the 
shore is the old Torre della Sperone, 
and just beyond it a hamlet with the 
unaccountable name of Musica d'Or- 
feo. At 3 m. the road begins to rise, 
and commands a majestic view of 
Palermo, Monreale, and the Conca 
d’Oro. Half a mile beyond, at the 
hamlet of Acqua de' Corsari , where an 
old square machicolated fort, now 
used as a telegraph, stands on the 
shore, a road branches to the rt. to 


Misilmeri. At 5 m. is the village of 
FicarazeUa, environed by orchards and 
vineyards, just beyond which another 
road branches to Abate and Misilmeri. 
Ficarazzi, the next village, 6 m. from 
Palermo, dominated by the shabby 
palace of the Prince of Santa Ninfa, 
stands in the midst of a most luxuriant 
country, which supplies the capital 
witli wine, and with fruit and vege¬ 
tables of all descriptions in rich abund¬ 
ance. A long aqueduct of pointed 
arches spanning the valley inland, 
and the precipitous height of Cannitu 
overhanging it, add a picturesque 
charm to the neighbourhood. That 
isolated mount is strewn with the 
remains of ancient days, for it was 
inhabited in classic times, and under 
the Saracens and Normans was crested 
by a fortress named Cnssr Sad, the 
“castle of delight,” or Cassr Sad, the 
“ castle of a reedy marsh,” the former 
of which, however it may sound to our 
ears, must, from the description we 
have of it, have been an appropriate 
appellation in the 12th century; and 
the latter appears to be preserved in 
its modern name, signifying “ the 
plantation of canes” ( arundo donax), 
which flourish in great abundance on 
the banks of the little stream. Tiie 
road soon enters on the isthmus which 
unites the grand mountain mass of 
Catalfano, an unfortified desolate Gib¬ 
raltar, to the mainland; and at the 
8th milestone, passing the yellow man¬ 
sion of the Prince of Cattolica, now 
converted to a barrack, it leaves the 
stradone of Termini, and branches to 
the rt. to Bagaria, a mile distant. 

Bagaria, or Bagheria, a town of 
nearly 9000 inliab., situated at the base 
of the isthmus which separates the bay 
of Palermo from that of Termini, has 
an Arabic name, descriptive of its soft 
and sandy soil. It is a favourite re¬ 
sort of the Sicilian nobility, whose 
villas cover the high ground around it 
Few of these exhibit good architectural 
taste, and none contain treasures of 
pictorial or sculptural art to attract 
the traveller, yet all offer points of view 
of a scenic magnificence rarely to be 
surpassed; while some, by the eccen- 




EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—BAG ARIA. 


141 


tricities of a wayward or disordered 
imagination, serve to while away an 
idle hour. 

The Villa Valguarnera has perhaps 
more architectural pretensions than 
any other in Bagaria. It stands on 
the highest ridge of the isthmus, in 
the midst of an extensive garden, 
deformed by wretched statues, and 
overhung by the steep red cliffs of 
the Monte Giordano. A mound which 
rises in the grounds has been selected 
for the site of a telegraph, and should 
be ascended for the view it commands. 
On the one hand stretches the coast to 
the E., with Termini at the foot of 
Monte Calogero; Cefalu, bounding the 
bay with its bold headland; the Ma- 
donian mountains piled up in grand 
masses behind; and the Lipari islands 
dimly outlined on the blue horizon ;— 
on the other, the prospect is of equal 
beauty and variety, embracing Palermo 
with its many domes, its mountain 
rampart of familiar forms, its bay 
studded with sails, and Ustica lying 
out “ in far azure realms of sea.” 

The Villa But era, erected in the 
middle of the 17th century, contains 
in its grounds one of those whimsical 
conceits so much in vogue among the 
Sicilian nobles. In this case it is a 
sham convent of imitation brick, inha¬ 
bited by waxwork monks, to 2 of whom 
the attention is particularly directed— 
a Sicilian Abelard and Heloise, whose 
story illustrates the proverbial rugged¬ 
ness of the course of true love. 

But the Villa Palagonia once sur¬ 
passed in absurdity anything ever con¬ 
ceived by mortal brains. It was the 
mad fancy of a Prince of this name who 
lived in the last century to people his 
house and grounds with monsters more 
outrageous and ridiculous than the 
creations of Circe, Armida, or the 
enchanters of romance. “ Of all that 
immense group there is not one made 
to represent any object in nature, nor 
is the absurdity of the wretched ima¬ 
gination that created them less asto¬ 
nishing than its wonderful fertility. 
It would take a volume to describe the 
whole, and a sad volume indeed it 
would make. He has put the heads of 
men to the bodies of every sort of 


animal, and the heads of every other 
animal to the bodies of men. Some¬ 
times he makes a compound of 5 or 6 
animals that have no sort of resem¬ 
blance in nature. He puts the head 
of a lion to the neck of a goose, the 
body of a lizard, the legs of a goat, the 
tail of a fox. On the back of this 
monster he puts another, if possible 
still more hideous, with 5 or 6 heads 
and a bush of horns that beats the 
beast in the Revelations all to nothing. 
There is no kind of horn in the world 
that he has not collected, and his plea¬ 
sure is to see them all flourishing upon 
the same head.”— Brydone. 

The interior of the palace was as 
fantastical as the outside, and its mani¬ 
fold extravagances were multiplied a 
thousand times by mirrors placed at 
different angles. Most of these absur¬ 
dities have been removed, but a few 
still remain in the garden to attest the 
extravagant folly of the old prince; 
while at one entrance to the palace, 
statues of his ancestors stand like 
lacqueys in suits of many-coloured 
marbles, and round the ball-room busts 
of the same stand out from the walls in 
bodily relief, dressed to the life in 
marble. 

From Bagaria a road runs to the 
neighbouring village of Santa Flavia, 
on the high road to Termini, and 10 
in. from Palermo, conspicuous by its 
dome of many-coloured tiles. The 
tourist can drive another mile through 
dense olive-groves, hedged by aloes and 
prickly pears, to the shores of the bay 
of Termini, where from the roof of the 
Villa di Solunto he has a view of sur¬ 
passing beauty. But he who would 
visit the site of the old Phoenician city 
of Soluntum, on the eastern shoulder of 
Monte Catalfano, must either procure 
a donkey at Bagaria, or trust to his legs 
at Santa Flavia, and take the path 
thence to Porticello, a fishing-village at 
the base of the mountain. Here and 
at the neighbouring village of Santa 
Elia are tunny-fislieries belonging to 
the Crown. 

The mountain, which rejoices in the 
Arabic name of Catalfano, like the 








142 


EXCURSIONS FROM PALERMO—SOLUNTO. 


opposite headland of Pellegrino, is a 
mass of limestone, precipitously steep 
on all sides, but rising only to the 
height of 1095 English feet, though its 
isolation and proximity to the sea give 
it the appearance of greater altitude. 

Solunto. —The ancient city called 
Soloes and Solous by the Greeks, and 
Solentmn and Soluntum by the Ro¬ 
mans, is of very high antiquity but 
uncertain origin. We hear of it first 
as a Phoenician city, being one of the 
3 settlements which that people re¬ 
tained for the purposes of commerce, 
when forced to abandon the eastern 
coast of Sicily, through the influx of 
Greek colonists, about 6 centuries 
before Christ. Throughout its early 
history, Soluntum displayed a steady 
attachment to the Carthaginians. It 
was betrayed into the power of the 
Greeks of Tyndaris in 396 b.c., but 
about a century later it is mentioned as 
again in the hands of the Carthaginians. 
On the Roman conquest of Panormus, 
the citizens of Soluntum drove out the 
Punic garrison and allied themselves 
to Rome. The date of the destruction 
of the city is unknown, but it must 
have been after the ‘ Itineraries ’ were 
written, and before the invasion of the 
Normans, whose annals make no men¬ 
tion of it. It stood on the shoulder of 
Monte Catalfano, overhung by the 
precipices of that mountain, on a site 
very difficult of access, and approach¬ 
able only by a single road. Of its 
walls, which were nearly 2 m. f in circuit, 
traces were everywhere visible in the 
time of Fazello, and abundant remains 
of public and private structures then 
proclaimed its past magnificence. The 
antiquity of the site, however, appears 
to have been forgotten till, in 1825, the 
peasantry at work on the mountain 
brought to light the colossal statue of 
Jupiter, the 2 beautiful candelabra of 
stone, and sundry Doric and Corin¬ 
thian capitals, now preserved in the 
University of Palermo. Subsequent ex¬ 
cavations disclosed the singular figure 
of Isis, now in the same museum, of very 
archaic art, with many other fragments 
of antiquity. 

Very little now remains above ground 


to satisfy antiquarian curiosity, and 
those who would ascend the mountain 
with this expectation are certain to be 
disappointed, though the glorious view 
from the height will fully repay the 
fatigue. The path begins to mount 
from the village of Porticello, and pre¬ 
sently falls into the line of the ancient 
road, which is recognised by its pave¬ 
ment of large square flags. It leads 
up the W. slope, covered with vines 
and prickly pears. On the summit of 
the hill, which is well cultivated, exca¬ 
vations have recently been made in 
several spots, and the substructions of 
Roman houses, rock-hewn cisterns, with 
fragments of columns and cornices, 
mosaic pavements, amphora), &c., have 
been brought to light. Hardly a 
vestige remains of the ancient walls. 
The most interesting object is an an¬ 
cient sacrificial table, on a detached 
spur of the mountain, immediately 
overhanging the village of Porticello. 
It is a slab cut from the rock, supported 
by 2 upright slabs with carved fronts, 
and resting against a structure of rude 
masonry, in which is a hole as if for 
the base of a statue. From this spot 
the prospect over the bay of Termini, 
from the castled headland of Zaffarana 
at your feet, to the square bluff of 
Cefalii, some 35 m. distant, is magnifi¬ 
cent in the extreme. This height, like 
that of Monte Pellegrino, is much 
resorted to by sportsmen during the 
passage of quails, which from 20th 
April to 20th May afford excellent 
sport, if the maestrale wind prevail. 
On the E. slope of the hill, as well as 
in the plain at its foot, sepulchres have 
been discovered containing Greek 
figured vases, but nothing remains open 
to satisfy curiosity. The ancient coins 
of Soluntum bear generally the head of 
Hercules or Neptune, with a sea-worm 
on the reverse and a legend in Greek 
or Punic characters. 

For further particulars respecting 
this ancient city consult Cenni m la 
distrutta Solunto, by Vincenzo Mor- 
tillaro, Marchese cli Villarena, in the 
2nd vol. of his Opere;— Storia Lette- 
raria di Sicilia, tom. i. part 5;— Anti- 
cliita di Sicilia, tom. v., by the Duca di 
Serradifalco. 



ROUTE 2 . —PALERMO TO TRAPANI. 


143 


ROUTE 2. 

PALERMO TO TRAPANI, WITH EXCURSIONS 
TO THE RUINS OP SEGESTE, AND TO 
MONTE SAN GIULIANO. 

Miles. Posts. 


Palermo to Monreale. 4 

Monreale to Borgetto ...... 13 2 

Borgetto to Sala di Partenico .. 2 - 

Partenico to Valguarnera .... 3 

Valguamera to Alcamo .... 10 2 

Aleamo to Calatafimi. 11 lf 

Calatafimi to Colonnetta .... 13 ll 

Colonuetta to Trapani.12 11 


68 81 

Tlie corriera leaves Palermo every 
Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday for 
Trapani; fare 3 ducats and 40 bajocchi, 
or 2 dollars and 10 tail, besides 5 
bajocchi for the postilion at every post. 
But as the ruins of Segeste lie a little 
off the road, the traveller who would 
visit those remains en route must either 
quit the mail at Calatafimi, from which 
they are 4 m. distant, and proceed by 
another vettura to Trapani, or he must 
adopt some more independent mode of 
conveyance. 

Steamers leave Palermo for Trapani 
every Friday at 8 a.m. ; also the first 
and third Sunday of every month at the 
same hour, performing the distance in 
6| hrs. Fares, 12 lire, and 8 - 50 lire. 
The Friday boats continue their voyage 
to Sciacca and Girgenti; the Sunday 
boats to Tunis. See the article 
“ Steamers ” in the Introduction. 

For about 11 m. the road is an un¬ 
broken ascent up the valley of the 
Oreto, to the ridge of the mountains 
which rise to the W. of Palermo; from 
that point it descends for 6 or 7 m. to 
the luxuriant plain of Castellamare, 
traverses this, and continues through a 
wild and undulating country to Trapani. 

4 m. Monreale .—This town and the 
drive to it have been described under 
the Excursions from Palermo, p. 119. 

On leaving Monreale the road con¬ 
tinues along the slope of Monte Ca- 


puto, passing an aqueduct of pointed 
arches. Above, the mountain-side is 
craggy, cavernous, and forbidding: 
beneath, all is green and smiling, 
luxuriant groves of orange, olive, and 
fruit-trees filling the valley and bury¬ 
ing the Oreto which flows through it. 
On the opposite side of the vale the 
town of Pareo lies at the foot of the 
wild rocky mountains of Moarta and 
Falcone, and above it a steep road is 
seen climbing the shoulder of the 
former height towards Piana de’ Greci. 
At 6 m. a road branches to the 1. to 
S. Giuseppe di Mortilla. The valley 
gradually narrows, the mountains be¬ 
come more steep and rocky, and the 
hollow more broken and bare. Soon 
after passing the hamlet of Chiuppo, 
cultivation almost ceases, and at 10 m. 
the road ascends to the head of the 
valley, and forks, the branch to the 
1. running to S. Giuseppe and Cor- 
leone. From the heights a mile be¬ 
yond, you obtain the last view of Pa¬ 
lermo and its plain, and a glorious 
picture it is of the rich valley beneath 
you, framed between wild mountain- 
peaks, and with a foreground of bold 
rocks shrouded in ivy. The road now 
turns to the N. and descends through 
a rocky defile between mountains of 
great altitude and steepness, which 
approach so close as to leave barely 
room in the hollow for the passage of 
a torrent. After some miles of descent 
a new view of wonderful magnificence 
opens of the rich, olive-clad plain of 
Partenico, with the sea in front; the 
villages of Montelepre and Giardinello 
on the slopes of the mountains to the 
rt.; the town of Borgetto, at the base 
of a tall red cliff, on the other hand; 
Partenico in the plain below; and 
Alcamo on a distant ridge beneath the 
mountain of Bonifato; while the horizon 
is bounded by a long range of heights 
which sink to the sea in the headland 
of Santo Vito. 

17 m. Borgetto .—No accommodation 
save at a miserable-looking fondaco. 
This is a long, straggling town of low, 
mean houses, with 5600 inliab., but 
picturesquely situated on a wooded 
cliff overhanging the plain, and in its 








144 


ROUTE 2 . —PARTENICO.—ALCAMO. 


turn overhung by a lofty precipice of 
red rock. The road descends through 
corn-fields, vineyards, and orchards, to 

19 m. Sala di Partenico, a mean 
post-town of 15,658 inhab., situated at 
the foot of a grand precipice of red 
limestone, called Montagna del Re, 
from its royal proprietor, or Montagna 
della Croce, from a cross on its brow. 
Here is a poor hostelry, termed the 
“ Albergo d’ Enia,” from the name of the 
landlord, where the traveller may halt 
awhile to refresh; it is clean for its 
class, and the people are obliging. On 
the summit of the height above the 
town are some scattered vestiges of 
ancient habitations, which Fazello took 
for the remains of Elyma, a city which 
had no existence save in a false reading 
of a passage in Dionysius. There can 
be no doubt that the ruins are those of 
Parthenicum, a town only mentioned 
in the Itinerary of Antoninus, but 
whose name indicates a Greek origin 
and a site of difficult access. Its repre¬ 
sentative in the plain is probably of 
Roman origin, and the station mentioned 
by the Itinerary. The “ Partenieoti ” 
claim for their town great magnificence 
under the Saracen domination, and 
point out the ruins of 12 towers in the 
neighbourhood, some with Arabic 
names, which they maintain to be 
of that antiquity, and also certain 
venerable gnarled olive-trees of extra¬ 
ordinary size, which tradition marks as 
of Moslem planting, and which are 
still vulgarly called “idivi Saraceni.” 
At the base of the precipice about a 
mile from the town, and in some olive- 
grounds belonging to the Crown, is a 
small projecting rock, built up and 
levelled into a terrace, which may be, 
as tradition asserts, the remains of a 
Saracenic tower. It is known by the 
name of Castellazzo. Though nothing 
remains to satisfy antiquarian curiosity, 
the site is worthy of a visit for the 
view it commands of the plain of sur¬ 
passing fertility, and of the blue bay 
of Castellamare, shut in by the head¬ 
lands of Rama and Santo Vito. 

Crossing the plain, whose soil is a 
strong reddish loam, producing corn, 
wine, oil, fruit, and sumach in rich 


abundance, to which in Fazello’s time' 
sugar might be added, and whose fer¬ 
tility so excited the astonishment of 
a Spanish Arab seven centuries ago, 
that he pronounced it even to exceed 
that of the plain of Cordoba, you pass 
at the 22nd milestone tire wretched 
hamlet of Valguarnera, which gives 
its name to a prince. The view hence, 
looking back on Partenico, is very fine. 
Below this village you cross the stream 
of Flati, which forms the boundary 
between the provinces of Palermo and 
Trapani. The plain is now broken 
into deep rocky dells still highly cul¬ 
tivated ; but the country becomes more 
open and undulating as you approach 
Alcamo. The luxuriant foliage of the 
low grounds gives place to wild downs 
green with corn, flax, or beans. Beyond 
28 m., a road to rt. leads to the village 
of Pad ore, famed for its wine, and as 
you wind round the ridge on which it 
stands the large yellow mansion of its 
Baron towers above the road, and an 
old castle comes into view further down 
the valley to seaward, whose name of 
Calatubo (“Job’s Fortress”) proclaims 
its Saracenic antiquity. Alcamo lias 
been in sight for many miles cresting 
the ridge between the castled height of 
Monte Bonifato, which overhangs it, 
and the more distant and lofty Monte 
Inici, and the road now winds up a 
tedious ascent to its yellow battlemented 
walls. 

32 m. Alcamo (Pop. 20,628). 
Inns: “ Locanda del Tempio di Se- 
geste,” kept by Battista Bruno ; decent, 
clean beds and civil people. “ Locanda 
della Fortuna ”—tolerable. 

Alcamo is vulgarly believed to de¬ 
rive its name and origin from Adel- 
carno, said to have been the leader of 
the first bands of Arabs who invaded 
Sicily in 827. Tradition states that 
lie built a fortified town on the sum¬ 
mit of Monte Bonifato, and called it 
after himself; but it is strange that 
the Arab chroniclers make no mention 
of such a person. Certain it is, however, 
that the original town stood on that 
height, and that it long retained a 
Moslem population, who were driven 
out by the Emperor Frederick II. 







ROUTE 2 . —ALCAMO. 145 


iii 1233, and the Christian inhabitants 
induced to remove to the present site 
at the foot of the hill by the promise 
of exemption from military service; 
the old town being utterly destroyed 
some 160 years later by King Martin, 
on account of the rebellion of Andrea 
Chiaramonte, its feudal lord. 

Alcamo is surrounded by a battle- 
men ted wall of the 14th century, 
whose construction shows it to be 
prior to the invention of artillery. It 
is a large town of mean houses, and 
narrow, irregular, dirty streets, with a 
general air of poverty and decay, to 
which the main street, which intersects 
it, and is broad, well-paved, and 

flanked by decent houses with heavy 
balconies, is the only exception. Yet 
it is architecturally picturesque, and 
contains not a few old churches with 
pointed portals and windows, and pa¬ 
laces with projecting balconies, and 

battlemented or machicolated parapets. 

The women of Alcamo wear black 
veils, and many are remarkably pretty. 

S. Tommaso d' Aquina. — Beneath 
the Locanda di Segeste is the little 
Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas, which 
presents a good specimen of Sicilian 
architecture in the former half of the 
14th century. It has a fine pointed 
door of two orders, much enriched 
with acanthus-leaves, scroll foliage, 
cable and dogtooth mouldings; the 

abaci and capitals are continuous; 

above is a round-headed window, sur¬ 
mounted by a corbelled pediment, 
resting on slender shafts. 

Chiesa Matrice. —A modern church, 
narrow and misshapen, but containing 
fine specimens of native red marble 
from a neighbouring quarry, in the 
14 monolithic columns which separate 
the nave and aisles. In the 6th 
chapel to rt. is a bas-relief of the 
Virgin and Child, with cherubs and 
saints, bearing date 1518, and ascribed 
to Gag ini. The Campanile is some 
centuries earlier than the church, 
having pointed windows dominating 
double lights, separated by a marble 
shaft ; and si lowing the nail-head 

[8 icily J 


moulding on the corbelling above. 
Opposite this church is that of 

Le Blanche, with a depressed door¬ 
way, and a round-headed window 
above it, both with heavy labels; of 
the early Renaissance. It belongs to 
a confraternity instituted for the gra¬ 
tuitous burial of paupers. 

Santa Oliva or Le Anime in Pur- 
gatorio. —The altarpieee, representing 
the sacrifice of the Mass, and Santa 
Oliva rescuing souls from purgatory, 
is by Pietro Novelli. There is much 
confusion of figures and scattering of 
lights—faults which in a subject so 
complex as to embrace at once heaven, 
earth, and purgatory, it would be diffi¬ 
cult to avoid; yet the picture is well 
painted, especially the figures of the 
Virgin and Child. Over the 4th altar 
to the rt. is a statue of the saint, as¬ 
cribed to Gag ini, short and stumpy, 
an appearance increased by the loose¬ 
ness and breadth of the drapery. 

Santa Chiara. —A church with 6 
semicircular bays or apses, containing 
2 statues of Justice and Charity by 
Giacomo Serpotta. 

The Badia Nuova contains 6 statues 
by the same artist in his usual bad 
taste; and an oil-painting of the 
Virgin of the Rosary by Giacomo Lo 
Verde, with the date of 1659. The 
church of San Francesco d' Assisi 
has a statue of the Magdalen; and 
that of San Benedetto one of that 
saint; both attributed to the chisel of 
Gagini. 

Saida Maria di Gesu, to the E. of 
the town, conspicuous with its old 
bell-tower and cypresses, has an early 
picture on wood of the Florentine 
school, representing a number of 
figures in adoration of the Madonna. 
It has much expression, and the Vir¬ 
gin’s face is full of beauty. This is 
the only church in Alcamo which can 
claim an origin prior to the foundation 
of the present town. 

The Castle in the upper part of the 
town is a quadrangular, battlemented 

H 



146 


ROUTE 2. -CASTELLAMARE. 


pile of yellow stone, witlx towers, al¬ 
ternately round and square, at the 
angles. The walls are pierced with 
pointed windows, generally with double 
lights separated by marble shafts, and 
once surmounted, as well as the walls, 
towers, and gateways, with machicola¬ 
tions. It is now used as a prison. 

Opposite the Badia Nuova is a 
building called the Casa di Ciullo, 
pointed out as the abode of Ciullo, 
the father of Italian poets, and a na¬ 
tive of Alcamo; but as he flourished 
in the 12th century, before the pre¬ 
sent town was in existence, and as 
the said building is of the Renaissance 
period— non conviene, the tradition is 
worthless. 

Close to the Cliiesa Matrice is the 
Military Hospital, a building of the 
15th century; also a machicolated 
tower attached to the palace of the 
Barone Romano. The Torre di Ballo 
is a similar tower, with windows di¬ 
vided by shafts into triple lights. 
Opposite it is a pointed door with 
dog-tooth moulding. The Casa Ilo- 
sotti is a small building with windows 
separated into double lights. Close 
to it, in the Casa Sant' Anna, is a gal¬ 
lery with round arches resting on 
chevroned and twisted shafts. 

On the summit of Monte Bonifato 
are the remains of the original town 
of Alcamo, and of its ancient castle, 
surrounded by square towers, and 
having a tall keep with pointed win¬ 
dows. Here is also a church called 
the Madonna dell' Autu {i.e. Alto), or 
Our Lady of the Hill. This height, 
which rises, according to Smyth’s 
measurement, 2213 ft. above the sea, 
has a gentle descent towards the town 
on the N., but breaks off on the other 
side into tremendous precipices of red 
limestone. It commands a most ex¬ 
tensive and glorious prospect of Al¬ 
camo at its feet, Castellamare on the 
sandy shore beyond, the fertile plain 
to the E., and the blue bay to the N., 
bounded by the headland of Capo 
Rama, and in the opposite direction 
of Monte Barbaro with the temple of 
Segeste on its slope, and of the wild, 
undulating country beyond, up to the 


grand mass of Mount Eryx in the 
western horizon. 

Alcamo is renowned as the birth¬ 
place of Ciullo d' Alcamo, the first 
poet who sang in the vernacular 
Italian. He lived at the close of the 
12th and beginning of the 13tli cen¬ 
tury; or at the end of the Norman, 
and commencement of the Suabian 
rule. Fragments of his works are 
extant, and have been published by 
the Abbate di Gregorio in his Discorsi 
intorno alia Sicilia, tom. i. pp. 211-250. 

From Alcamo it is 6 or 7 m. over 
open, undulating ground, by a road 
veiy heavy after rains, to 

Castellamare, the ancient poll of 
Segeste. It is situated at the foot of 
Monte Inici, and in the bight of the 
sandy bay, in a richly cultivated 
neighbourhood; but is a mean, dirty 
town of nearly 10,000 inhabitants, who 
subsist by fishing, agriculture, and ex¬ 
porting the produce of the country. It 
is without an inn. Castellamare, being 
the only point in the bay which affords 
a safe refuge to ships, has always been 
a place of some importance, and was 
fortified in early tunes, possibly by the 
Knights-Templars, for a cross of that 
order decorates a low vaulted chapel on 
the site. The old town stood on the 
promontory of calcareous rock which 
juts into the sea, and was protected by 
lofty walls, in part cut from the rock, 
and on the land side by a broad and 
deep fosse. But these fortifications, 
having lost their value since the in¬ 
vention of artillery, have been long 
abandoned, and are now in ruins. “ A 
stone bridge of two arches has replaced 
the ancient drawbridge, and the town, 
escaping from its turreted enclosure, 
has spread in all directions round the 
harbour, and even crept up the moun¬ 
tain-side ; while year by year, straight 
and wide streets, bordered by two- 
storied houses, are extending further 
and further into the neighbouring 
fields.” ° 

From Alcamo there are 2 routes to 
Segeste. One is by the post-road to 
Calatafimi, 11 m., and thence by s 
country track of 4 or 5 m. to the 
temple, which latter part must be done 



ROUTE 2. 


•THE CRIMESUS-CALATAF1MI. 


147 


on foot or on horseback; the other 
is by a bridle-path of 9 m. Those 
who are making the tour of the island, 
and’ are provided with mules, will take 
the direct path, and, on leaving Segeste, 
proceed the same day to Castelvetrano 
or Trapani, as the case may be. If to 
the former, they cross the Trapani 
road below Calatafimi, and continue by 
Vita and Salemi; if to the latter, they 
strike that road at Colonnetta. But 
the excursionist from Palermo should 
drive on to Calatafimi, as the temple is 
of easier approach from that side. We 
will describe both routes. 

Outside the W. gate of Alcamo a 
road branches to the rt. to Castel- 
lamare, seen on the coast beneath; 
and a bridle-path also quits the main 
road to the rt. and descends into the 
broad, deep, green valley in front, in 
which, at the distance of 9 in., the 
celebrated temple of Segeste may be 
distinctly seen on the mountain-side, 
the white walls of the ancient theatre 
gleaming from the cliffs of Monte Bar- 
baro, which overhang it. This is at 
the 33rd milestone. From this point 
the carriage-road, crossing slopes at first 
dark with a varied cultivation, and then 
carpeted only with coni, descends for 
4 m. to the Flume Freddo, which it 
crosses by a ford. 

This stream, also called Flume dl S. 
Bartolommeo, is probably the ancient 
Crimisus or Crimesus, whose god, in the 
shape of a dog, found favour in the 
eyes of the nymph Egesta, and is 
represented under that form on many 
of the coins of the ancient city. Some 
take a branch of the Belici, more to 
the E., to be the Crimisus. That 
stream was renowned for the great 
victory which in the year 340 b.c. 
Timoleon with only 11,000 men, 
partly Syracusans, partly mercenaries, 
obtained over more than 70,000 Car¬ 
thaginians under Hasdrubal. Of 
these 10,000 are said to have been 
slain, and 15,000 made prisoners, and 
the Sacred Battalion, composed of 
2500 citizens of the best families of 
Carthage, was destroyed to a man. 
The rout was so complete that the 
victors picked up 1000 breastplates 
and 10,000 shields which had been 


cast away by the fugitives; and the 
spoil was so immense that it took 
3 days to gather it. No victory in 
Grecian history was more complete 
and decisive. It was one of the se¬ 
verest shocks ever sustained by the 
Carthaginian power in Sicily, and se¬ 
cured to the Greek cities a long period 
of tranquillity. It was just before this 
battle that a little incident occurred, 
recorded by Plutarch and Diodorus, 
which had its effect on the event of the 
day. As the Greeks approached the 
Crimisus, they met some mules laden 
with parsley, which was taken by them 
as an evil omen, since it was customary 
to lay wreaths of this herb upon sepui- 
chres. But Timoleon, perceiving their 
alarm, seized a handful of it, and, 
weaving it into a wreath, exclaimed, 
“ Behold the Corinthian symbol of 
victory, the sacred herb with which we 
decorate the victors at the Isthmian 
games! It comes to us spontaneousl}' 
as an earnest of triumph.” Then 
crowning himself and his officers with 
the parsley, he restored the confidence 
and rekindled the courage of liis sol¬ 
diers, and led them forward to victor}'. 

From the bridge it is a continual 
ascent of 6 m. to Calatafimi, through 
an undulating country, at first scantily 
cultivated, and crimsoned here and 
there with patches of clover, but be¬ 
coming more wooded as you advance, 
till at length the height which the 
road climbs towards the town is co¬ 
vered with luxuriant vegetation. From 
this height a wide expanse of country 
is seen opening to the E. of truly Sici¬ 
lian aspect—bare, green, and treeless, a 
succession of low swells in the middle 
distance, and ranges of wild mountains 
on the horizon. 

43 m . Calatafimi. — Inn: “ Locanda di 
Segeste,” kept by Francesco di Matteo, 
a small country hostelry, and veritably 
Sicilian. This is a large ugly town of 
some 9600 inhab., covering a long ridge 
between 2 hills ; and at the end of the 
ridge to the W. is a steep isolated 
height, crowned by the ruins of a Sara¬ 
cenic castle, from which the town takes 
its name— Cal'at Fuji ml. The castle, 
now used as a prison, has no arclii- 

H 2 




148 


ROUTE 2. —CALATAFIMI-ALCAMO TO SEGESTE. 


tectural interest, but it commands a fine 
prospect of the hills around, richly 
cultivated with vines, olives, and corn, 
and enlivened by churches and con¬ 
vents ; of the open, undulating country 
to the E.; and of the temple of Segeste 
seen in a gap between the cliffs of 
Monte Barbaro to the N. 

There is nothing to detain the tra¬ 
veller in the town. The Chiesa Ma- 
trice retains externally some traces of 
early architecture, but the interior is 
modernised Avith Roman Doric columns. 
The Chiesa del Crocifisso is a neat 
church, with the architectural decora¬ 
tions of its interior so picked out with 
gilding as to produce a most pleasing 
effect. The Carmine, now a ruin, is of 
Siculo-Norman antiquity, with a cupola 
supported on pendentives, but overlaid 
Avitli stucco. In the Avails of the house 
of the late archpriest AA'ila are em¬ 
bedded 3 Greek inscriptions found 
among the ruins of Segeste. 

Calatafimi has given its name to the 
first battle fought and Avon by Gari¬ 
baldi in his liberating expedition to 
Sicily in I860, but the real site of that 
contest AA T as 3 or 4 miles from this toAvn, 
and close to Yita (see Rte. 4, p. 165). 
On then- defeat, hoAvever, the Neapoli¬ 
tans fled to Calatafimi, on their way to 
Palermo. 

Mules and donkeys, as well as side¬ 
saddles, may be had for the trip to 
Segeste. As guide, Antonio Costa is 
ready to oiler his services. The dis¬ 
tance is nearly 5 m., and the path lies 
for about 2 m. through a charming vale 
dark Avith fruit-trees to the foot of 
Monte Barbaro; here it forks, and 
pedestrians by taking the path to the 
1. and climbing the precipices beneath 
the mountain to the back of the temple 
may shorten the distance by a mile. 
The road usually taken continues round 
the E. side of the mountain through 
lanes of acanthus, fan-palm, spurge, 
and cistus, and enters the green vale on 
the northern side, when the temple 
comes into vieAV at the head of the 
valley. 

The direct track from Alcamo to 
Segeste quits the high road just out¬ 
side the former toAvn, descends into a 


deep corn-clad A T alley at the foot of Monte 
Inici, at 3 m. crosses the Fiume Fred- 
do, and 2 m. beyond the Gdggera 
probably the stream Avhich was called 
the Scamander, on whose banks the 
ferocious Agathocles slaughtered all 
the poorer citizens of Segeste on his 
return from his African expedition. 
On this stream, about 3 m. below Se¬ 
geste, are the hot springs, famous in 
ancient times as the Aquie Segestame 
or Pinciame. They are 6 in number. 
The first, Avhich is called Gorgo Caldo, 
is hotter than the rest, and rises on 
the rt. bank. The second, or the 
Ponte di S. Girolamo, a mile further 
up, is also of A*ery high temperature. 
The third rises in a subterranean 
cavern, and from its seclusion is called 
Bagno delle Femmine. The fourth is 
known by the name of Bagno di Cala- 
met, i.e. “ Calat al Hammah,” Castle 
of the Baths, from a Saracenic castle. 


extant in the time of King William 




the Good. The next rises on the 1. 
bank, and the last in the middle of 
the stream, and is distinguished by its 
silvery hue. The Avater of these springs 
is clear, colourless, slightly nauseous to 
the taste, and emits as it rises hydro- 
sulphuric acid gas. It " is composed 
principally of sulphate and hydrochlo¬ 
rate of soda, sulphate and carbonate of 
lime, with a small quantity of hydro- 
chlorate of magnesia. The temperature 
of the hottest spring is 115J° Falir. 

Crossing the stream by the Ponte de 
Bagni, the path ascends over open 
downs to the foot of Monte Barbaro, 
whence the temple of Segeste bursts 
suddenly upon the Anew. 

“ Every trace of cultivation had dis¬ 
appeared, and nothing was to be seen 
before us but A*ast arid plains, abutting 
to the rt. on the rugged and barren side 
of Monte Inici. In the midst of this 
desolation a sudden turn in the road 
brought us to a point of vieAV which 
made us pause with wonder and admi¬ 
ration. At about f of a mile from us, 
in the midst of a desert which looked 
as if it had hitherto escaped from all 
contact Avith human industry, and 
placed upon a high hill, as upon a 
pedestal, rose one of the most magnifi¬ 
cent monuments of ancient art. The 




ROUTE 2 . —SEGESTE—THE TEMPLE. 


temple of Segeste stood before us, mar¬ 
vellous in its perfect preservation.”— 
A. de Quatrefages. 


Segeste. 

The Temple. —The situation of this 
grand relic of antiquity is most striking. 
It stands at the head of the valley on a 
bare eminence, backed by wild, rugged 
heights, with bleak open downs in 
front, and with no other object around 
to divert the attention or detract from 
its grandeur. Behind it opens a pre¬ 
cipitous ravine of great depth, through 
which flows the torrent Pispisa. On 
one hand is the height on which stood 
the ancient city, now called Monte 
Barbaro, rising in a steep slope from 
the temple, but on every other side in 
precipices of red and grey rock. The 
temple of Segeste “ affords a most 
striking instance of the manner in 
which the Greeks placed their edifices, 
so as to harmonise with and be height¬ 
ened by the grandeur of the surround¬ 
ing scenery.In its general effect 

it is unquestionably the grandest in the 
whole island. Standing on the brink 
of a profound precipice, and surrounded 
on all sides with lofty desolate moun¬ 
tains, with little or no vegetation, it 
impresses the most careless spectator 
with a feeling of overpowering awe, 
akin to that which it was intended to 
produce in the mind of the worshipper 
of old.”— Bartlett. 

This temple is of the severest Doric 
architecture, and of large proportions, 
the peristyle being 191 ft. 7 in. in 
length by 70 ft. o in. in width. Like 
most Greek temples it faces the E. 
It is of that description termed liexa- 
style-peripteral, from having 6 columns 
in each front, and columns also in the 
wings, in this case 14 on each side 
including those at the angles; making 
30 in all. It rests on a stylobate 
of 4 high steps. The columns have 
the peculiarity of not being fluted, 
which gives them rather a heavy as¬ 
pect, but their massiveness is lessened 
in appearance by the multitude of 
drums, from 10 to 13, of which they 


149 

are composed. At their base they are 
almost 7 feet in diameter, and their 
height, including the capital, is a 
little less than 5 diameters, which 
constitutes rather a light order of 
Doric. They taper much upwards, 
with a slight entasis or bulge, and 
have preserved their forms in great 
measure unaltered, one column only 
in the pronaos, the second from the 
S.E. angle, having been shattered by 
lightning and unskilfully restored. 
The capitals are simple, and less cor¬ 
roded than the shafts. The entabla¬ 
ture, save that the apex of the W. and 
the angles of the E. pediment, and 
here and there a portion of the cor¬ 
nice, have been repaired, is entire all 
round. It is unusually heavy and 
massive, being almost two-fiftlis of the 
height of the columns. The blocks 
of the architrave are enormous, each 
spanning the space between 2 columns. 
There is no sculpture in the metopes 
or pediments, and it is evident that 
the former at least never had such 
decoration. Tire rock of which' this 
temple is constructed, the magnesian 
limestone of the site, while it has been 
scorched into the richest tints of brown 
and ochre by the sun of many cen¬ 
turies, has successfully resisted the 
influences of the weather upon its sub¬ 
stance, so that the building presents 
a far less corroded aspect than the 
temples of Pres turn, or even than those 
of Girgenti. 

Though so nearly perfect exter¬ 
nally, this temple is far otherwise in 
its interior. Not a trace is visible of 
the cella, that most essential part of 
an ancient temple, to which the peri¬ 
style was but a supplement and adorn¬ 
ment. Not even a slab of the pave¬ 
ment is to be seen. This fact alone 
makes it evident that the temple was 
never completed; and this is confirmed 
by several other peculiarities which 
can only be accounted for on this 
supposition. 

The fact of the temple being un¬ 
finished shows that the work must 
have been interrupted by some politi¬ 
cal catastrophe, and assists us greatly 
in determining the date of its construc¬ 
tion. The grand scale on which it is 





150 


ROUTE 2. -SEGESTE—THE THEATRE. 


designed proves that it must have 
been commenced in the flourishing 
days of Segeste. The simple, massive, 
and pure style of its Doric architec¬ 
ture cannot possibly be attributed to 
Roman times, and belongs to a much 
earlier age, and the happiest period of 
Greek art. We are therefore led to 
refer it to an epoch not later than 
the Athenian invasion of Sicily, most 
probably to the latter half of the 5th 
century before Christ; and it appears 
likely that the event which prevented 
its completion was the subjugation of 
the city to the Carthaginians in the 
year 409 b.c. —the period from which 
Segeste dates her decline. 

The traveller should not fail to as¬ 
cend Monte Barbara to the site of the 
ancient city and theatre. The ascent is 
easiest immediately above the temple. 
Round the brow of the hill are remains 
of fortifications, of mediaeval and pro¬ 
bably of Saracenic construction, of 
small irregular masonry, in which are 
embedded large blocks from the earlier 
walls, together with fragments of 
columns, door-jambs, or portions of 
cornices. At intervals are square pro¬ 
jecting towers. The surface of the 
height is rugged with’ scattered co¬ 
lumns and architectural fragments, 
overgrown with fennel, squills, orchids, 
and thistles. Among these debris are 
many reservoirs or wells, shaped like 
huge bells; the remains of a Roman 
house recently excavated; and on the 
highest part of the hill the traces of 
a small, simple, apsidal church, pro¬ 
bably of very early date. 

The Theatre stands on the northern 
side of Monte Barbara, where it at¬ 
tains its greatest elevation, and at the 
verge of the steep overhanging the 
valley of the Gaggera. Till the pre¬ 
sent century it remained so encumbered 
with debris that its plan was scarcely 
intelligible. The Prince of Torre- 
muzza was the first to attempt to clear 
it, and his labours were followed by 
those of the Duke of Scrradifalco in 
1822, and of Messrs. Hittorf and Zantli 
about the same period; and more re¬ 
cently the Sicilian Commission of 


Antiquities has completed its disin¬ 
terment. 

The Theatre of Segeste, like Greek 
theatres in general, rests against the 
steep rocky slope out of which the 
greater part has been excavated, so 
that from the brow of the hill you de¬ 
scend into it, and find yourself on the 
prsecinctio or corridor, at about two- 
thirds the height from the orchestra. 
The form is more than semicircular, the 
ends being extended 10 ft. The outer 
wall is not rounded, but cut into a series 
of some 20 facets, of unequal lengths. 
At the base of the semicircle this wall 
terminates in a grand mass of irregular 
masonry, some 35 ft. in height. The 
external diameter of the structure is 
205 ft., the internal 52 ft. 9 in. That 
portion of the theatre which does not rest 
on the rock is supported on buttresses 
of opus incertum. Six flights of steps 
divide the cavea into 7 cunei or wedges. 
The part below the prsecinctio has 20 
tiers of seats, all built up of masonry, 
the upper row having a raised back, 
a peculiarity found in only one other 
Greek theatre in Europe. There are 
traces also of seats above the prsecinctio, 
but the upper part of the theatre has 
lost its distinctive featiues. Two vo¬ 
mitories, by which the spectators de¬ 
scended into the theatre, open on the 
prsecinctio, and from their irregular 
position interfere with the symmetry of 
the structure. 

Of the seen a the foundations remain, 
showing it to have been nearly 90 ft. 
in width. In the centre opens the 
“ royal door,” but there are no traces 
of the “ stranger-doors ” by which this 
was usually flanked. The position of 
the proscenium or stage, which was 
probably of wood, is marked by a line 
of slabs at regular intervals between 
the seen a and the orchestra; and in 
front of these another slab seems to 
mark the site of the thymele or altar 
of Bacchus. At the angles of the 
scena arc quadrangular chambers or 
parascenia, which externally have a 
moulded base, with satyrs in relief at 
the angles. A passage sunk beneath 
and across the scena seems intended 
for drainage. Another, with an arched 



ROUTE 2 . —SEGESTE—THE THEATRE. 


151 


doorway, opens into the wall of ma¬ 
sonry at the N.W. angle. 

The position, plan, and peculiar 
features of the cavea of this theatre 
lead to the conclusion that it is of 
Greek origin, hut it appears to have 
been repaired in Roman times, for the 
remains of the scenci are apparently 
of that period, and the walls at the 
chord of the arc seem to have been 
rebuilt of the old materials. It is 
probable that the theatre dates from 
the flourishing days of Segeste, not 
later than the 5tli century before 
Christ, and that, having fallen into 
decay during the Carthaginian domi¬ 
nation, or having been ruined by 
Agathocles, it was restored by the 
Romans on their occupation of the 
city. 

Like all Greek theatres this is 
placed in a situation commandingrfi 
a magnificent view; as that aesthetic 
people always sought to heighten the 
effect of the highest works of art by 
a combination with the sublimest ob¬ 
jects of nature. The nearest and most 
striking feature is the temple itself, 
standing out in richly tinted isolation 
and marvellous preservation from the 
desert of grey rock behind it. But the 
panorama around is one of rare majesty. 

“ From the summit of the hill, the eye 
glances from the abrupt declivities of 
Monte Inici to the waters of the gulf, 
and the point of Omo Morto, rendered 
blue by distance, until, ascending to the 
peak of Bonifato, it loses itself in a 
labyrinth of mountains, whose gradu¬ 
ated summits, compressed together like 
so many solid waves, blend into one 
mass, which skirts the horizon from 
Mount Eryx to Corleone. But 
throughout this vast amphitheatre, 
by which the spectator is surrounded, 
the silence and stillness of the tomb 
reign supreme, without any manifes¬ 
tation of active life. Concealed by 
its rocks, Calatafimi scarcely reveals 
the presence of its ruined Saracenic 
fortress, while Alcamo is completely 
hidden behind an undulation.”— A. de 
Quatrefctges. 

At the foot of the height is the 
house of the custode of the temple, 
where are preserved some fragments 


of sculpture and architecture found in 
the ancient city. A Greek inscription 
from the theatre, in 4 fragments, seems 
to be a dedicatory monument by the 
Egestans to some deity or person 
whose name does not appear. 

Though the temple and theatre 
have been described as Greek, Se¬ 
geste was not a Greek city. The 
general tradition of antiquity ascribes 
its origin to a Trojan colony which 
settled here on the destruction of 
their native city, and particularly either 
to Egestus or Acestes,— 

“ Tro'ia Crimiso conceptual flumine mater 
Quem genuit,”— 

or to the son of Anchises himself. 
Another tradition assigns it to the 
Elymi, a tribe of Pelasgi settled in 
this part of Sicily even before the 
Arrival of the Trojans. But although 
these traditions cannot be regarded 
as historical, there is reason to be¬ 
lieve that Segeste is among the most 
ancient cities in Sicily, and owes her 
foundation to some people distinct 
from the native Sicani, some centuries 
prior to the settlement of the Greeks 
in the island. Though a barbarian city, 
Segeste from her early and intimate 
relations with the Greek colonies felt 
deeply the influence of Hellenic civil¬ 
ization, as is proved by her coins and 
local monuments. She was more ge¬ 
nerally known to the Greeks as Egesta, 
and it is said that this name, having 
an ominous sound to Roman ears, was 
altered by that people to Segesta. 
But this is disproved by early coins, 
which show both names to have been 
applied to the city long before the time 
of the Romans. 

So early as the year 580 b.c. Se¬ 
geste was at war with Selinus, the 
territories of the 2 cities being con¬ 
terminous; and this contest was re¬ 
newed with various results, till in the 
year 416 b.c. the Segestans, being hard 
pressed by the Selinuntines and the 
Syracusans their allies, applied for 
succour to Athens. How their am¬ 
bassadors were received, what argu¬ 
ments they employed, how Nicias de¬ 
precated and Alcibiades urged the 
espousal of their cause, how the de- 



152 


ROUTE 2 . —SEGESTE TO TRAPANI. 


puties sent to verify the boasted 
wealth of Segeste were deceived by 
the display of borrowed plate, and 
how, having long sought a pretext 
for the invasion of Sicily, the Athe¬ 
nians at length yielded to their re¬ 
quest, and despatched that expedition 
which proved so disastrous to their 
arms, and the deathblow to their na¬ 
tional greatness, is it not chronicled 
in the pages of Thucydides ? On the 
failure of that expedition, Segeste, 
dreading the vengeance of Syracuse, 
and having vainly sought to propitiate 
Selinus, applied to Carthage for as¬ 
sistance. That city in 409 b.c. sent 
Hannibal with a vast armament, who 
soon took and destroyed Selinus, Hi- 
mera, and Agrigentum, and firmly 
established the Punic power in the 
W. of Sicily. The destruction of her 
ancient foe proved of little advantage 
to Segesta, whose independence was 
absorbed in the growing dominion of 
her ally, and as a Carthaginian city 
she soon after successfully stood a 
siege from Dionysius. Nearly a cen¬ 
tury later Segeste was depopulated by 
Agathocles, when on his return from 
Africa in 307 b.c. he revenged the 
humiliation he had received from the 
Carthaginians on the unhappy Seges- 
tans, whom, to the number of 10,000, 
he put to the sword, or cruelly tor¬ 
tured to extort their treasures. He 
repeopled the city with a band of fo¬ 
reign exiles, and ordered it to be 
called Dicaeopolis, a name it did not 
long retain. Between the expedition 
of Pyrrhus and the First Punic War it 
was stormed and plundered by the 
Carthaginians, but at the breaking out 
of that war the citizens overpowered 
the Punic garrison, and declared for 
Rome, which ever after, on this ac¬ 
count as well as on that of a common 
origin, treated them with great con¬ 
sideration. On the destruction of 
Carthage, Scipio restored to them 
the celebrated colossal bronze statue 
of Diana, which had been carried off 
to Africa, of matchless beauty and ex¬ 
quisite workmanship, the pride and 
glory of the citizens, which was the 
first thing they took Cicero to see on 
his visit to the city, and which lie de¬ 


scribes in such glowing terms. Yet 
this statue, with many other art-trea¬ 
sures, was carried off by the infamous 
Verres. The date of the destruction 
of Segeste is unknown. This event is 
attributed to the Saracens, but all we 
know is that the town w r as in existence 
in the 4th century, and that it had dis¬ 
appeared before the Norman conquest 
in the lltli. 

For particulars consult Cenni sulle 
Antichita di Segesta, by Antonino Mar- 
rone, Palermo, 1827; Antichita di Sici¬ 
lia, vol. i., by the Duca di Serradifalco. 

On leaving Segeste the traveller can 
make a short cut towards Trapani, by 
crossing the downs to La Colonnetta, a 
solitary post-house, 12 m. from that 
city, where he meets the high road. 
The country is open and bare, hilly 
rather than mountainous, with undu¬ 
lating downs carpeted with com or 
pasture. Not a village is in sight; 
but here and there a lonely farm, with 
blank, windowless walls, saddens the 
treeless landscape. “ Nature seldom 
formed a more bleak and dreary scene 
than the interval between Segeste and 
Trapani.” Yet the grand abrupt mass 
of Monte San Giuliano in front, and 
the long broken forms of the iEgadian 
Islands, dim and grey on the horizon, 
are striking and cheerful features. The 
road at length, after many a tedious 
hour, reaches the base of the precipitous 
mountain of S. Giuliano, runs through 
an avenue of mulberries to the Ma¬ 
donna dell’ Annunziata, 1^ in. from 
Trapani, and hence, between salt-pans, 
salt-piles, and pottery-kilns, along the 
sandy isthmus up to the city-gate. 
Nothing can be more dismal than this 
approach, and the traveller recognises 
immediately the “ illsetabilis ora ” of 
Virgil, where iEneas lost his father 
Anchises. 

“ Hinc Prepani me portus et illsetabilis ora 

Accipit. Hie, pelagi tot tempestatibus actus, 

Heu! genitorem, omnis curse casusque leva- 
men 

Amitto Anchisem.” 

Trapani. — Inns. There are three; 
but none worthy of a city so large and 
commercially important as Trapani. 
The “ Leon d’Oro,” at the end of the 




ROUTE 2 . —TRAPANI. 


153 


Strada Nuova, near the ramparts, kept 
by tlie Cavaliere Grignano, a civil land¬ 
lord, whose beds are clean. “ Locanda 
della Trinacria,” in the centre of the 
town, furnishes clean beds and an eat¬ 
able dinner, and is perhaps the best. 
“ Locanda a Porta di Mare,” just within 
the gate opening on the harbour, 
inferior. 

The Corriera leaves for Palermo 
every Sunday,Wednesday, and Friday; 
and for Marsala also on the same days, 
on the arrival of the mail from the 
capital. 

There is steam communication every 
week between Trapani and Palermo, 
and also between Trapani, Sciacca, and 
Girgenti; and every other week, with 
Mazzara, the boat running on alternate 
weeks to Marsala, Licata, and Syracuse. 
Twice a mouth a steamer runs to Tunis, 
touching at the islands of Favignana 
and Pantellaria. For particulars see 
the article “ Steamers ” in the Intro¬ 
duction. 

British Vice-Consul .—Signor Luigi 
Marino. 

Trapani, the ancient Drepcinum (8p4- 
irauou or dpenavr ]—sickle or scythe), 
took its name from the curved form 
of the neck of land on which it stands. 
Whether this promontory were the 
scythe that Saturn cast to the earth, 
after testifying with it his filial affec¬ 
tion, or the sickle that Ceres lost in her 
vain search after Proserpine, each tra¬ 
veller can determine for himself. 
Though the port was known in very 
early times as the port of Eryx, and 
though Virgil represents iEneas as 
founding a city on this shore, the town 
of Drepanum really owes its origin to 
Hamilcar Barcas, who in the com¬ 
mencement of the First Punic War, or 
about 260 b.c., fortified the promontory, 
and built a city on it, to which he 
transferred the inhabitants of Eryx, 
which he had just destroyed. This 
city played an important part through¬ 
out That war as one of the strongholds 
of "the Carthaginians, which they 
guarded with the utmost care, success¬ 
fully resisting in 242 n.c. a siege by 
the Romans, under the Consul Luta- 
tius Catulus, who attempted to take it 


by assault. Under the Romans, the 
importance of Drepanum was eclipsed 
by that of its neighbour Lilybseum, 
now Marsala. But in the middle ages 
the former took the lead, which it has 
ever since maintained, being* now the 
most populous and flourishing city, and 
the most important place d’armes, on 
the W. coast of Sicily. 

Trapani, the capo luogo, or chief 
town of one of the 7 provinces into 
which Sicily is divided, and the see of 
a bishop, has a population of 30,337; 
its inhabitants are industrious, enter¬ 
prising, and ingenious, and have the 
reputation of being the best sailors and 
artisans in the island. It carries on a 
brisk and increasing trade in salt, 
which is manufactured in vast quanti¬ 
ties on its shores, and also in the flesh 
of the tunny, which fish abounds hi the 
season on this coast. Trapani is also 
the chief seat of the Sicilian coral- 
fishery, which is carried on in the sea 
between the island and Africa, but 
chiefly off the Barbary coast. Trapani 
has contributed largely to the line arts 
in Sicily, its school having furnished 
many respectable painters ; and it 
claims the invention of the art of cut¬ 
ting cameos on shell in imitation of the 
antique, which is now brought to such 
perfection in Rome. The inventor of this 
art was Giovanni d’Anselmo, who lived 
in the middle of the last century. In 
fact, the forte of the Trapanesi is sculp¬ 
ture, or rather carving, and they exer¬ 
cise it on pietre dure, alabaster, shell, 
wood, and ivory, but especially on coral, 
which abounds in the neighbouring 
seas, and may be had in perfection at 
Trapani. The cameos cut here cannot 
compete with those of Rome, nor the 
alabasters with those of Florence or 
Volterra; but the coral-work may rival 
that of Naples. 

Cored-workers .—The best are Bal- 
dassare Giacalone, Giuseppe Pizzitola, 
Giuseppe Landicina, Guido Carlo, and 
Cristofero Morana, who also carves in 
ivory and alabaster. 

Cutters of cameos and pietre dure .— 
Guido Carlo, Domenico Signorino, Giu¬ 
seppe Landicina. 

Carvers in alabaster .—Alberto Aleo 

h 3 




154 


ROUTE 2. -TRAPANI-CHURCHES. 


Francesco Marino, Luigi Giannitrapani, 
Giovanni Wianni. 

Trapani was made a place d'armes 
by Charles V., for the protection of the 
coast against Barbary pirates. The 
wall which surrounds it is prior to the 
use of artillery; but it is strengthened 
with bastions and ravelins at intervals, 
and on the land side is protected by 
lines thrown up by the English during 
then' occupation of Sicily. Though a 
respectable fortress, it would hardly sus¬ 
tain in modern times the proud title of 
“ Invittissima,” to which Trapani lays 
claim. The castle at the N.E. angle 
is unworthy the name of citadel, with 
which it is dignified. 

The city is tolerably neat and well 
built; with streets regular and i well 
paved, but generally narrow, though 
the main street, or Via Grande, is 
broad and handsome. The houses are 
not lofty, and have flat roofs and heavy 
balconies supported by massive canta- 
livers. The shops, which are princi¬ 
pally in the main street, are very small, 
with open fronts resembling those in 
the cities of southern Spain. In fact, 
Trapani has much of a Spanish cha¬ 
racter, which it doubtless owes to the 
great intercourse it maintained with 
that kingdom under the Aragonese and 
Castilian dynasties. The black manto 
with which the women enshroud them¬ 
selves also reminds one of Spain; quite 
as “mystical,” though not so “gay,” as 
the mantilla. One charm of Trapani is 
the abundant relics of the middle ages 
in its domestic architecture. In every 
street you find quaint feudal palaces 
with portals pointed or rounded, heavy 
corbelled labels, and decorations, dating 
from the days of the Norman or Ara¬ 
gonese monarclis. 

Trapani boasts of numerous monas¬ 
teries and convents, and of no less than 
51 churches; also of three hospitals, 
a Monte di Pieta, a college, 2 semi¬ 
naries, a public library bequeathed by 
General Fardella, and a large theatre 
prettily fitted up. 

Churches. 

S. Agostino. —This ancient convent, 
formerly the residence of the Knights- 


Templars, has a pointed portal, with a 
dog-tooth label; and a marigold win¬ 
dow containing interlacing circular 
arches, and encircled with foliage and 
tracery. The lights in the tower show 
the ogee arch. In the piazza in front 
of this church is a fountain, “ Fonte di 
Saturno,” surmounted by a statue of 
Saturn, who claims to have founded 
the city in the year of the world 1225. 

S. Andrea. —Here is an altarpiece of 
the Virgin of the Rosary, by Andrea 
Carreca (ob. 1677), an artist of Trapani, 
and a pupil of Novelli. 

Sant' Anna. —The altarpiece of the 
Holy Family, with the Almighty in 
glory, has some merit. 

La Badia Nuova, or II Soccorso .— 
This church is decorated with various 
marbles. The Vision of St. Thomas 
Aquinas on the vault is frescoed by 
Andrea Carreca, by whose hand is also 
the St. Catherine of Siena in ecstasy, 
in the 1st chapel to the rt. The oil 
painting of St. Dominic in adoration 
is ascribed to Novelli, but it is more 
probably by one of his pupils. The 
altarpiece of the Madonna of the Rosary 
is of the Flemish school. 

In the Capuchin Convent, outside 
the gates, are catacombs of mummied 
monks. 

I Carmelitani. —In the 2nd chapel 
to 1. is a picture of St. Albert crowned 
by cherubs, by Andrea Carreca. 

I Disciplinanti. —In the church is 
a St. James, sculptured by Antonio 
Gagini, and inscribed with his name, 
and the date of 1522. 

S. Domenico. —This clmrcli shows 
its antiquity in a circular window orna¬ 
mented with the Norman dog-tooth, 
and much enriched with foliage. It 
contains a picture of St. Raymond, by 
Vito Carrera, the master of Novelli, 
painted in 1G03. 

S. Francesco. —In the sacristy is 
shown a chalice of gold studded with 



ROUTE 2. -TRAPANI-CATHEDRAL. 


155 


coral, and a crucifix of a single piece of 
coral, regarded as a chef-d'oeuvre in 
this material. 

Collegio de Gesuiti. —Tlie church, is 
one of the largest and handsomest in 
Trapani, with a pleasing fa 9 ade of 2 
orders, Doric and Ionic, and an inte¬ 
rior of Italian Doric, with coupled co¬ 
lumns. The altarpiece is the Assump¬ 
tion of the Virgin, in relief, by Jgnazio 
Marabitti, 1766. In the chapel to 
the rt. of the tribune is St. Francis 
Xavier in adoration, by Pietro No¬ 
vell i —a good picture, but with hardly 
so much expression as is usual in his 
devotional heads. The opposite chapel 
contains a companion picture, of St. 
Ignatius Loyola on his knees receiv¬ 
ing a banner from an angel. The 
chiaroscuro is like that of Ribera, but 
the saint shows the manner of No- 
velli, and the picture is ascribed to 
Andrea Carreca, his pupil. In the 
2nd to the 1., the altarpiece of San 
Francesco Borgia administering the 
mass to St. Louis and St. Stanislaus 
is ascribed to NoveUi, but the picture 
is in such wretched preservation, that 
his hand is hardly to be detected save 
in the angel, and a figure to the 
1. In the Sacristy, notice the excel¬ 
lent Renaissance carving in walnut- 
wood. In the Refectory of the con¬ 
vent are heads of the 12 Apostles, 
small, but forcibly painted, after the 
manner of Ribera, by Andrea Carreca. 
Attached to this convent is 

The Liceo, which contains a gallery 
of paintings, mostly mediocre. Among 
them are— Luca Giordano , the Holy 
Family. — Gnercino, Daedalus and 
Icarus.— Guido, St. Stephen, a sketch. 
— Ribera, 2 heads, of St. Joseph, and 
San Francesco di Paola.— Caravaggio, 
the daughter of Herodias receiving the 
head of John the Baptist.— Salvatore 
Rosa, a small battle-sketch. — Bor- 
gognone, 2 battle-scenes.— Andrea di 
Salerno, St. Januarius. — Marco da 
Siena, the Deity.— Innocenzo da Imola, 
the Holy Family. — Vaccaro, Mary 
Magdalen.— Andrea Carreca, St. Al¬ 
bert, and Jacob’s Dream; both much 
in the manner of Novelli, his master. 


—Giuseppe Errante, a modern Trapa- 
nese artist, the Death of Antigone, Or¬ 
pheus and Eurydice, the Apotheosis of 
Napoleon, &c.—A nice early triptych of 
the Holy Family, on a gold ground. 
The names attached to the pictures of 
the Italian schools are those locally 
assigned to them; the traveller must 
form his own opinion as to their au¬ 
thenticity. 

S. Giacomo. —Attached to this church 
is a Public Library of 14,000 volumes, 
established by General Giovanni Bat¬ 
tista Fardella. 

S. Giovanni. —A large, domed church, 
containing in the 3rd chapel to the 1. a 
picture of S. Filippo Neri, by Pietro 
Novelli. The saint, jn alb and chasu¬ 
ble, is on his knees, in adoration of the 
Madonna in glory. The heads are 
full of expression, and the picture is 
the best of Monrealeses in Trapani. 
In the 2nd to the 1. is a St. Isidore; 
and in the 3rd to the rt. a St. John 
the Evangelist; both of the Trapanese 
school. 

S. Lorenzo, the Cathedral, a spa¬ 
cious church of simple, majestic, Ita¬ 
lian architecture, with a portico of 
3 arches. In the 4th chapel to the 
rt. is a Crucifixion, by Vandyck, said 
to have been painted during his resi 
dence in Sicily from 1622 to 1624. 
The treatment is masterly, the colour¬ 
ing cool yet harmonious, and the 
drapery simple and broad. It is a pic¬ 
ture to be remembered. Beneath the 
altar of the Holy Sacrament is a 
figure of the dead Saviour, about 3 ft. 
in length, carved in variegated marble, 
in imitation of putrid flesh—a disgust¬ 
ing conceit, popular among the Sici¬ 
lians. It is the work of Giacomo Tar- 
taglia, a native sculptor of the 17th 
century. In the 2nd chapel to the 1. a 
St. George and the Dragon, by Andrea 
Carreca, has some merit. The church 
contains a monument to Cavalier Giu¬ 
seppe Errante, the last of the Trapanese 
painters, who was master at once of 
the pencil, the quill, and the foil— 
“pencillo, calamo, gladio prsestantis- 
simus,”—and died in 1821. 





156 


ROUTE 2. -TRAPANI-CHURCHES—PALACES. 


Madonna della Luce. — The gate is 
adorned with Renaissance arabesques 
and reliefs, and bears the date of 1509. 
The altarpiece is a Madonna, of Byzan¬ 
tine art, inscribed with the date 1211. 

Santa Maria di Gesit. —This church 
is of simple Italian Doric architec¬ 
ture. Against 2 of the pilasters are 
panel pictures of St. Peter and St. 
Francis, of quattrocento art, but not on 
gilt grounds. The Coronation of the 
Madonna by angels, over the N. door, 
is of the same period. In the custodia 
of the organ are a number of saints 
painted by Vito Carrera, in 1G09. 

Oratorio di S. Michele. —Over the 
door is a bas-relief of St. Michael kill¬ 
ing the Dragon, with the date of 1120. 
In the church are many groups of co¬ 
loured sculpture hi wood, and of life- 
size, illustrating the Passion of our 
Lord—the work of Tipa, a Trapanese 
sculptor of the last century. Many of 
the figures are wretched; but a few 
are full of expression, and the group¬ 
ing in some cases is good. 

S. Nicola. —At the back of the tri¬ 
bune is a marble bas-relief of the Re¬ 
surrection, by Gagini, with small heads 
of the Apostles in the gradetta; dated 
1560. The figure of Christ, which is 
naked, is dry and meagre; but those 
of the saints maintain the artist’s re¬ 
putation for skilful management of 

drapery. A font of transparent marble 
in this church is worthy of notice. 

S. Pietro. —The old convent of this 
name, in the Salita di San Domenico, 
has large pointed windows in the 
upper story, decorated with the billet 
and dog-tooth mouldings, and divided 
into double lights. The church of 

this name in the Via Giudecca, lias 
an organ of similar construction to 
that in the Benedictine convent at 

Catania. 

S. Bocco contains an oil-painting 

of an angel dressing a wound in the 
saint’s thigh, by Novelli. The treat¬ 
ment t is bold and masterly, and the 
head of the saint fine; but the picture 


is sadly injured. In the 2nd chapel 
to the 1. is a painting of the Madonna, 
with St. Jerome, St. Gregor}', and St. 
Charles, which is attributed to Ribera. 
The sacristy contains a Flagellation, of 
the Flemish school, and a small canvas 
picture of the Assumption and Coro¬ 
nation of the Virgin, ascribed to J)o- 
menichino —a charming little piece, 
worthy of more careful preservation. 

La Trinita, or Badia Grande, is a 
very neat and chaste church of Ionic 
architecture. 

The Casa Comunale, at the head of 
the Via Grande, is a fine Italian 
building of 3 orders, containing a few 
pictures by Novelli and Carreca. 

The specimens of mediaeval do¬ 
mestic architecture in Trapani arc very 
numerous and quaint; among them 
the following may be noticed :— Palazzo 
del Barone Scirinna, in the Strada 
Nuova, with a circular portal and 
double voussoirs, adorned with the an¬ 
gular billet; and round-headed win¬ 
dows divided into lights. Palazzo del 
Barone Cuddia, in the same street, 
a building half Gothic, half Renais¬ 
sance ; but the Gothic is a modem 
restoration. Palazzo del Barone di 
Vincenzi, in the Via S ; Nicola, with a 
large rounded portal, having a cable 
moulding resting on twisted shafts; 
the label showing the astragal. Casa 
del Cavaliere Ballotta, in the same 
street, has a large doorway with the 
angular billet, and a label with the 
dog-tooth moulding. Palazzo del Prin¬ 
cipe S. Giuliano has a pointed portal, 
whose archivolt and label are studded 
with nail-heads. The label rests on 
beasts for corbels; the imposts are 
dentilled. The door of the Casa di 
Fiorentino, in the Via della Cubba, is 
pointed, and shows the billet, chevron, 
dog-tooth, and scroll moulding. On 
the opposite side of the street is a 
round-headed window studded with 
nail-heads. Palazzo del Barone Mo- 
gata, in the Via di Gallo, has a cu¬ 
rious circular arched portal, whose 
archivolt and imposts are studded 
with huge bosses like pine-apples. In 






ROUTE 2. -TRAPANI—COLOMBARA—MARINA. 


157 


tlie Via Serisso is an old house, with 
windows both rounded and pointed, 
and a corbel table of trefoil arches. In 
the Giudecca, or Jews’ quarter, stands 
a lofty tower, called Spedalello, vul¬ 
garly ascribed to the Saracens, but it 
is of much later date. The pointed 
archway beneath shows the nail-head 
in its archivolt and label. On the 
lower floor the windows are square¬ 
headed, with twisted columns instead 
of mullions, and with Gothic enrich¬ 
ments of the 15tli century. The 2 
upper stories are studded with the 
nail-head ornament; and the tower 
was crowned with machicolated bat¬ 
tlements, of which the corbels alone 
remain. One old palace is shown as 
the residence of William de Porcelets, 
lord of Calatafimi, the only French¬ 
man whose life was spared in the fear¬ 
ful massacre of the Vespers. “ The 
walls are covered with sculpture; 
everywhere trophies and statues are in¬ 
terspersed amid the armorial bearings 
of this proud family, whose cognisance 
was a boar and an eagle.” 

To the W. of the town, outside the 
Porta de’ Cappuccini, is a public pro¬ 
menade, called La Carolina , extending 
along the promontory towards the Sigia 
Tower, which is a small square fort on 
an isolated rock to the N.W. of the city. 
Off this tower lie several abrupt rocks, 
the largest and highest of which used 
to be called Scorjlio del Mai Consiglio, 
from a tradition that on this spot John 
of Procida was wont to meet Palmerio 
Abate of Trapani, and that here they 
concerted the memorable Sicilian Ves¬ 
pers of 1282. Whether the tradition be 
correct or not, it is certain that Trapani 
took a prominent part in those events, 
and that she received the new monarch, 
Peter of Aragon, with unbounded de¬ 
light, when he landed here on the 30th 
of August, 1282. The appellation has 
altered with the dominant politics: in 
1848 it was “ Buon Consiglio;” it soon 
became treason to give it that name, 
which was changed again to Mai Con¬ 
siglio, but since 1800 it has resumed the 
better appellation. On another rode to 
the W. of the promontory stands the 
Lazaretto, a Ioav yellow building; and 


on an adjoining rock, connected with 
this by a reef, is the large yellow pile 
of the prison, with the white octagonal 
lighthouse rising above it. Still further 
to the W. is a low ridge of rocks, sepa¬ 
rated by a narrow channel from the last. 
This is the Colombara, the Columbaria 
Insula (tt eAeias vrj<ros) of the ancients, 
probably so called from the dove-colour 
of its rocks; the island which in the 
siege of Drepanum by the Romans, 
242 B.c., was made the basis of then- 
operations against the city, and was 
connected with the promontory by 
means of a mole, some vestiges of which 
are still extant. It was behind this 
rock that Adlierbal lay with the Car¬ 
thaginian fleet on the night of the in¬ 
tended surprise by the Consul Claudius 
in the year 249 b.c. The shoals ex¬ 
tending from the salt-works on the 
shore southward to Punta Nubia are 
probably those on which so many of the 
Roman ships were driven and grounded 
in the contest of the following day, in 
which the Romans lost almost their 
entire fleet and 28,000 men; while the 
Carthaginians, if wo may believe his¬ 
tory, lost not a ship, and had very few 
men put hors de combat. Westward, 
some miles from Colombara, and half 
way between it and the island of Le¬ 
van zo, are 2 rocky islets called Le 
Formiche, or “the Ants,” where is a 
large tunny-fishery. 

The Marina, which stretches beneath 
the city wall, on the shore of the har¬ 
bour, is ornamented with statues of 
Philip V. and Victor Amadeus. The 
port is small, having been much injured 
by the earthquake of 1542, but it will 
hold vessels of considerable tonnage, 
and is sheltered from all save south¬ 
westerly winds. 

The port of Trapani has a classical 
interest as the spot in which Virgil lays 
the scene of the burning of the Trojan 
fleet. While iEneas and his warriors 
were celebrating the solemn games in 
honour of his father, who had died here 
the year previous, the Trojan women, 
whom custom excluded from the spec¬ 
tacle, were sitting gloomily by the ships, 
lamenting their fate in being so long 
the sport of the winds and waves, and 



158 


ROUTE 2. -MADONNA DI TRAPANI. 


sighing for the foundation of a new 
Troy. Juno sent Iris to fan this feeling 
to a flame, which she soon effected in a 
literal sense, the matrons seizing torches 
and hurling them on the ships. The 
treason was not on this occasion suc¬ 
cessful, for Jupiter, at the intercession 
of iEneas, nullified his wife’s spite by 
a heavy shower, and saved all but four 
of the galleys from destruction. 


Excursion to Monte San Giuliano. 

From Trapani to the town of Monte 
San Giuliano, on the mountain of that 
name, is a distance of 7 m. There is a 
carriage road to the summit, but, as the 
ascent is very steep and tedious, 3 horses 
are necessary to drag up a vehicle, the 
charge for which for the excursion should 
not exceed 3§ dollars. Donkeys may 
be hired for 4 tari each. For the first 
mile and a half you retrace your steps 
towards Palermo along the sandy isth¬ 
mus, with the salt-pans and mounds on 
your rt., and the long aqueduct which 
supplies Trapani with water from the 
springs of Monte S. Giuliano on the 
other hand. You quit the Palermo 
road at the Madonna di Trapani, which 
stands at the base of the isthmus and 
at the foot of the mountain. 

Santa Maria Annunziata , or Ma¬ 
donna di Trapani. —No one when at 
Trapani should fail to visit the cele¬ 
brated Madonna in the chinch of the 
Carmelite convent. The church is of 
Norman architecture, dating from 1332. 
The W. portal is pointed with 3 sink¬ 
ings, and shows the triple chevron and 
dog-tooth; while the capitals, which are 
continuous, are adorned with acanthus- 
leaves in imitation of the antique. 
Above is a circular window with foliage. 
The N. transept externally is of later 
date, having round towers at the angles, 
and shafts running from the bottom to 
the top of the wall, with a doorway of 
depressed Gothic. A lofty campanile, 
attached to the church, though in the 
Renaissance style, and therefore incon¬ 
gruous, adds much of the picturesque 
when viewed from a distance. Inter¬ 
nally the church is modernised, and of 


Composite architecture, with a single 
but spacious aisle. It contains no pic¬ 
tures worthy of notice; but in the S. 
transept is a holy-water-basin, on the 
plan of those in the cathedral of Pa¬ 
lermo, with a relief of the Baptism of 
Christ, erected in 1486 by the sailors of 
Trapani. 

The chapel of the Madonna, behind 
the high-altar, is highly decorated, the 
walls being incrusted with marbles of 
various hues, and the outer archway 
being ornamented with reliefs in white 
marble, beautifully carved, bearing date 
1537. The bronze screen, added in 
1591, is the work of Giuliano Musarra 
of Palermo. The miraculous images of 
the Madonna and Child, which stand 
beneatli a Corinthian canopy of white 
marble, are of the same material, of 
life-size, and are ascribed by some to 
Gagini, by others to the school of Niccolo 
Pisano, Another tradition, however, 
asserts that they were brought from 
Greece some centuries since, and that 
the vessel which was conveying them 
foundered at sea, yet the images would 
not sink, and were picked up by some 
fishermen, who deposited them here. 
The hair, eyebrows, and lips are co¬ 
loured ; both figures have ponderous 
gold crowns on their heads, and are 
almost lost beneath the profusion of 
chains, jewels, and trinkets with which 
the devotion of the faithful has adorned 
them. This shrine is in great repute 
in Sicily; and on the festa of the Ma¬ 
donna, on the 16th August, pilgrims, 
with crooks and scallop-shells, flock to 
it from all parts of the island. Observe 
the handsome bronze lectern, on winged 
paws, and surmounted by two cherubs : 
it is the work of Annibale Scudamiglio 
of Trapani, in 1582. 

The shrine of St. Albert adjoining is 
enriched with marbles of various hues, 
and an image of the saint in silver. 
Here is a quaint picture of the trans¬ 
portation of the miraculous Madonna 
to this spot on 19th August, 1621. St. 
Albert was a monk in this convent; 
and in the court behind the church is 
shown his cell, now fitted up as a chapel. 

The road to Monte S. Giuliano begins 
to ascend from the church of the Ma- 




ROUTE 2 . —MONTE S. GIULIANO. 


donna; but let the traveller halt awhile 
and cast his eye along the shore at the 
foot of the mountain. It is the scene 
of the funeral games in honour of An- 
chises, so spiritedly described in the 
fifth book of the iEneid. Here is the 
grassy arena beneath the slopes, where 
.Eneas and Acestes sat with their fol¬ 
lowers to watch the contests. 

“ Hoc pius /Eneas misso certamine tendit 
Gramineum in eampum, quem collibus un- 
dique curvis 

Cingebant silvse; mediaque in valle tbeatri 
Circus erat, quo se multis cum millibus heros 
Concessu medium tulit, exstructoque resedit. 
Hie, qui forte velint rapido contendere cursu, 
Invitat pretiis animos, et premia ponit. 
Undique conveniunt Teucri, mixtique Sicani.” 

JEn. v. 2S6. 

The low black rock of Asinello, hardly 
rising above the waves, and some 2 m. 
off the shore, may be recognised as that 
on which ./Eneas planted the ilex- 
branch as the goal for the galleys in 
the race. 

“ Est procul in pelago saxum spumantia contra 
Litora, quod tumidis submersum tunditur 
olim' 

Fluctibus, hiberni condunt ubi sidera Cori; 
Tranquillo silet, immotaque attollitur unda 
Campus, et apricisstatio gratissima mergis. 
Hie viridem /Eneas frojidenti ex ilice metam 
Constituit signum nautis pater; unde reverti 
Scirent, et longos ubi circumflectere cursus.” 

JSn. v. 124. 

Monte S. Giuliano, the Mons Eryx of 
antiquity, the Jebel-Hamed of the Sara¬ 
cens, is a mass of yellow limestone, 
rising in the midst of a low undulating- 
country. It attains the height of 2181 
ft., according to Admiral Smyth’s mea¬ 
surement, but its isolation and proximity 
to the sea give it an appearance of much 
greater altitude; and this misled Poly¬ 
bius to call it “ by far the loftiest moun¬ 
tain in Sicily, with the exception of 
/Etna.” The ascent is long and diffi¬ 
cult, and the road winds up the southern 
or steepest face of the mountain. An 
inscription on a fountain some way up 
states that this “smiling road” was 
constructed in 1850 in 40 days. It cer¬ 
tainly commands a most joyous pros¬ 
pect over Trapani and its saltpans, the 
open variegated country towards Mar¬ 
sala, and the Egadian islands studding 
the blue Mediterranean. The lower 
slopes of the mountain arc bare or fea¬ 


159 

thered with long grass, squills, and fan- 
palm ; higher up arc sumach and vines ; 
and around the Capuchin convent, one 
mile below the towft, orchards of various 
fruit-trees are overtopped by dark cy¬ 
presses and stately stone-pines. Clifts 
of laminated limestone, imitating walls 
of Cyclopean masonry, with bastions or 
buttresses at intervals, form the crest of 
the mountain. 

Monte S. Giuliano. —With a popu¬ 
lation of 11,500 this town has no inn. 
It is often vulgarly called “ Old Tra¬ 
pani,” but it occupies the site of the 
ancient Eryx, on the vei-y summit of 
the mountain, and is still enclosed on 
the W. by the walls of the early city. 
On every other side its boundaries are 
defined by precipices or inaccessible 
slopes. The town is dirty and wretched, 
with narrow steep streets, torturing 
pavement, and houses mean and dilapi¬ 
dated, but with here and there a pic¬ 
turesque fragment of mediaeval archi¬ 
tecture. Monte S. Giuliano prides itself 
on two things —on being the birthplace 
of St. Albert, the Carmelite monk, who 
wrought great miracles in his day ; and 
on producing the most beautiful women 
in Sicily. For the latter it has been 
renowned in all ages; but the moun¬ 
tain seems to bo now living on its 
ancient reputation. Some few of the 
churches arc worthy of notice. 

The Chiesa Matrice, just within the 
Porta di Trapani, was founded by 
Frederick II. in 1314, and restored in 
1685. It has an open porch with pointed 
arches, surmounted by a battlemented 
parapet; the portal within it is adorned 
with the dog-tooth and triple chevron, 
and closely resembles the door of the 
Madonna di Trapani at the foot of the 
mountain. A square campanile'of the 
same date, with large angular billets 
on the arc-hivolts of its pointed windows, 
stands detached from the chinch. The 
interior has three aisles, each terminated 
by an apse. The architecture shows 
the restorations of various periods. Some 
of the chapels have richly-groined roofs; 
one in the 1. aisle has a low cupola, sup¬ 
ported on pendentives in the Saracenic 
style; the next to it has an ogee arch 




1G0 ROUTE 2. 


—MONTE S. G1ULIANO—TEMPLE OF VENUS. 


and late Gothic mouldings. Over the 
high-altar are reliefs in marble repre¬ 
senting the Crucifixion, the Deposition, 
the Pieta, and the Resurrection with 
the Madonna and saints in the centre. 
Here is an early picture of the Madonna 
di Custonaci. 

The churches of St. Orsolci and del 
Carmelo are also of Siculo-Gothic ar¬ 
chitecture. In that of San Giovanni 
Battista is a statue of that saint by 
Antonio Gagini, sculptured in 1520. 

The Baron Barberi has a collection 
of ancient coins and gems, mostly 
found on the mountain and in its 
neighbourhood. 

II Gastello. —At the upper or E. end 
of the town stands the Castle, of me¬ 
diaeval construction, and now in ruins, 
though portions of it are still used for 
a prison. In the lower or outer court 
are two high square towers on one side, 
a ruined chapel with pointed apse on the 
other, and a battlemented keep between 
them. In the upper court, on the sum¬ 
mit of the mountain, is a large pit, 
which goes by the name of “ Pozzo di 
Venere.” It is of bell shape, of large 
size, 13 ft. in diameter at its neck or 
mouth, sunk in the rock and lined witli 
cement; and as it is undoubtedly of 
ancient construction, it was probably a 
well or reservoir for grain attached to 
the celebrated temple of Venus Eryeina, 
which occupied the crest of the moun¬ 
tain. Hard by is a horse-trough, pointed 
out as the Bagno di Venere, or Venus’s 
Bath. From this court you step out 
on a little bastion on the verge of the 
precipice, commanding a glorious view 
over the mountainous country eastward 
toward Palermo. Not a vestige of the 
temple remains above ground, though 
many massive blocks, with portions of 
tesselated and figured pavement, have 
been brought to light by excavations. 
But beneath the castle on the N., near 
a mediaeval arch, called “ Arco di De- 
dalo,” or more vulgarly “ Arco del 
Diavolo,” a personage better understood 
by the peasantry, is a fragment of 
regular masonry without cement, of 
ancient construction, and probably the 
substructions of the temple. 


This mountain was more renowned 
in ancient times for the temple of the 
laughter-loving goddess —“ Eryeina ri- 
dens,”—which stood on its summit, 
than for the town. Both, according to 
some legends, were built by Eryx, the 
son of the giant Butes by Venus, or by 
a native girl called Lycaste, sumamed 
Venus for her surpassing beauty ; while 
others, with Virgil, ascribe the temple 
to iEneas— 

“ Turn vicina astris Erycino in vertice sedcs 
Fundatur Veneri Idalia?.” 

Diodorus tells us that the crest of the. 
mountain, being very rugged and too 
circumscribed for a temple, was levelled 
by Daedalus when an exile from Crete, 
who built fortifications at the verge 
of the precipices, and constructed a 
road up to the building. This cele¬ 
brated shrine in splendour, wealth, and 
beauty, far surpassed all the other 
temples of Sicily, and was reverenced 
alike by Sicanians, Carthaginians, 
Greeks, and Romans, and had the rare 
good fortune not only to withstand the 
effects of time, and escape almost un¬ 
scathed the usual results of warfare, 
but even to increase in wealth and 
magnificence through a long series of 
ages. The Gauls, with the lawless and 
rapacious instincts of then race, plun¬ 
dered the temple when committed to 
their trust, and Hamilcar in the first 
Punic war also violated and spoiled 
it. The Romans far surpassed all their 
predecessors in the honours paid to 
this shrine. The Senate assigned to 
it a guard of 200 soldiers, and decreed 
that 17 cities of Sicily should pay a 
yearly tribute for its adornment. The 
crowds of priestesses, selected from the 
most beautiful women in the island, 
and not of “the most uneasy virtue; ” 
the salubrity of the site; the magni¬ 
ficence of the prospect; the fascinat¬ 
ing ceremonies and voluptuous dances, 
made it a favourite resort of wealthy 
debauchees; and even consuls, praetors, 
and other magistrates, laying aside the 
dignity of their oftice, joined in the fes¬ 
tivals and revels. The Governors of 
Sicily never failed to pay a visit to this 
sanctuary. Even the insatiable'Verres, 
j who profaned every other temple in the 



1G1 


ROUTE 2. -ERYX-ANCIENT WALLS AND GATES. 


island, offered np his unholy vows at 
this voluptuous shrine, and enriched it 
with a silver Cupid. 

Eryx, like Segeste, was not a Greek 
city, hut appears to have been hellcn- 
ised to a considerable extent. Both 
were cities of the Elymi, a people of 
Trojan origin, who settled in this part 
of Sicily immediately after the fall of 
Troy. Eryx in great measure followed 
the fortunes of its more powerful sister. 
In 509 b.c. both successfully resisted 
an attempt of Dorieus of Sparta, 
brother of the celebrated Leonidas, 
to drive out the non-Hellenic inha¬ 
bitants, and establish a Greek colony 
in this corner of the island. Little 
more is known of the history of Eryx be¬ 
fore the Athenian expedition, after which 
it became dependent on Carthage. It 
twice fell into the hands of Dionysius 
of Syracuse, but was recovered by the 
Carthaginians, from whom, in the year 
277 b.c., in spite of its natural strength, 
it was taken by storm by Pyrrhus King 
of Epirus, who was the first to mount 
the walls in the assault. In the First 
Punic War it was destroyed by Hamil- 
car, who transferred the inhabitants to 
his new town of Drepanum, on the 
promontory beneath the mountain. It 
must have been repeopled by the Car¬ 
thaginians, for in 248 b.c. the Consul 
L. Junius took both the town and 
temple by surprise, but Hamilcar, sud¬ 
denly quitting his strong position on 
Monte Pellegrino, regained possession 
of the city, and held it for two years 
until the close of the war, besieging 
the Consul in the temple at the sum¬ 
mit, and blockaded in turn by the 
Romans at the foot of the mountain. 
From this period Eryx seems to have 
been of no importance as a town, though 
the temple lost none of its celebrity 
under the Romans. It owes its change 
of name to a legend connected with its 
siege by the Saracens. While these 
were assaulting the city, St. Julian 
suddenly confronted them on the walls 
with a pack of hounds, which, flying at 
the Moslems, drove them over the ram¬ 
parts and caused them to break their 
necks in the fall. 

Of the ancient city of Eryx nothing 


remains beyond the walls, which may 
be traced, more or less ruined, along 
the western face of the mountain, and 
which are of such substantial construc¬ 
tion as to have defied, in great measure, 
the effects of time. Square towers pro¬ 
ject in them at unequal intervals; 11 
in a tolerable state of preservation, but 
2 almost level with the ground. They 
are nearly upright, but the curtains 
between them fall home considerably. 
The masonry is composed of enormous 
blocks, rudely squared, in courses gene¬ 
rally horizontal, the largest blocks 
being below, the most regular above. 
In certain parts the upper courses are 
of small and regular masonry, appa¬ 
rently the work of a later age and of a 
different race, and probably show the 
repairs effected by the Romans. The 
two ancient gates, now called Porta 
Spada and Porta di Trapani, are still 
the entrances to the modern town : 
both are now spanned by pointed 
arches, but the masonry, to the height 
of 6 or 7 ft., is of ancient construction. 
It is probable that these fortifications 
were originally confined to this side of 
Eryx, as the city was sufficiently pro¬ 
tected elsewhere by the nature of the 
ground. 

Were it not for these ancient walls 
and the magnificent view from the 
summit, there would be nothing to 
repay the traveller for the fatigue of 
the ascent. The isolation of the 
mountain gives it the command of a 
most extensive prospect in every di¬ 
rection over a country which, besides 
its associations with early fable and 
song, is memorable for the struggles 
between the Greeks and Carthagi¬ 
nians, and for the principal events in 
the First Punic War. At the foot of 
the mountain, to the W., lies the fish¬ 
ing-village of Bonagia, with a large 
tonnara. The eye travels over Tra¬ 
pani and its salt-pans, across the broad 
Mediterranean, studded with rocks, to 
the long but beautiful forms of the 
vEgadian islands, and embraces the 
scenes where the Roman fleet was de¬ 
stroyed by Adherbal, and where Luta- 
tius revenged that defeat upon Hanno, 
and gained for Rome the dominion of 
the sea. To the S. it wanders along 




162 


ROUTE 3. -PALERMO TO ALCAMO BY THE COAST. 


the low green coast to the island of S. 
Pantaleo, the now desolate site of 
Motya, renowned for its siege by Dio¬ 
nysius; to Cape Boe'o beyond, with 
Marsala gleaming upon it, a name fa¬ 
miliar to English ears, but not as 
associated with the glories of the an¬ 
cient Lilybamm, the Troy of Sicily. 
In the E. and S.E. rise the mountain- 
crests above Aleamo, Calatafimi, and 
Salemi. A broad and well-cultivated 
valley, sprinkled with farms and villas, 
lies to the N.E., bounded by bare 
bleak heights, which terminate in the 
bold red conical headland of Cofano, 
beyond which the low tower-tipped 
promontory of Santo Vito stretches 
into the horizon. 


ROUTE 3. 

PALERMO TO ALCAMO, BY THE COAST. 

Miles. 


Palermo to Sferracavallo .. .. 8 

Sferracavallo to Capaci. 3 

Capaci to Carini . 6 

Cariui to Cinisi . 9 

Cinisi to La Favarota. 1 

La Favarota to Partinico .. .. 9 

Partinico to Aleamo .15 

Miles.51 


There are two roads from Palermo 
to Carini. The more direct, 12 miles 
in length, on leaving Palermo, passes 
through Olivuzza and crosses the plain 
to Monte Belampo, which it ascends 
by a steep winding road to Toretta, a 


small town of 3000 souls, 9 m. from 
the capital, and thence descends to the 
plain of Carini. For the first 7 m. this 
is the road also to Montelepre, and for 
that distance only is it practicable for 
carriages. 

The coast-road, 17 m. long, is car¬ 
riageable all the way, and in excellent 
condition. It runs from Palermo north¬ 
wards through I Colli and at the back 
of the Istituto Castelnuovo; a little be¬ 
yond passes the palace of the Prince of 
Cassaro; next the large villa of the 
Principe Maletto and the village of S. 
Lorenzo; and, at 6 m. from Palermo, the 
fine villas Montalbo and San Cataldo, 
facing each other. The vale is dark with 
olive-trees, scattered over corn-fields, 
vineyards, and plantations of sumach 
or cactus, all enclosed by stone walls. 
The road first runs beneath the preci¬ 
pices of Monte Pellegrino, and then 
crosses the vale towards the rocky 
slopes of Monte Billemi. At 7 m. is 
the village of Tomaso Natale, a long 
straggling place of low white houses, 
surrounded by olive-trees and prickly 
pears. Here a road branches to the rt. 
to Mondello, whose bay is seen in the 
opening between Monte Pellegrino and 
Monte Gallo. The road continues be¬ 
neath the precipices of the latter for 
another mile to 

Sferracavallo , a fishing village on a 
small rocky bay in the opening between 
Monte Gallo and Monte Billemi. The 
village received its strange name of 
“ Unshoe a horse ” from the state of 
the bridle-paths along this rugged coast 
in former times; but the traveller need 
fear no such mishap at the present day. 
Nothing can be grander than the vast 
precipices of red rock 1692 ft. high, with 
which Monte Gallo here confronts the 
sea, and which deserve a record in every 
sketch-book. A little beyond the village 
observe to your 1. a long wall of brown 
rock in horizontal strata, bearing a start¬ 
ling resemblance to rude masonry. The 
road winds along the shore for some 
miles beneath grey c.litfs of great alti¬ 
tude ; the strip of land at their feet is 
at first utterly bare, but after awhile it 
is enriched with carobs and plantations 
of cactus and manna-ash. 








163 


ROUTE 3.—CAPACI-CARINI—HYCCARA. 


At 9§ m. you pass a small, bare, 
rocky islet, about A m. from the shore, 
called Isold delle Femmine, or the “ Isle 
of Womena name which appears sin¬ 
gularly inappropriate, but is probably a 
corruption of Isold di Fimi , the appel¬ 
lation borne by the islet in Norman 
times. It is crested by a square tower, 
now in rains, which is remarkable as 
the place where Cottizona, one of the 
many impostors who personated Don 
Sebastian of Portugal, was executed as 
a sorcerer in the 16th century. This 
island was taken by Fazello and the 
early antiquaries of Sicily for the site 
of the ancient Motya, which is now 
known to have stood on the W. coast, 
near Marsala. It is uninhabited, but 
on the rocky tongue of land opposite 
is a wretched fishing village named 
Torre dell' Isold, composed of about 100 
low huts, rising from thickets of cactus. 
Here the rich plain of Carini, with the 
bold insulated rock of Or vino rising 
from its bosom, first opens to the view, 
with its beautiful bay, bounded on the 
W. by the long range of Montagna 
Longa, beyond which stretches the dim 
headland of Santo Yito into the far 
horizon. 

11 m. Capaci, a small town of 3500 
souls, of low mean houses, and one 
broad street, lies at the foot of a mag¬ 
nificent wall of red cliffs at the base 
of Monte Zacati. After passing a long 
narrow ridge of rocks, with the appro¬ 
priate name of Moletta, about 12 m. 
from Palermo, you enter the plain of 
Carini. A break in the Hills to the 1. 
discloses the head of Monte Cuccio, not 
the familiar peaked crest it displays 
from Palermo, but a long, bare, hog- 
backed ridge, on whose shoulder winds 
the upper road to Carini. As you ad¬ 
vance into the plain observe the sin¬ 
gular amphitheatre hollowed by nature 
in the slopes of Monte Zacati. The 
most prominent object before you is 
now the insulated rock, called Colie 
Orvino, which rises abruptly from the 
plain—on the S. in steep bare slopes 
of grey rock, on the N. in perpendi¬ 
cular red precipices. For 2 m. the 
road runs at its foot, through planta¬ 
tions of olive and almond-trees, and at 


144 m. from Palermo it forks, the direct 
branch continuing along the coast to 
Cinisi, that to the 1. running to Carini, 
conspicuous on rising ground at the 
foot of Monte Saraceni. The plain 
here is covered with a most luxuriant 
vegetation of fruit-trees, mingled with 
corn, flax, and sumach. Many of the 
olive-trees are of such vast size and 
antiquity that they are popularly attri¬ 
buted to the Saracens. The sugar¬ 
cane was cultivated here some centuries 
since. 

17 m. Carini, a clean and neat town 
of 9300 inhab., with rugged streets and 
a tolerable locondd in the Piazza, kept 
by a jolly landlady who rejoices in the 
sobriquet of “ La Cicera.” 

Nino Oliveri can be recommended as 
a cicerone, and Giuseppe Tommasini as 
a civil, obliging, and honest muleteer. 

The town stands on a steep emi¬ 
nence, enclosed on 3 sides by lofty 
mountains, and open on the fourth to 
the sea, from which it is about 3 m. 
distant. With a salubrious site, a 
territory luxuriantly fertile, and de¬ 
lightful scenery, Carini is one of the 
most attractive country towns in Sicily. 
The picturesque character of the place 
is greatly enhanced by its feudal castle, 
on the brow of the rock overhanging 
the plain. It was erected in the 14th 
century, by Manfred Chiaramonte, 
whose arms are seen in the court. The 
outer gate is high, narrow, and pointed ; 
the inner bears the date of 1562 and 
the arms of the Spanish family of La 
Grua, to which this town gives the 
title of prince. Within its walls stands 
the prince’s palace in pleasant prox¬ 
imity to a prison. 

Carini probably derives its name as 
well as its origin from the ancient city 
of Hyccara, which stood in its neigh¬ 
bourhood. This was a Sicanian, or 
barbarian, town, a small seaport, and a 
place of little importance, owing its 
place in history to the surpassing beauty 
of one of its daughters, the courtezan 
Lais, the mistress of Alcibiades. At 
the commencement of the Athenian ex¬ 
pedition, 415 n.c., Nicias, sailing along 
this coast of Sicily, landed at Hyccara, 



164 


ROUTE 3. -CARINI TO ALCAMO. 


which was at war with Segeste his 
ally, captured and plundered the town, 
and sold the greater part of the inha¬ 
bitants for slaves. Lais was then a 
mere child, and fell to the lot of a 
Corinthian merchant, who carried her 
to his native city, where in after years 
she became the most celebrated woman 
of the age. Her beauty was so extra¬ 
ordinary that painters came from dis¬ 
tant lands for the sole purpose of trans¬ 
ferring her charms to canvas, and 
Apelles is said to have been over¬ 
whelmed with admiration on acci¬ 
dentally beholding her at a fountain. 
She ranked Aristippus, Demosthenes, 
and even the cynic Diogenes, among 
her lovers. Of the great orator it is 
said that, on hearing at what a vast 
sum she valued her favours, he ex¬ 
claimed, “ I cannot purchase repent¬ 
ance at so high a price.” It was her 
extravagant demands that gave rise to 
the old proverb— 

** Noncnivis homini contingit adireCorinthum.” 

Hyccara was situated on the coast, 
near the Tonnara of Carini, 3 m. from 
that town, on the spot called Garbo- 
langi, within the little bay formed by 
the tongue of sand to which an old 
tower has given the name of Torre- 
muzza. A small fragment of a wall 
and the usual broken pottery are the 
only vestiges of ancient habitation on 
the site. There is a large cavern hard 
by, which is believed by the peasantry 
to communicate with the grotto of 
Santa Rosalia on Monte Pellegrino. 
The Hyccara of Roman times appears 
from remains that have been brought 
to light to have stood in the Piano di 
S. Nicola, about 1 m. from the modern 
town. Those who would know more 
of Hyccara should make the acquaint¬ 
ance of Don Ambrosio Abbate, a 
learned priest, who is well up in the 
antiquities of Ins native town. 

Grotto, cli Macccignone .—About 1 m. 
to the W. of Carini, on the N.E. slope 
of Monte Lungo, near its base, is a vast 
cavern, recently discovered by Dr. Fal¬ 
coner, and full of fossil bones, chiefly 
of the hippopotamus, with some of the 
elephant, stag, hyaena, and animals of 


the cat tribe. Embedded with these 
are found pieces of charcoal, and great 
quantities of flint and agate knives, 
undoubtedly the work of art,—a most 
interesting fact, as bearing on the much 
vexed question of the antiquity of man. 

From Carini a bridle-path leads over 
the mountains, between Monte Sara- 
ceni and Monte d’Oro, to Montelepre, 
3 m., and to Partinico, 9 m., where it 
strikes the high-road from Palermo to 
Trapani. The view over the great 
plain of Partinico as you descend to 
Montelepre is one of extraordinary 
beauty. 

From Carini to Cinisi the road is 
still carriageable, crossing the rich 
plain below the former town, skirting 
the shore for a while, then mounting 
Monte Pecorajo, the extremity of the 
long range called Montagna Longa, 
where it sinks to the bold promontory 
of Uomo Morto, and proceeding at the 
foot of steep acclivities, planted with 
the carob and manna-ash, to Cinisi. 

Cinisi, by the direct road, is only 
21 m. from Palermo, but by way of 
Carini is 26 m. It is a neat, cheerful 
town, with straight, regular streets, and 
about 4600 inhabitants. The Bene¬ 
dictine convent here was originally a 
feudal castle. One mile beyond is 

22 m. La Favarota, a village which, 
with the adjoining one of Terrcisini, 
contains nearly 4000 inhab. It lies 
on a gentle rise near the sea,An a dis¬ 
trict producing oil, wine, and manna. 
Here the road ceases to be practicable 
for vehicles. Beyond this the path 
climbs the high rocky land at the 
back of Capo Hama, and is overhung 
by a lofty mountain, whose slopes are 
dark with the manna-ash, and whose 
base is cultivated with vines and fruit- 
trees. A glorious view hero opens of 
the bay of Castellamare, and the 
luxuriant vale of Partinico, which 
stretches far inland studded with vil¬ 
lages and farms. Alcamo crests the 
ridge below Monte Bonifato in the S.: 
Castellamare gleams in the bight of 
the bay; the site of the ancient Se- 




ROUTE 4. -PALERMO TO THE RUINS OF SELIN US. 


165 


geste may be descried beyond; and the 
long promontory of Santo Yito fills the 
western horizon. The patli descends 
through plantations of manna, olives, 
and carobs, with hedges of aloe and 
cactus, to the Flume di S. Cataldo, 
which after heavy rains is not easily to 
be forded. The soil here changes; the 
rock gives place to sand, the fruit- 
groves are succeeded by corn and vines, 
and the path turns inland and traverses 
the fertile plain to Partinico. 

Another patli continues along the 
beach to Alcamo, crossing 3 streams. 
The first is the Jati, on whose banks 
stands a lonely ivy-mantled tower 
called Torre Saracena, believed to be 
of Mohammedan antiquity. Near it 
on an eminence stands a little church, 
said to have been founded by Frederick 
II. of Aragon, and called Abcizia del 
Fonte, from a bridge which the same 
monarch threw over tjie stream, when 
on his march to meet his rival, Philip 
of Anjou, in the field of Falconaria. 
The second river is tire Flciti, which 
divides the province of Palermo from 
that of Trapani; here the path quits 
the shore, and crosses the third stream, 
beneath the picturesque castle of Ca- 
latubo, of Saracenic name and antiquity, 
and traversing open downs of corn 
ascends to the city of Alcamo. 

51 m. Alcamo. See Route 2, p. 144. 


ROUTE 4. 

PALERMO TO THE RUINS OF SELINUS, 
BY SALEMI. 

Miles. 


Palermo to Calatafimi.43 

Calatafimi to Vita. 4 

Vita to Salemi . 5 

Salemi to Castelvetrano .. .. 14 

Castelvetrano to Selinunte .. .. 8 

Miles .74 


The route from Palermo to Calata¬ 
fimi is the post-road to Trapani, and 
has been described in Rte. 2. As far 
as Salemi the road is still carriageable, 
but beyond that it is practicable only 
for horses or pedestrians. 


In making the tom- of Sicily, those 
who do not care to visit Trapani, Mar¬ 
sala, and Mazzara, turn off at Calata¬ 
fimi to Castelvetrano, and usually do 
the 34 m. between Alcamo and the 
latter place in one day, taking the ruins 
of Segeste on the way. This can be 
easily accomplished on muleback by 
starting at daybreak, if the tourist does 
not spend too much time at Segeste. 

On leaving Calatafimi the road 
climbs the steep heights S. of that 
town, and from the summit you enjoy 
a glorious view of the temple of Se¬ 
geste, standing in lonely majesty on a 
precipice surrounded by lofty peaks. 
The way then lies across open moun¬ 
tainous downs, green but treeless, to 
Vita. As the traveller descends from 
the highest ridge, called Monte del 
pianto de Romani , towards Vita, he 
crosses the field where, on the 15th May, 
I860, Garibaldi first encountered the 
troops of the King of Naples, and won 
the victory, which is known by the 
name of the neighbouring town, Cala- 
tafimi. On the said ridge the Neapo¬ 
litan force of 3000 men and 4 guns, 
under General Landi, was strongly 
posted. “ Garibaldi’s force, on the 
other hand, amounted to 1005 Cacc-ia- 
tori to do the fighting, and nearly 1200 
Squadri to do the noise. At lOjO’clock 
on the 15th the action commenced, 
which was to decide, not only the fate 
of the expedition, but of Southern Italy. 
Seeing that the Neapolitans were about 
to attack, Garibaldi seized a range of 
hills just outside Vita, and planted his 
guns so as to command the approach by 
the road. Their fire checked the ad¬ 
vance of the cavalry, but the infantry 
came on steadily and endeavoured to 
carry the Garibaldian position. Foiled 
in this attempt, Garibaldi in his turn 
attacked. The Squadri were sent round 
on either side to outflank the Neapoli¬ 
tans, while the Cacciatori took them right 
in front, where they met with a very 
tough resistance, and were many times 
repulsed, losing Garibaldi s flag, worked 
for him by the ladies of Monte Video. 
Many men had fallen already; the 
Genoese carabinieri especially suffered 
severely, losing then- leaders. They 
were the enfans perdus of the expedi- 













166 


ROUTE 4.—GARIBALDI’S FIRST VICTORY—SALEMI. 


tion, and had been sent ahead to clear 
the way. Knowing that everything 
depended on the prestige of the first 
battle, Garibaldi, ever foremost, renewed 
and renewed his attacks; and as there 
was no flinching on the part of the 
Cacciatori, and the Neapolitans became 
frightened at the numbers of the Sici¬ 
lians, who were working right round 
to their rear, they fell back after 
three hours’ hard fighting, and aban¬ 
doned the position, leaving 1 gun, 6 
prisoners, 36 killed, and 148 wounded 
on the field, and made a precipitate 
retreat on Calatafimi, throwing away 
their arms and accoutrements to facili¬ 
tate their flight .”—Commander Forbes. 
JR.N. Garibaldi's little force was deci¬ 
mated in this action, its loss being 200 
men. 

47 m. Vita, a small town of 3700 
souls, with a small locanda. A bleak, 
dreary countiy, cultivated with corn, 
but destitute of foliage and habitation, 
extends to 

52 m. Salem/', a picturesque town on 
the summit of a hill, overtopped by 
the crumbling remains of a fine feudal 
castle of Saracenic architecture, and 
overlooking a wide expanse of corn- 
clad plains and hills. The town con¬ 
tains 12,000 inhabitants. It has 2 
inns, one at the entrance, the other 
in the centre, of the town; both poor 
enough, but the first the better. From 
its elevated situation Salemi com¬ 
mands magnificent prospects; the 
best is to be obtained from the 
cross above the town, whence Mar¬ 
sala, Mazzara, and a long stretch of 
the eastern and southern coasts, with 
the JEgadian islands, lie beneath the 
eye. 

In the church of S. Agostino are a 
Christ crowned with thorns, attributed 
to Hontliorst, and a statue of St. Luke 
by Gag ini. In the Carmine is a statue 
of the Virgin by the same hand. S. 
Biagio contains 2 pictures by Vito 
Carrera. In the church of the Padri 
Osservanti is a Christ on the Cross, 
carved by Fra TJmile of Petralia. The 
ch. of the Jesuits has a S. Joachim of 
the Jtornan school. 


Though there are no remains of 
early date on this site, there is reason 
to believe that Salemi is the repre¬ 
sentative of the ancient Halicya, both 
because its position agrees with the 
notices we have of that town, and be¬ 
cause its names, both ancient and mo¬ 
dern, are significant of salt, a fact 
explained by the brackish character 
of the stream which flows beneath the 
hill, and falls into the sea to the S. of 
Mazzara. Some, however, who choose 
to ascribe to it a Saracenic origin, find 
its etymology in the Arabic Salem, a 
term expressive of the- natural strength 
of its position, insuring to its inha¬ 
bitants “ peace and security.” Halicya, 
a town probably of Sicanian origin, 
took part in the wars between Diony¬ 
sius of Syracuse and the Carthaginians, 
and espoused the cause of the latter so 
long as it could do so with safety, but 
allied itself with Pyrrhus on his vic¬ 
torious expedition through Sicily, and 
ultimately with the Romans, who 
granted it great privileges and immu¬ 
nities. 

Salemi is 18 m. from Mazzara, and 
22 from Marsala, and is on the direct 
road from Palermo to both those towns. 
The route in either case is a mere 
bridle-path. 

From Salemi the path descends into 
the vale, and crosses the river, which is 
here called Fiume di Salemi, but at its 
mouth Fiume Arena, and is not easily 
forded when swollen by heavy rains. 
You then ascend through an open, 
bleak, undulating country, green with 
corn or pasture, where the very weeds 
attest the abundant fertility of the soil, 
but with scarcely a solitary hut within 
view. Here and there rocks of talc 
and gypsum, glittering in the sun like 
diamonds, attract the eye. The path 
at length attains a height which com¬ 
mands a most extensive view of Santa 
Ninfa cresting a ridge to the E., of 
Partanna and other towns and villages 
more to the S., and of a wide expanse 
of green undulating countiy beyond, 
bounded by lofty mountains, among 
which the conical peak of Busarmara 
is the most striking. Southward lies 
Castelvetrano amid an extensive tract 
of wooded vales and variegated plains, 



ROUTE 4. -CASTELVETRANO—CAMPOBELLO. 


which stretches down to the sea. The 
approach to the town is cheering, for 
a good road for the last 2 m. is sug¬ 
gestive of civilization, and vineyards, 
orchards, and olive-groves afford a 
pleasing contrast to the monotonous 
waste of corn and pasture which the 
foot and eye have traversed during the 
6 hours’ journey from Calatafimi. 

G6 m. CASTELVETRANO. — Inn8 : “ Lo- 
canda della Pantiera,” kept by Vincenzo 
Manganaro ; comfortable, for Sicily; 
clean beds and good attendance. An¬ 
other, inferior in every respect, inside the 
town. Castelvetrano, which contains 
14,540 inhabitants, stands on an emi¬ 
nence in the midst of an exten¬ 
sive and highly cultivated plain pro¬ 
ducing oil of superior quality, and 
wines which are among the best in 
Sicily; in truth, much of the celebrated 
Marsala is grown in this neighbour¬ 
hood. Ask for the “ Vino di Capriata.” 
The town is tolerably well built, with 
broad and regular streets, and is with¬ 
out the usual depressing air of poverty. 
The women wear black veils, and the 
men white pendent caps. There is 
little to merit the attention of the tra¬ 
veller. In the Piazza is the old palace 
of the Dukes of Monteleone, formerly 
the feudal lords of Castelvetrano, and 
still the proprietors of most of the land 
in the neighbourhood. 

The Chiesa Matrice, dedicated to St. 
John the Baptist, is of early founda¬ 
tion, but was rebuilt in 1637, and pre¬ 
sents a good specimen of the Sicilian 
Renaissance. In the 1st chapel to the 
rt. is a Madonna, a Spanish-like picture, 
ascribed to Novelli, but more probably 
the work of one of his school. In the 
transept is the Decapitation of St. 
John, by Honthorst. Behind the altar 
is a marble statue of the saint carrying 
a lamb, by Antonio Gagini, bearing his 
name, with the date of 1522. The 
dryness and meagreness of the limbs 
hint at desert fare ; the face is expres¬ 
sive, and the drapery is broad and 
simple. The eyes and lips are coloured, 
the border of the robe is gilt, and the 
lining painted red. Notice a punning 
epitaph in the pavement to a Don Gio- 


1G7 

vanni Bove, “ who after a long life spent 
in profitable tillage is here stalled in 
peace.” 

San Domenico .—This church is also 
of early date, and shows a pointed arch 
in its apse, surrounded by frescoes of 
the Virgin and the 12 kings of Israel 
in armour. Here is a large sarcophagus 
of Spanish marbles. In the convent is 
a copy of the “Spasimo” of Raphael, 
by Fondulio of Cremona. 

There are no remains of antiquity at 
Castelvetrano, though its name, evi¬ 
dently a corruption of Castellum Veins, 
indicates such an origin. 


The ruins of Selinus lie on the coast 
8 m. to the S. of Castelvetrano, and 
must be visited from that town. Five 
m. to the S.W., beyond the village of 
Campobello, are some ancient quarries 
of great interest, which the traveller 
should not fail to inspect. He can take 
them on his way to the temples, from 
which they are some 6 m. distant. If 
he intend to visit Selinunte en route for 
Sciacca, as is often done, the guides 
will declare it impossible to go out of 
the way to Campobello, but it is a ques¬ 
tion of time rather than of distance, and 
by leaving Castelvetrano at a very early 
hour it may be accomplished. As this 
plan, however, will afford but a very 
hurried glance at both the temples and 
quarries, he who would examine them 
more fully, and would record their won¬ 
ders in his sketch-book, should devote 
an entire day to them, and return to 
Castelvetrano for a second night. 

The road to Campobello, which is 
the stradone to Mazzara, crosses an open 
heath, bleak and bare, but corn-fields 
and olive-groves surround the village. 
It is a wretched assemblage of stone 
hovels, with nearly 4000 squalid, un¬ 
healthy inhabitants. About a mile to 
the S., on the top of a ridge which 
slopes down to the sea, stands a Baglio, 
or storehouse for the wine made in the 
neighbourhood, belonging to the firm 
of Ingham at Marsala; here you turn 
to the W. and cross the bare plain for 





168 


ROUTE 4. -QUARRIES OF CAMPOBELLO—SELINUS. 


2 or 3 furlongs, when you reach a shal¬ 
low glen walled in on the S. by low 
cliffs of white calcareous rock. This is 
the ancient quarry. 

Le Cave di Campobello. — It was 
these quarries that furnished the enor¬ 
mous blocks of stone of which the mas¬ 
sive Doric temples of Selinus were con¬ 
structed. “From the state in which 
the works have been left, an accurate 
idea may be formed of the manner in 
which the large blocks were originally 
prepared. The diameter of the pillar 
being settled, and a circle of the size 
required traced on the rock, a trench 
was sunk outside it, about a yard in 
width, and as deep as was necessary. 
There are specimens to be found in 
every stage of progress, from the mere 
circle on the surface to the complete 
depth, as mar b nterred from the 

One of the blocks 
« ling the centre of the 
i 9 ft. 4 in. high 
iameter; another 
4 in. in diameter.” 
—Marquis of Ormonde. 

A number of frusta, or drums of 
columns, already detached, are lying in 
the hollow of the glen, as if ready to 
be rolled away. Some are split, and 
may have been abandoned as worthless; 
others are entire. They are generally 
8 or 10 ft. in length, and vary from 
8 ft. to nearly 13 ft. in diameter, and 
evidently were hewn for buildings of 
colossal dimensions. From the corre¬ 
spondence of these drums in measure¬ 
ment with the columns in the temple 
of Jupiter Olympius at Selinus, there 
cannot be a doubt that some of them 
at least were hewn for that temple, 
which was left unfinished at the de¬ 
struction of the city by the Carthagi¬ 
nians in the year 409 n.c. To that 
date, therefore, must we assign the 
latest working of these quarries, and to 
that event the sudden arrest of the 
operations which has left the site in 
its present interesting condition. The 
mind is lost in astonishment at the in¬ 
credible labour it must have cost to 
have transported these blocks, each of 
enormous weight, to the ancient city, 
over 6 m. of undulating ground, with 


a deep, swampy valley intervening be¬ 
tween this site and the temple, to the 
summit of whose steep ridge it was 
necessary to force them. One of them 
still lies where it was left, half a mile 
or more on its way, eastward of the 
Baglio d’lngham. The site of these 
quarries is also known by the name of 
Itocca di Cusa —by the Arabs it was 
called JRamuxara. 

The path hence to Selinunte runs 
along the ridge, through cornfields, 
vineyards, and olive-groves, which also 
clothe the slope that sinks to the low 
sandy beach at a few miles’ distance. 
A guide is necessary to point out the 
path across this cultivated district. 

Selinus. 

From Castelvetrano to Selinunte by 
the direct path it is a continual descent 
of 7 or 8 m., first over bare downs, then 
by rocky lanes sunk between olive- 
groves, and lastly over acclivities covered 
with myrtle and lentiscus, with the 
little river Madiuni , vulgarly “ Mu- 
dioni,” flowing beneath between grassy 
slopes, and leading the eye seaward to 
the remains of Selinus. These, which 
have been justly termed “ the most 
extraordinary assemblage of ruins in 
Europe,” do not arrest the eye at a dis¬ 
tance, like the temples of Segeste and 
Agri gen turn, because hardly a column 
is standing; but they lie in stupendous 
heaps on the heights on either side of 
a little stream called Gorgo di Cotone, 
and on a near approach excite the most 
lively astonishment and admiration. 
Truly has it been said that “ no city of 
Sicily affords so lively an idea of the 
religious feeling and wealth of its an¬ 
cient inhabitants as Selinus.” The 
two hills stand about half a mile apart, 
and both break into cliffs at the sandy 
beach which they meet at right angles. 
They rise some 100 ft. above the sea. 
That to the W., now crested by a me¬ 
diaeval tower, is isolated, and more 
steep, rocky, and circumscribed than 
the opposite ridge. The fragments of 
walling round the brow of this height, 
and the abundance of broken pottery 
which strews its surface, both of which 











A, B, C, D. Temples within the Acropolis. 

E, F, G. j Temples outside of the Acropolis. 


H, H. Ruins. 

I, I. Walls of the ancient Harbour. 


























































ROUTE 4. 


•SELINUS-TEMPLES. 


169 


arc wanting on the opposite ridge, prove 
this to have been the site of the ancient 
city. It is little more than a mile in 
circumference, enclosing a space appa¬ 
rently too small for a city of such im- 
portance as Selinus, a fact which has 
given rise to the supposition that in 
the days of its greatness a considerable 
area without the walls must have‘been 
inhabited. However that be, there can 
be no doubt that this western height is 
the site of the earliest city, and the 
Acropolis of Selinus. 

No sooner have you climbed the 
palmetto-covered steep to the plateau 
than you are accosted by a man, Ciro 
Monteleone by name, who calls himself 
the guardian of the ruins, and forces his 
services on you as a cicerone. Should 
you wish to find him, he resides in a 
small house at the verge of the cliff 
overhanging the sea. On the highest 
part of the hill lie the ruins of 4 an¬ 
cient Doric temples, 3 of large size, the 
fourth quite diminutive, all fronting 
the east, lying parallel to each other, 
and at a short distance apart, but the 
fronts are not in the same line. It re¬ 
quires the eye of an antiquary and 
architect to reduce these shapeless heaps 
of ruins to intelligible forms; and to 
save the traveller the attempt, we will 
state the result of careful investigation, 
and describe each temple as it origin¬ 
ally stood, so far as that has been 
ascertained. We will take them in 
their local order, commencing with that 
nearest the sea, marked A on the an¬ 
nexed plan. 

Temple A .—This temple was hexa- 
style-peripteral, i.e. it had a peristyle, 
with 6 columns in either facade. In 
this case there were 14 on each side, 
reckoning those at the angles, so that 
there were 36 columns in the peristyle, 
which was raised on a stylobate of 4 
steps. The pronaos and posticum were 
in antis, i.e. the side walls of the cella 
were prolonged so as to form a porch, 
and terminated in pilasters, between 
which were 2 columns. The pecu¬ 
liarities of this temple are, a circular 
corkscrew staircase, just within the 
door of the cella, leading to the top of 
the cornice, and the union of the columns 

Sicily. 


of the pronaos by a low wall, the mean¬ 
ing of which it is not easy to explain. 
Very little remains of this temple, which 
is much inferior in size to the others on 
the same plan on this site. The columns 
had the usual number of 20 flutes. Not 
one shaft remains entire; it is im¬ 
possible, therefore, to determine their 
height; but the measurements of the 
temple, so far as they can be ascer¬ 
tained, are— 

Feet. In. 

Length of the upper step of the stylo¬ 


bate .125 7 

Breadth of ditto. 51 1 

Length of the cella externally .... 91 0 

Breadth of ditto. 27 11 

Diameter of the columns at base .. 4 0 

Ditto at neck . 3 4 

Height of the entablature. 9 1 


Nothing is left to indicate to what 
deity this temple was dedicated. 

Temple B .—At the distance of some 
20 paces from the temple just described 
are the remains of another, marked I> 
on the plan, of very small size, whose 
proportions appear the more diminutive 
by comparison with the colossal ruins 
around it. It has shared in their 
overthrow. From the fragments re¬ 
maining we leam that it had no peri¬ 
style, but was in antis, with columns 
in the portico. The lower part of the 
wall at the back is almost entire. The 
angles of the cella externally were 
adorned with pilasters; at the S.W. 
angle the capital of one remains with 
the entablature and a portion of the 
pediment. The columns of the portico 
had 20 flutes, and were covered with 
stucco. This sedicula in fact in every 
part, inside and out, shows traces of 
stucco, and the members were all 
painted red, blue, or black, even to the 
blocks of the stylobate, which were 
coloured red. This miniature temple, 
therefore, otherwise so insignificant, 
possesses the highest interest as illus¬ 
trating the style of Greek polychromy 
as applied to architecture. 

The measurements are — 

Feet. Jn. 


Length of the stylobate. 32 7 

Breadth of ditto. 19 2 

Breadth of the cella externally .. 15 10 

Diameter of the columns. 1 41 


The diminutive size of this temple 

i 












172 


ROUTE 4. -SELINUS—HISTORY. 


traveller obtain that evidence if lie 
can. Most, however, who view them, 
will be reluctant to believe that the 
hand of man was the sole agent in 
overturning these ponderous masses, 
not so much on account of the diffi¬ 
culty of the task, for what man had 
set up man could pull down, as that it 
is most evident in some of the temples 
that they were not destroyed piece¬ 
meal, but that the whole fell in one 
simultaneous crash, which no human 
power in those days could effect. It 
is impossible to resist the conclusion 
that these temples were overthrown 
by an earthquake, and that the dis¬ 
turbing force acted from below dia¬ 
gonally upwards from the S. to the N. 

These remains lead us to consider 
some facts in the history of Selinus. 
TJi at city was founded by a colony 
from Megara Hyblrea on the E. coast 
of Sicily, under the command of 
Pammilus, who came from the mother- 
city of Megara in Attica for the pur¬ 
pose ; but the precise date of the 
foundation is uncertain, Diodorus 
placing it in 650 b.c., Thucydides in 
628 b.c. It was called after the river 
Selinus, now the Madiuni, which flows 
to the W. of the city, and received its 
name from the abundance of wild 
parsley (creXivov) which grew on the 
spot. The new settlement, favoured 
by its position and proximity to the 
commercial city of Carthage, made 
rapid progress in wealth and popula¬ 
tion, and ere long rivalled the most 
illustrious Greek colonies in Sicily. 
At the time of the Athenian invasion 
especially, it is mentioned by Thucy¬ 
dides as a city of great opulence, with 
stores of wealth laid up in its temples, 
and with powerful forces both by land 
and sea. The history of Selinus pre¬ 
sents a series of contests with her 
neighbour Segeste, and it was her suc¬ 
cess in one of these that caused the 
latter to apply to Athens for assistance, 
and that led to the disastrous expedi¬ 
tion of Nicias. At the close of that 
campaign Segeste, being threatened 
by Selinus, applied for aid to Carthage, 
which listened to the call, and in 
409 b.c. sent Hannibal with a force of 


100,000 men — some accounts give 
double that number—and a vast fleet, 
who landed at Lilybseum, and marched 
at once against Selinus. The follow¬ 
ing account of the siege is in part 
taken from Grote : — The citizens, 
panic - struck at the approach of an 
enemy so overwhelming, despatched 
pressing messengers to Syracuse and 
the other Greek cities for assistance. 
They had made no preparation to resist 
so formidable a foe. Their walls, 
though strong enough to hold out 
against any of their neighbours, had 
been neglected through a sense of 
security, and were much out of repair. 
Hannibal assailed them where they 
were most dilapidated, and in many 
points at once, with battering-rams and 
moveable towers filled with armed 
men. His innumerable barbaric host 
was composed of soldiers collected 
from all the shores of the Western 
Mediterranean, differing in race, lan¬ 
guage, arms, in everything but cou¬ 
rage, and thirst for blood and plunder. 
The dismay of the Selinuntines when 
they found themselves under tire 
sweep of this hurricane is not to be 
described. Their soldiers crowded to 
the walls with a resolution worthy of 
Greeks; even the old men and the 
women lent all the assistance and en¬ 
couragement in their power. The 
Carthaginians were repulsed again and 
again with the severest loss. Even 
when they effected a breach and forced 
their way into the town it was only to 
be driven out again, or to be cut to 
pieces. For nine days was the assault 
renewed; for nine successive days did 
the citizens maintain a heroic resist¬ 
ance. On the tenth day a breach was 
made sufficient to admit a body of 
Iberians. Yet, though their walls 
were carried, the Selinuntines con¬ 
tinued to barricade and defend their 
narrow streets; at length, their barriers 
being successively overthrown, the 
besieged were driven from all sides 
into the agora, where most of them 
were overpowered by numbers and cut 
to pieces. Only 2600 of them escaped 
to Agrigentum. Neither age nor sex 
was spared; 16,000 citizens were slain, 
and only the adult women to the nmn- 




ROUTE 4. -SELIN US-RUINS. 


173 


ber of 5000 were saved as captives. 
Hannibal razed the walls to the 
ground, and destroyed the houses. 
The Syracusans and other Sicilian 
Greeks sent an embassy expressly to 
entreat him not to violate the temples. 
But he replied that the gods were 
offended with the Selinuntines, and 
had forsaken the city. We have no 
distinct record, however, that he over¬ 
threw the temples. 

Thus fell Selinus little more than 
two centuries after her foundation. 
Hannibal permitted the fugitive citi¬ 
zens to return and inhabit the spot, as 
tributaries of Carthage. Two years 
later, Hermocrates, then an exile from 
Syracuse, came with a few followers, 
took possession of the dismantled town, 
and rebuilt its walls. Selinus con¬ 
tinued to exist for another century and 
a half, but in a more humble condition, 
and generally in subjection to Car¬ 
tilage, though for a time she was in 
the power of Dionysius of Syracuse. 
In 250 b.c., during the First Punic 
War, Selinus was again destroyed by 
the Carthaginians, when they found 
they could not retain it. It was 
never restored under the Romans, but 
it must have risen out of its ashes 
under the Byzantine Greeks, as it was 
one of the first places stormed by the 
Saracens, who called it Ralil-el-Asnam , 
or the “ Village of the Idols.” It was 
razed to the ground by the Normans 
under Count Roger, as it had offered 
a determined resistance, and was one. of 
the last strongholds held in the island 
by the Saracens. A village was still 
in existence on the spot at the close 
of the 12tli century. Still later the 
site was known as the Terra delle 
Pulci, or “ Land of Fleas,” which 
lively name it retains to this day— 
an appellation applicable enough to 
the island in general, but hardly so 
to this desolate spot, inhabited only 
by the cicerone, and a doganiere. 
Pulci may be a conniption either of 
Polluce, in which case it hints at one 
of the temples being sacred to the Dios¬ 
curi ; or of Belic-i, the name of an im¬ 
portant river only 4 m. to the eastward. 
The ruins, and particularly those on 
the eastern hill, are vulgarly but ap¬ 


propriately termed I Ptlieri tie Gi- 
ganti, or “ the Pillars of the Giants.” 

On the height of the city are a few 
other remains of ancient date. To the 
W. of the temple D is a curious circular 
well, about 40 ft. deep, enclosed in a 
square frame of masomy, and lined 
with cylindrical tiles, each tile sur¬ 
rounding the well. Just at the back 
of the temple B the foundations of a 
small building are visible. The city- 
walls may be traced in detached por¬ 
tions round the brow of the hill, com¬ 
posed of pseudisoclomon masonry of 
small size. Here and there fragments 
of earlier masonry and of architecture 
are built up with them. At the N.W. 
angle a square tower projects from the 
walls, and on this side a postern is dis¬ 
tinguishable. Traces of another gate 
on the N., and of a third on the E., are 
visible. A portion on the E. side may 
belong to the early Greek fortifications, 
but the greater part of the walls now 
standing are probably those thrown 
up by Hermocrates after the destruc¬ 
tion of the original city, for they bear 
the marks of hasty, not careful and 
deliberate, construction. At the N.W. 
angle, just outside the walls, are the 
substructions of an ancient building; 
and at the N.E. angle are others, en¬ 
closing a large mound of sand, on which 
lie fragments of Doric architecture. 

The whole surface of the hill with¬ 
in the walls is strewn with the debris 
of ancient habitations, overrun with 
acanthus, rue, myrtle, lentiscus, worm¬ 
wood, squills, wild fennel, and dwarf- 
palms. In no spot do the latter flourish 
more abundantly, and they still justify 
Virgil’s epithet of “palmosa Selinus.” 
It is supposed by some that the poet 
referred to loftier species of the same 
family, but the frequent representation 
of the fan-palm on the ancient coins of 
the city renders it probable that lie 
alluded to the Chamxrops humilis. 
There is some doubt as to what plant 
the selinum of the Greeks, which is 
commonly translated “ parsley,” implies. 
The herb w T e know in England by that 
name is not here to be found, but of 
that sort called “ milk-parsley,” apium 
sylvestre, there is abundance on the hill. 



174 


ROUTE 4. -SELINUS—TEMPLES 


The view from this height is most 
extensive and peculiarly wild. At 
your feet to the W. flows the Madiuni, 
the ancient Selinus, forming a swamp 
at its mouth, the miasma from which 
generated the pestilence which Empe¬ 
docles removed by draining the morass, 
and it still charges the atmosphere 
with fever during the summer-months. 
Beyond this the coast stretches away 
in low sandy dunes, tufted with ver¬ 
dure, to Capo Granitola. To the N., 
seen over olive-groves and vineyards, 
lies Castelvetrano on its height, to the 
rt. of which stretches the high mountain- 
chain which traverses the island, and 
from whose slopes shine Partanna, Sta. 
Margherita, and other towns. To the 
N.E., seen above the stupendous ruins 
on the opposite height, soars the peaked 
crest of Busammara, to the E. of which 
rise, far away over the level green 
plain, the isolated mount of Santa 
Maria del Bosco, then the Monte del 
Pumo, with the town of Menfrici at its 
foot, and lastly the Monte di San Calo- 
gero, celebrated for its hot-springs, at 
whose base lies Sciacca, hidden by the 
intervening coast, which breaks into 
low cliffs, and terminates in the head¬ 
land of San Marco. 


It is nearly a mile from the temples 
on the Acropolis to those on the eastern 
height. The mouth of the corn-clad 
valley wliich intervenes is now choked 
with sand and rushes, but here were 
the arsenal and emporium of Selinus. 
The harbour was within the mouth of 
the little stream, and the walls which 
enclosed it, about 2G0 yards apart, and 
composed of large blocks of masonry, 
may still be traced on either bank, ex¬ 
tending a considerable distance inland. 
The spot is now called the Marinella 
di Selinunte. 

The temples on the eastern height 
are much further from the sea than 
those on the Acropolis, and stand on 
the edge of an extensive plateau, cul¬ 
tivated with vines, olives, and corn. 
Like those already described, they lie 
parallel to each other, and front the E. 
We will begin with that to the S., 
marked on the plan as— 


Temple E .—As a mass of ruins this 
temple is the finest on the site; the 
mound it forms with its fragments is 
loftier and more picturesque than all 
the resi In plan it was hexastyle- 
peripteral, but with 15 columns oil 
each side. The posticum as well as 
the pronaos was “ distyle in antis.” 
The stylobate had 4 steps, save in 
the front, where a flight of 11 led 
up to the portico. At the S.E. angle, 

3 columns, or portions of them, are 
still standing, but on the N. they lie 
disjointed, all the blocks in regular 
order, as if arranged for the construc¬ 
tion of the temple. Those of the 
porticoes have also fallen outwards, 
but those of the S. wing have fallen 
inwards upon the cella, and lie mingled 
with the ruins of its walls in the centre 
of the temple in the most extra¬ 
ordinary and picturesque confusion. 
The columns were more massive than 
those of the temples on the opposite 
hill, being scarcely more than 44 
diameters in height, and they tapered 
to the extent of one quarter. They 
had 20 flutes, and were covered with 
stucco. The capitals projected less 
than in the temples described, and the 
outline of the echinus was much less 
curved, more nearly resembling the 
corresponding feature in the Parthe¬ 
non. The capitals of the ant as show 
the becco di civetta , or owl’s - beak 
moulding, The entablature was ra¬ 
ther light, being hardly equal to 2 
diameters. On the fragments of the 
cornice the same stucco may be ob¬ 
served as covered the columns, and the 
members of the architecture retain 
traces of colour, red, blue, black, or 
yellow, always on the stucco, never on 
the stone itself. A meander mould¬ 
ing in very low relief on the cornice 
still shows the red and black with 
which the pattern was picked out. 

The foundations of this temple 
have been excavated, and a passage 
is still open to the floor of the cella, 
where you may see the walls nearly 

4 ft. thick, composed of very neat and 
regular masonry, in courses nearly 2 ft. 
high, still retaining in parts the white 
stucco which lined them. Among the 
ruins of this temple the Duke of Serra- 





ROUTE 4. --SELINUS-TEMPLES. 


175 


difalco in 1831 brought to light 5 
beautiful metopes, representing Apollo 
and Daphne, Minerva slaying a Giant, 
Actaeon contending with the hounds of 
Diana, Jupiter and Semele, and Her¬ 
cules slaying Hippolyta ; all in a style 
of art which, though still somewhat 
archaic, betrays, like the marbles of 
iEgina, an approach towards that per¬ 
fection of Greek sculpture which has 
never since been equalled. They are 
deposited in the University of Palermo, 
and are described at p. 86. 

From the style of its architecture, 
as well as from the near approach to 
perfection displayed in the sculptures 
which adorned it, this temple may be 
regarded as of more recent construc¬ 
tion than those in the Acropolis, and 
as belonging to the 5th century b.c. 

The following are its principal mea¬ 
surements :— 

Feet. In. 


Length of the upper step of the stylo¬ 
bate . 223 3 

Breadth. 83 7 

Length of the cella externally .. .. 165 0 

Breadth. 47 5 

Diameter of the columns of the peri¬ 
style at the base . 7 5 

Do. at the neck .. 5 7 

Height of do. . 33 6 

Intercolumniations . 7 11 

Height of the stylobate . G 2 

Do. of entablature . 15 2 

Diameter of columns of cella at base 7 3 


Temple F .—About 50 yards to the 
N. lie the remains of another temple, 
of which comparatively very little is 
left. The lower drums of 2 columns 
in the pronaos, of 4 in the posticum, 
and of 9 in each of the wings, are still 
standing, mostly about 10 or 12 ft. 
high; and at each end of the temple 
are piles of ruin, but the area in the 
centre is almost clear, and does not 
contain more than a small portion of 
the masses which must have composed 
a temple of this magnitude. What 
has become of the rest is a question 
not easily answered. The plan was 
hexastyle-peripteral, with 14 columns 
in each wing. It was also prostyle, 
having a double row of columns in 
the portico on a line with the 3rd on 
the sides. The cella was very narrow, 
and the peristyle consequently spacious. 
Its pronaos was a simple chamber 


formed by the prolongation of the walls 
of the cella, without antae or columns. 
This is a feature which it possesses in 
common with Temple C; in fact, save 
the difference in the number of the 
columns in the wings, these two temples 
correspond in plan, and differ from all • 
the rest on this site. The columns in 
the pronaos and posticum had 18 flutes, 
those on the wings 20. They were 
4| diameters in height, and had 
capitals with an extremely bold and 
projecting echinus. The entablature 
was remarkably heavy, being more than 
2J diameters in height. The cornice 
was adorned with meanders and foliage, 
very slightly relieved, and touched with 
red, yellow, and green paint, of which 
decided traces may be seen in the 
fragments. Whether the metopes of 
the posticum and wings were adorned 
with sculpture is not known, but of the 
10 in the pronaos two portions were 
discovered in 1823 by Messrs, Angell 
and Harris,—the lower halves only, 
representing, as far as can be ascertained, 
the battles of Goddesses with Giants. 
They are described at p. 85, where we 
treat of the University of Palermo, in 
which they are deposited. The archaic 
style of art which they display indicates 
a very remote period ; later, indeed, 
than that of Temple 0, but considerably 
earlier than that of the adjacent Tem¬ 
ple E. With this the architecture in 
great measure corresponds, having very 
archaic features. These facts lead to 
the conclusion that this temple cannot 
be of later date than that of Jupiter at 
flSgina, or about the middle of the 
6th century b.c. Were it safe to apply 
the same test to provincial Greek art 
as to that of the mother country, this 
temple might be pronounced of yet 
earlier construction. 

Feet. In. 

Length of the upper step of the stylo¬ 


bate . 202 G 

Breadth. 19 « 

Length of the cella externally .. .. 135 7 

Breadth. 27 5 

Diameter of the columns at the base 6 3 

Do. at the neck. 4 2 

Height of the stylobate . 3 5 

Height of the columns, including capi¬ 
tals . 30 .4 

Height of the entablature. 15 G 

Intercolumniations . 8 7 




















176 


ROUTE 4. —SELINUS—TEMPLES. 


Some G5 yards to the N. lie the 
mins of another temple, marked on the 
the plan as 

Temple G .—This is one of the 
largest Greek temples extant, far ex¬ 
ceeding in size any in Greece, and sur¬ 
passed only by the Temple of Diana 
at Ephesus, and that of Jupiter Olym- 
pius at Agrigentum. From its colossal 
proportions it can only have been 
dedicated to Jupiter Olympius. It 
was veiy nearly the same size as that of 
Agrigentum, which was sacred to the 
same deity, but was superior to it in 
the simplicity of its plan, in the num¬ 
ber and massiveness of its columns, 
and in the enormous masses of which it 
was composed. It differed from all the 
other temples of Selinus in having 8 
columns in each portico, which made it 
“ octastyle; ” and it had 17 columns in 
•each wing, and 46 altogether in the 
peristyle. Both ends of the cella were 
in antis, but there was a double portico 
in front, which made the temple 
“ pseudodipteral.” The peristyle, as in 
all such cases, was very wide, being 
equal to 2 intercolumniations and 1 
column. This temple was also liypse- 
thral, i. e. its cella was open to the 
sky, as is proved by the remains of an 
upper range of columns which formed 
the internal gallery peculiar to hypse- 
tliral temples, as in the Parthenon, the 
Temple of Neptune at Paestum, and of 
Apollo at Phigaleia. The stylobate 
had 2 steps onty. The columns tapered 
very much, diminishing more than one 
quarter, yet no entasis, or swelling, is 
perceptible; their height was 5| dia¬ 
meters. One with its shaft entire, and 
composed of 6 drums, is still standing- 
on the S. side, with 4 others imperfect 
on the N. Two only in the pronaos 
were fluted; some in the opposite por¬ 
tico were cut into facets preparatory to 
that operation, so as to form regular 
polygonal cylinders of 20 sides; the 
rest were quite plain, whence it is 
evident that the temple was not finished, 
though it was apparently near its com¬ 
pletion. Among the ruins are found 4 
capitals, which differ from those of the 
peristyle in the excessive projection of 
the echinus, and in having a hollow 


beneath the annulets. These must 
have belonged to the lower range of 
columns within the cella. The blocks 
of the entablature were of vast dimen¬ 
sions; some on the S. and E. measure 
22 ft. in length, 8 ft. in width, and 
5ij ft. in depth. How they were 
brought to the spot remains a mystery, 
since- the method suggested by Vitru¬ 
vius for moving the drums of columns 
would not answer for the enormous 
blocks of the capitals and entablature. 

The ruins of this temple are more 
confused and less intelligible than 
those of the rest. It appears to have 
been shaken down in a heap, not over¬ 
turned by a force acting in one parti¬ 
cular direction, as is the case with the 
other temples. The columns have 
fallen in every direction, many right 
across the temple; and they form, with 
the enormous masses of the entablature, 
the most stupendous and sublime mound 
of ruins conceivable. 

The vast size of this temple stamps 
it as indubitably of the most flourish¬ 
ing days of Selinus, and the fact of its 
not being finished enables us to deter¬ 
mine that the event which interfered 
with its completion must have been 
the destruction of the city by the Car¬ 
thaginians in the year 409 b.c. To 
construct such a colossal edifice, how¬ 
ever, must have been the labour of 
years, and it is probable that it was com¬ 
menced a generation or two previous. 
As the principal temples of Greece 
date their construction from soon after 
the great victories of Marathon and 
Salamis, so the success obtained by 
the Sicilian Greeks over the Cartha¬ 
ginians at Himera at the same period 
(480 b.c.) was attended by the same 
result with regard to art. Elated with 
triumph, rich in spoil and prisoners, 
and full of enthusiasm and gratitude 
to the gods, the Greek cities of Sicily 
then commenced the construction of 
vast and magnificent edifices in their 
honour; and it is probable that the 
greater part of the Doric temples of the 
island belong to this period. Though 
the temples C, D, and F may be safely 
referred to a more remote epoch, there 
can be little doubt that the others, 
marked A, E, and G, date from some 



ROUTE 5. -TRAPANI TO CASTELVETRANO. 


177 


period during the 71 yrs. which inter¬ 
vened between that victory and the 
capture of the city. 

The measurements of tliis temple 
are the following :—- 

Feet. In. 

Length on the upper step of the stylo¬ 


bate . 360 3 

Breadth. 163 0 

Length of the cella externally .. .. 272 6 

Breadth. 76 2 

Iutercolumniations . 11 0 

Diameter of columns at base .. .. 11 o 

Ditto at neck . 7 11 

Height of columns, including capitals 57 9 

Ditto of stylobate. 4 1 

Ditto of entablature. 19 5 

Diameter of capitals . 13 3 

Length of tri glyph . 7 2 


The path from this hill to Castelve- 
trano is distinct from that between the 
western height and that town. It is 
very rugged, and about halfway to 
Castelvetrano falls into the road front 
Sciacca. 


ROUTE 5. 

TRAPANI TO CASTELVETRANO. 

Miles. 


Trapani to La Xitta . 3 

La Xitta to Paceco . 1 

Paceco to Marsala.14 

Marsala to Mazzara .12 

Mazzara to Campobello . 8 

Campobello to Castelvetrano .. .. 4 


42 

A steamboat leaves Trapani for Mar¬ 
sala every other Saturday at 4 a.m., 
doing it in 2 hours; and for Mazzara 
on the alternate Saturday at 2 a.m., in 
4 hours. These boats continue their 
route to Sciacca and Girgenti, and one 
of them to Licata and Syracuse. 


The road from Trapani as far as 
Marsala has recently been opened for 
carriages, and the corriera runs three 
times a week; beyond that town it is a 
mere bridle-path. By the high-road 
it is 21 m. to Marsala, but by the 
mule-path, as indicated above, only 
IS m. On leaving Trapani the tra¬ 
veller follows the road to Palermo 
along the isthmus as far as the church 
of the Madonna di Trapani, and then 
turns to the rt. along tlio shore, cross¬ 
ing that singular district of salt-pans 
and salt-mounds which forms at once 
the deformity and the wealth of Tra¬ 
pani. A few of the pyramids are tiled 
over to preserve them from the rain, 
but the greater number have no pro¬ 
tection but their form and the hard¬ 
ness which the outer crust acquires by 
exposure. At a distance they might 
be taken for the tents of an encamp¬ 
ment. A number of windmills among 
them, for filling or exhausting the pans, 
add to the strangeness of the scene, to 
which the iEgadian islands and Monte S. 
Giuliano form a beautiful background. 


3 in. San Lorenzo la Xitta , a miser¬ 
able hamlet of barely 1000 inhabitants 
in the midst of corn-fields and olive- 
groves. A mile beyond, on a rising 
ground, stands 


4 m. Paceco, a poor town of 3400 
souls, which gives the title of prince 
to the Bisignano family. As the town 
was built about the year 1530, it may 
have derived its name from the family 
of Maria Pacheco, the heroic wife of 
Don Juan Padilla, the political martyr 
of Spain. The country between this 
town and Monte San Giuliano, is called 


the “ Campo cV Ercole," from the local 
tradition that here Hercules wrestled 


with the giant Eryx for his kingdom, 
Against which the god had betted the 
lattle of Geryon. 

This tract produces wine, corn, oil, 
md barilla. A little beyond Paceco 
y’ou cross the streamlet of Agcibuzzo, 
so called from a village on the heights 
iear its source. The country for some 
niles is open, and cultivated with 
dives, coni, and vines, but not a village 
is in sight; only a few watch-towers 

i 3 


















ROUTE 5.-SAN PANTALEO—MOTYA. 


178 

scattered at intervals along the shore. 
About halfway to Marsala you enter on 
a wide heath overrun with fan-palms, 
fennel, and orchids, stretching down to 
the sea, and hacked by low hills 
inland. These are the plains of Fal- 
conaria, where on 1st December, 1299, 
Frederick II. of Sicily defeated the 
French and Neapolitans, and captiued 
their leader Philip of Anjou, Prince of 
Taranto, and son of Charles the Lame 
—a victory which did more to secure 
the independence of Sicily than any 
other he obtained dining the 20 years’ 
war of the Vespers. You presently 
cross the little river Birgi, which flows 
out from the swelling down inland, 
and falls into the sea just N. of the 
low headland of San Teodoro, the 
JEgitliallus or Acellum of antiquity. 
The tower now on the cape represents 
the fort which the Consul L. Junius 
erected 249 b.c., during the First Punic 
War, to support his operations against 
Lilybseum. To the S. of this point, 
and a little off the shore, are a number 
of low rocky islets, enclosing a shallow 
lake-like gulf, called Lo Stcignone. On 
all these islands are salt-works. In 
the midst of this lake and nearest to 
the shore is the somewhat larger islet of 

San Pantaleo, famous for its delicious 
wine and figs, but still more as the site 
of the ancient Motya. The islet is so 
small, only 14- m. in circumference, 
that it is difficult at first to imagine 
it to have been the site of a powerful 
city, remarkable for the multitude, 
solidity, and beauty of its houses, and 
the great wealth of its inhabitants; yet 
it corresponds so exactly with the 
descriptions of ancient writers, as to 
leave no doubt that this was the real 
situation of Motya, which Fazello and 
other Sicilian antiquaries erroneously 
placed on the Isola delle Feminine on 
the N. coast of the island. Remains of 
the ancient city are moreover distinctly 
to be traced in portions of its walls of 
large regular masonry, with the vestiges 
of 2 gateways, and in the fragments of 
brick and pottery which strew the 
surface of the island. Coins are also 
frequently turned up by the plough; 
and here were discovered some leaden 


pipes, which probably brought water 
from the mainland; and a Punic in¬ 
scription to confirm the fact of Motya 
being a Phoenician city. It was a 
site well chosen by that people for a 
commercial settlement, in the midst of a 
natural harbour, and opposite their own 
great colony of Carthage. It made no 
figure in history until the year 397 b.c., 
when it stood a siege from Dionysius of 
Syracuse, who led an army of 80,000 
men and a large fleet against it. The 
defence it made is among the most 
resolute that histoiy has to record. 
The island was \ m. from the mainland, 
but was united to it by an artificial 
causeway, which the citizens destroyed 
on the approach of the Greeks, so that 
Dionysius was obliged to construct a 
new one to bring his engines against 
the walls. It was in this siege that 
the catapult, emphatically termed the 
“ Grave of Valour,” and which created 
the same revolution in ancient warfare 
that the invention of artillery has done 
in modern, was first employed. It so 
terrified the Carthaginians under Himil- 
con, who were endeavouring to raise the 
siege, that they sailed away to Africa, 
and left the city to its fate. Yet the citi¬ 
zens, undismayed by these novel instru¬ 
ments of destruction, by the battering- 
rams and lofty towers full of armed 
men which were wheeled up to their 
walls, replied by casting fire upon the 
machines of their assailants. A breach 
was effected, but the Greeks who 
rushed to the assault fomid the streets 
barricaded, and every house converted 
to a fortress. When at length the 
Syracusans obtained possession of the 
city, they were so exasperated by the 
resistance offered, that they put all the 
inhabitants, men, women, and children, 
who did not take refuge in the temples, 
to the sword. The booty in gold, silver, 
and precious stuffs, was immense. In 
this siege Greeks were found for the 
first time in the pay of the Carthagi¬ 
nians, which Dionysius resented by 
crucifying them all after the storming 
of the town. During this siege Diony¬ 
sius, being blockaded in the harbour 
by the Carthaginian fleet, in order to 
engage them on fair terms, filled with 
, wood a swamp which lay at the foot 





ROUTE 5.- 

of the point which formed the north¬ 
ern door-post, as it were, to the port, 
and, dragging his ships across, a dis¬ 
tance of 2^ m., launched them in the 
open sea. As many as 80 triremes 
were thus transported over land in one 
day ! The next year Motya fell again 
into the hands of the Carthaginians, 
hut never regained its importance, and 
its inhabitants were soon after trans¬ 
ferred to the new city of Lilybseum. 
From that period Motya disappears 
from history, and a few fishermen and 
peasants have been the sole inhabitants 
of the islet. 

For several miles to the N. of Mar¬ 
sala the country is a succession of vine¬ 
yards and market-gardens, and slopes 
down in a gentle declivity to the sea, 
being broken in parts by deep pits 
which show the white calcareous nature 
of the soil. This district is called La 
Terra Spagnuola, from the encamp¬ 
ment of an army on this spot, which 
was sent from Spain in 1517 to repress 
the tumults that arose in Sicily on 
the death of Ferdinand the Catholic. 
They stayed long, committed great 
depredations, and created a scarcity in 
the neighbourhood, and their memory 
still haunts the country like that of a 
pestilence. 

After passing the barrier of the 
Dogana, and just outside the Gate of 
Marsala, you come upon some remains 
of an ancient wall of regular and very 
massive masonry, the blocks being 
mostly 8 or 10 ft. in length, and one 
measuring more than 13 ft. It is ob¬ 
viously of high antiquity and a portion 
of the walls of Lilybseum. 


18 m. Maksala. — Inns: “ Locanda 
del Leone,” in a street leading out of the 
Piazza, is decent for Sicily, and the best; 
“ Secondo Leone,” outside the'Porta di 
Mazzara to the S., is rather comfortable, 
and the beds are clean. Let not the tra¬ 
veller judge the wines of Marsala from 
what he gets at these locande. He 
should visit some of the wine-establish¬ 
ments in the neighbourhood to learn 
what good Marsala is. Next to wine, 
Marsala is renowned for its poultry, 
which is said by the citizens to surpass 


-MARSALA. 179 

in size that of any part of Europe or 
Africa. 

British Vice-Consul. —Mr. Benjamin 
Ingham. 

Marsala is of square form, about 2 m. 
in circuit, enclosed by a wall erected 
by the Normans and repaired and re¬ 
stored by Charles V., who added 
square bastions at the angles. In the 
centre of each wall opens a gate—the 
Porta Nuova on the N., the Porta di 
Mare on the W., the Porta di Trapani 
and di Mazzara on the E. and S. sides 
respectively. The city is tolerably well 
built, being traversed, like Palermo, 
by 2 broad and regular streets which 
intersect each other at right angles. 
It contains about 28,939 inhabitants, 
with many churches, several convents, 
3 abbeys, a college, 3 hospitals, a 
Monte di Pieta, and other public build¬ 
ings, yet hardly at the present day re¬ 
tains its claims to the title of “ most mag¬ 
nificent city”—splendidissima civitas,—• 
which Cicero, who resided here as 
quaestor, bestowed upon it. It is 
situated on the low rocky promontory 
from which it took its ancient name of 
Lilybaeum, at some little distance from 
the shore, in a position, as old Fazello 
describes it, “ right pleasant as regards 
both the land and the sea.” 

Chiesa Matrice ,—This church, which 
stands in the Piazza, has an unfinished 
Doric facjade, with a heavy octagonal 
dome, also unfinished. Its aisles are 
separated from the nave by 16 fine 
Roman Doric columns of grey marble, 
all monoliths, which were originally 
intended as a present to the church of 
St. Thomas at Canterbury; a fact ex¬ 
plained by St. Thomas a Becket being 
the patron-saint of Marsala. The 
pila, or holy-water basin, rests on a 
shaft decorated with a twisted nail- 
head moulding, and bears the date of 
1474. Just within the door is a monu¬ 
ment of the lGtli century—the tomb of 
Julio Alazaro, “ malleus acer latronum,” 
and of his wife Bridget, and his figure 
in white marble reclines on the lid. 
In the 3rd chapel to the rt. is a statue 
of St. Matthew, and below it a small 
relief of the Incredulity of St. Thomas 
—both of respectable art. The tri- 





180 


ROUTE 5. 


■MARSALA-CHURCHES. 


bune and transepts are bung with old 
tapestry. In the rt. transept is a pic¬ 
ture of the Purification of the Virgin, 
by Alibrandi of Messina, with an archi¬ 
tectural background. The chapel of 
the Holy Sacrament contains 3 small 
bas-reliefs by Antonio Gay ini, executed 
in 1532 ; one representing the Death 
of the Virgin. 

San Girolamo. —In the church at¬ 
tached to this monastery is a picture 
of the Crucifixion, of wretched art, but 
most interesting as having been the 
standard of Don John of Austria at 
the battle of Lepanto, and on his ex¬ 
pedition to Tunis and Biserta. The 
hero on his return to Marsala in 1573, 
after his victories, made a present of 
the banner to this convent. Here is 
also a picture of St. Jerome adoring 
the cross. 

Chiesa de Gesuiti. —In this church 
is an oil-painting of the Nativity of 
St. John the Baptist, ascribed to Pietro 
Novelli, but in wretched preservation. 

II Carmine. —The bell-tower, which 
is detached from the church, has “a 
striking peculiarity of which the cause 
has not yet been satisfactorily ex¬ 
plained. On ringing the bell the 
whole fabric vibrates to a degree that 
is sensible to the eye; for as the 
steeple is separated only a few inches 
from the wall of the church, I dis¬ 
tinctly saw the motion. As the build¬ 
ing is low, the effect is not dangerous, 
though it produces the momentary im¬ 
pression of an earthquake.”— Hoare. 
It is said also to vibrate sensibly in 
high winds. The local explanation is 
that the campanile is built on a globe, 
but the phenomenon is more reasonably 
attributed by Admiral Smyth to the 
height of the tower being out of pro¬ 
portion to its base. 

S. Giovanni Battuta, within the 
walls, has a painting of the birth of 
that saint ascribed to Novelli. 

S. Francesco di Paola .—This con¬ 
vent, which stands outside the E. gate, 


on an eminence commanding the sea, 
has catacombs of smoke-dried friars. 

S. Giovanni Battista. —Outside the 
walls to the N.W., and between the 
town and the sea, stands the little ch. 
of St. John, containing a marble figure 
by Antonio Gagini, one of the best of 
his many statues of that saint. A 
flight of steps in the pavement leads 
down to a small circular grotto hewn 
in the rock, retaining traces of frescoes 
on the walls and of mosaic-work in the 
pavement. In the centre is a small 
well, a yard square, of very clear but 
brackish water. This subterranean 
chamber is commonly called the 
“Grotto of the Cumaean Sibyl,” who 
was believed to have dwelt here, and 
to have been buried on this spot. The 
well is doubtless that which was re¬ 
nowned among the ancients under the 
name of Lilyba, as having existed here 
long before the foundation of Lily- 
bteum, and as having given its name 
both to the promontory and to the 
city. Its water was believed of old to 
impart an insight into futurity to those 
who drank it, and in modern times is 
vulgarly supposed to afford a test of 
conjugal fidelity in the fair sex. The 
grotto is still regarded with super¬ 
stitious reverence, and on the eve of 
St. John crowds flock to it to taste its 
waters. 

Madonna della Grotta. —To the S. of 
the town, outside the Porta di Mazzara, 
are extensive quarries, like the La- 
tomie of Syracuse, but of little depth, 
in whose cliffs are ancient tombs, some 
of early Christian, others of Pagan 
times, retaining vestiges of frescoed 
decorations. Here is also an ancient 
church, the lower part of which is 
hewn from the rock; the upper has 
been modernised. Some caves open¬ 
ing on it have their walls frescoed 
with full-length figures of saints, 
male and female, all of Byzantine art. 
These decorations and its situation 
among the tombs indicate a high 
antiquity for this church—possibly as 
early as the Byzantine rule in Sicily— 
at least not later than the domination 
of the Saracens. 




ROUTE 5 . —MARSALA—LILYB.EUM. 


The Tort .—The present port, which 
lies to the W. of the town, is of very 
recent construction; the sickle-shaped 
mole which encloses it, and is termi¬ 
nated by a lighthouse, being only 
completed in 1848. The ancient port, 
which played so conspicuous a part in 
the celebrated siege, lay to the N. of 
the promontory. The coast here is 
now so altered that it is difficult to 
determine the original outline of the 
port, yet it must have been an eligible 
haven for the vessels of the ancients, 
for it was an important naval station 
under both the Carthaginians and 
Romans. Hence Scipio Africanus, 
when proconsul of Sicily, in 204 b.c., 
sailed to cany the war into Africa, 
and humble the pride of Carthage. 
Here also the younger hero of the 
same name, 149 b.c., assembled the 
armament which finally levelled Car¬ 
thage to the earth; and hence Caesar 
sailed on his African campaign against 
Juba in 47 b.c. It was held in such 
high estimation also by the Saracens, 
that they called it Marsci-Allah, or the 
Port of God, whence the modern name 
of the town. The Romans in vain 
attempted, during the great siege, to 
block up the port; but this was accom¬ 
plished more than 18 centuries later 
by the Viceroy D. Carlo d’Aragona, 
who filled its mouth with large stones, 
to prevent the ingress of the Barbary 
corsairs; thus closing one of the most 
important outlets of Sicilian commerce. 
Yet a few years before, in 1573, Don 
John of Austria, natural brother of 
Philip II. of Spain, had sailed hence 
on his victorious expedition against 
Tunis and Biserta. At present its 
shores are occupied by salt-works. 
The approach to it was rendered diffi¬ 
cult by shoals and sunken rocks,— 

“Et vada dura lego saxis Lilybeia cajcis.” 

— JEn. iii. 70G. 

which extend in every direction more 
than a mile from the land, so that 
large vessels, even at the present day, 
cannot approach nearer than 2 miles 
to the shore; and by stagnant pools 
filled from the sea, which could only 
be crossed in safety, says Polybius, j 


181 

by those well acquainted with the 
channels. 

It was in the harbour of Marsala that 
Garibaldi, on the lltli May, 1860, ef¬ 
fected a landing with his heroic band 
of 1007 men in the face of a 50-gun 
frigate and 2 steam-sloops of the Nea¬ 
politan navy. He ran right inside the 
Mole in the “ Piemonte,” his other 
steamer, the “ Lombardo,” grounding 
100 yards outside. The Neapolitans 
followed them in, but by the time they 
reached the harbour the Garibaldians 
from the “ Piemonte ” had taken the 
town, and those from the “ Lombardo ” 
were partly ashore. The royal ships 
remained for 2 hours inactive, and not 
till every Garibaldian had landed did 
they open fire upon the steamers which 
had brought them, capturing them of 
course without resistance. The little 
band of liberators encamped for the 
night outside the gates on the road to 
Salemi, for which town they started on 
the morrow to win their first victory at 
Calatafimi. 

Lilyb.bum.— The promontory on 
which Marsala stands is that known to 
the ancients as Lilybseum, which was 
one of the 3 headlands which gave the 
name of Trinacria to the island. It 
was the most westerly, and the nearest 
to Africa, being distant hardly 90 geo¬ 
graphical miles from Cape Bon, which 
is said on a clear day to be visible with 
the naked eye from a height called 
Cadidi at the back of the town. The 
ancient appellation of the promontory 
is in part preserved in its modern name 
Capo Boeo. 

Marsala occupies the site of the 
ancient Lihjbxum, a city founded on 
the cape by the Carthaginians soon 
after the destruction of Motya by 
Dionysius the elder in 397 b.c., and 
peopled by the inhabitants of that city 
who had escaped the slaughter. It 
became the chief stronghold and metro¬ 
polis of the Carthaginians in Sicily, and 
on two occasions proved the last bul¬ 
wark of their power in the island 
—first in 276 b.c., when, after every 
other Carthaginian fortress had fallen 
before the arms of Pyrrhus, it alone 
defied the power of the Epirote king 





182 


ROUTE 5. —MARSALA—-WINE ESTABLISHMENTS 


for 2 months, till lie was compelled to 
raise the siege, and with it to renounce 
his Sicilian conquests. The second 
time was in the First Punic War, when 
it stood a siege of 10 years (250- 
241 b.c.), and was only eventually sur¬ 
rendered to the Romans in consequence 
of the great naval victory gained over 
Hanno off the iEgadian Islands, which 
put an end to the war and to the domi¬ 
nion of Carthage in Sicily. 

A curious incident occurred during 
the siege. The town was so closely 
invested and the port so blockaded by 
the Romans, that the people at Car¬ 
thage could get no tidings of the siege, 
nor could they devise any means of 
communicating with their beleaguered 
friends, until a Rhodian, named Han¬ 
nibal, engaged to sail into the harbour, 
and bring back intelligence. “ His 
offer was received with joy, though the 
success was greatly doubted. But 
Hannibal, having equipped a vessel of 
his own that was proper for his pur¬ 
pose, sailed, and cast anchor near one 
of the islands that lie opposite to Lily- 
bseum; and on the morrow, taking ad¬ 
vantage of a brisk and favourable wind, 
steered his course through the midst 
of all the enemy, who stood astonished 
at his boldness, gained the harbour, 
and prepared to return on the follow¬ 
ing day. The Roman consul, the 
better to guard the entrance to the 
port, got ready in the night ten of his 
swiftest ships, and himself with all his 
fleet stood attentive to the motions of 
the Rhodian. The ten ships were 
stationed on both sides of the mouth of 
the harbour, as near it as the shallows 
would permit, their oars raised in the 
air, and ready to bear down in an 
instant upon the Carthaginian vessel. 
But the Rhodian, steering out of the 
port in sight of them all, insulting and 
embarrassing the enemy by his bold¬ 
ness and agility, not only escaped un¬ 
hurt through the midst of the Roman 
fleet, but when he had gained a little 
distance he turned about, and, resting 
on his oars, challenged the enemy to 
engage him. And when none dared 
advance, by reason of the lightness and 
swiftness of his vessel, he at last re¬ 
tired, having in one single galley in¬ 


sulted and defied the whole Roman 
fleet. After this he went and returned 
continually as often as occasion re¬ 
quired, and rendered no small service 
both to the Carthaginians and to the 
besieged.”— Polybius. 

The ancient city, like the modem, 
was quadrangular, girt by a wall of 
extraordinary strength, with towers at 
intervals, and surrounded by a trench 
60 cubits wide and 40 deep, to which 
the city was indebted for that strength 
which gave it the title of “impreg¬ 
nable.” Of the walls the only frag¬ 
ments remaining are those already 
described as existing outside the Porta 
cli Trapani; and the trenches, though 
the Romans filled them up during the 
celebrated siege, are still to be traced 
on the west and south of the town. 
Beyond these, few remains of the 
ancient city are extant. In the tune 
of Fazello there were vestiges of 
marble fountains, and of the aqueducts 
which brought water from the moun¬ 
tains 5 miles distant, with a large 
marble pavement, supposed to be that 
of the forum. But all these have now 
disappeared. Many portable relics, 
however, as vases, stelje, lamps, coins, 
&c., have at various times been dis¬ 
covered here. A superb alabaster vase 
was some years since in the possession 
of the Grignone family. In the Casa 
Comunale is preserved a tablet, with a 
Punic inscription, dug up on this site. 

The Wine-establishments of Marsala, 
which are outside the town, are on a 
very extensive scale, being large quad¬ 
rangular enclosures of dead walls, with 
towers at the angles and flanking the 
doorways, so constructed in order to 
bid defiance to popular tumults; and 
they might be taken for a series of 
detached forts along the shore. Most 
of them are the property of English¬ 
men. Those of Messrs. Gill and Col¬ 
lett, and of Signor Lipari, are to the 
N. of the town; those on the S. are 
the largest, and belong to the several 
firms of Wood, Woodliouse, Florio, and 
Ingham. The first establishment was 
that of Mr. John Woodhouse, which 
dates as far back as 1789. Through 
him the wine of Marsala was intro- 



183 


ROUTE 5.— 

duccd, in 1802, into the British fleet 
in the Mediterranean, and in compli¬ 
ment to Lord Nelson it received the 
appellation of “ Bronte-Madeira,” under 
which name it was subsequently im¬ 
ported into England, where, though 
not in so high repute as sherry, it at. 
present fetches almost as high a price. 
The annual amount of wine produced 
in Marsala and its territory, before the 
oi'dium of late years diminished the 
yield, was about 30,000 pipes, of which 
20,000 were exported—8000 or so of 
superior wine to England, France, and 
the United States ; and the balance, of 
interior quality, to Malta and Italy. 
The vine is grown on the slopes of the 
neighbouring hills, and is generally of 
the white grape, with some admixture 
of the black, which is thought to be a 
preservative of the flavour. 

The traveller should not fail to visit 
one or other of these Baglj. Those of 
Ingham, Woodhouse, and Florio, are 
the largest, employing^about 100 men 
each. He will obtain admittance on 
sending in his card, and will be re¬ 
ceived with great courtesy and atten¬ 
tion. Each baglio is a little town in 
itself. Everything, save the wine, is 
made within the walls. That is pur¬ 
chased of the growers throughout the 
country, and stored here for exporta¬ 
tion. The great extent of the pre¬ 
mises, the vast size of the vaults, 
sometimes 150 yards in length, and 
the many thousands of pipes arranged 
in row after row and tier above tier, can¬ 
not fail to excite astonishment; while 
the activity of the smiths, coopers, 
and distillers, the application of steam, 
the division of labour, and the order 
and regularity observable throughout, 
are gratifying to the visitor, as offering 
the unwonted spectacle of British in¬ 
dustry in a lazy land. The baglio ot 
Woodhouse contains a chapel and a 
burial-ground for the English who die 
at Marsala, in which is the tomb of 
old John Woodhouse, the founder of 
the colony. 


The route to] Mazzara, after passing 
the wine-stores" outside the walls of 


-MAZZARA. 

Marsala, runs for some distance be¬ 
tween vineyards and olive-grounds en¬ 
closed by stone walls. At about 2 m. 
it crosses the streamlet called Flume 
di Marsala, the Sossius of antiquity, 
beautifully fringed with wood through¬ 
out its course. The track is very rugged, 
quite impracticable for carriages, and 
at length, where it emerges from the 
olive-groves on an open heath, over¬ 
run with dwarf palm and tamarisk, 
and perfumed with rosemary and other 
aromatic shrubs, it vanishes altogether. 
Mazzara, however, is full in sight, and 
the traveller has only to shape his 
course for it. He finds the path again 
on his approach to that town, and, just 
before reaching it, crosses the Flume 
di Mazzara . Though, throughout the 
journey, the track follows the line of 
the coast at a short distance inland, 
hardly a glimpse is obtained of the sea 
until close to Mazzara, tlie view being 
intercepted by low sand-hills. But on 
the coast are two headlands, one with 
a tower called Sibiliana, from the Cu- 
maean Sibyl who dwelt on Lilybaunn, 
and the other Capo Feto, said to be the 
point of Sicily nearest to Africa. 

30 m. Mazzara. — Inns: “ Locanda di 
Mazzara,” and “ Hotel Russo,” both 
near the Porta dello Sciume (Flume), 
and both on a par for discomfort and 
wretchedness. Mazzara, the “ Inclita,” 
situated at the mouth of its river and 
on the seashore, makes an imposing- 
appearance at a distance, with its many 
domes and towers rising above its em¬ 
battled walls; but the disappointment 
on entering its gates is great, for the 
streets are narrow, wretchedly paved, 
and full of abominations, and the 
houses mean and miserable in the 
extreme. Yet it contains 8688 inha¬ 
bitants, is the see of a bishop, to 
whom the whole province of Trapani is 
subject, and is a place of some com¬ 
merce, exporting considerable quantities 
of wine, fruit, grain, pulse, oil, cotton, 
and barilla, but its port affords accom¬ 
modation only for small craft. The 
town forms a quadrangle about a mile 
in circuit, enclosed by walls 35 ft. high, 
and with square towers at intervals of 
' 30 yards, of Saracenic and Norman 





184 


ROUTE 5. 


MAZZARA.-CHURCHES. 


construction. At the S.W. angle is an 
old ruinous Castle, built by Count 
Roger, and inhabited by him after the 
conquest of Sicily, when his elder 
brother Robert Guiscard kept Palermo 
for himself. Here was once shown his 
shield, inscribed with “ Dextera Domini 
fecit virtutem, Dextera Domini exalta- 
vit me,”—a motto retained by his Nor¬ 
man successors. The public buildings 
of Mazzara are large, but heavy, shabby, 
and dirty; and the churches and con¬ 
vents are so numerous, as, with the 
notorious filth of the town, to have 
given rise to the saying that “ every 
house in Mazzara contains a priest 
and a pig; ” and in truth, both are en¬ 
countered at every turn. Lord Or¬ 
monde counted 34 of the former as he 
rode through Mazzara. It was this 
odour of sanctity that attracted Al¬ 
fonso II. of Naples to Mazzara when 
in 1495 he renounced the crown of 
that kingdom in favour of his son Fer¬ 
dinand II. and assumed the cowl. 

British Vice-Consul. —Mr. S. Clark¬ 
son. 

The Piazza del Duomo contains, be¬ 
sides the Cathedral, the Bishop’s Pa¬ 
lace; the Senate-House; the Clerical 
Seminary; a fountain erected by the 
Duke of Albuquerque, Viceroy of 
Sicily, in 1G29; and a statue of St. 
Vitus, the tutelar saint of the town, 
with a crown on his head, and a dog 
at his feet, with this inscription : “ This 
is he who prays much for the people 
and the city.” The dog is an animal 
under the especial patronage of this 
saint. 

11 Duomo. —In 1093 Count Roger 
founded the see of Mazzara, and 
erected the Cathedral, which he dedi¬ 
cated to S. Salvadore. Nothing re¬ 
mains of the original edifice, the actual 
building having been erected in 1694 
by the Bishop Francesco Margraffeo, 
though the campanile bears the date of 
1658. Over the W. door is a statue of 
Count Roger riding down a Saracen. 
"Within the porch are 3 ancient sarco¬ 
phagi of marble, discovered in digging 
the foundation of an adjacent building. 
One shows in relief a woman driving a 


chariot drawn by 2 winged dragons, 
vulgarly called the Rape of Proserpine. 
The second represents a wild-boar hunt. 
These two are of the low Empire, be¬ 
traying the decadence of art. The 
third, which displays in its reliefs the 
battle of the Greeks with the Amazons, 
is in tar superior style, though all the' 
figures are not of equal excellence. 
Here is likewise a Norman sarcopha¬ 
gus, the monument of a bishop who 
died in 1180. 

The interior of the church contains 
little to interest. Over the altar is a 
Transfiguration in marble, of life-size, 
attributed to Gagini; and above it a 
group in wood and stucco, tawdrily 
painted, of the Almighty between Moses 
and David, the latter playing the violin 
— a specimen of the taste prevailing 
at Mazarra. In a side-cliapel is an old 
painted crucifix of Byzantine art. A 
picture is also shown as the work of 
Novelli. 

Sant ’ Erjidio. —The small church of 
St. Giles retains traces of early archi¬ 
tecture in its aisle, and in its polygonal 
cupola resting on concentric corbellings. 
The portal is adorned with 8 bas-reliefs 
in marble, illustrative of the history of 
the saint, and bearing date 1525. 

S. Michele. —In this convent are some 
Roman inscriptions, and a tomb of the 
family of Albinus. 

Santo Vito. —This church, which is 
near the castle, contains a well of hot 
ferruginous and sulphureous water, of 
great repute in every kind of cuta¬ 
neous disorder. Here is also a large 
silver image of the saint, which, on 
his fete-day in August, is carried in 
its own barge in procession by sea, 
attended by the principal inhabitants, 
to the mouth of the Fiume Arena, 
where it is landed amid the firing of 
guns, the beating of drums, the strains 
of music, and the acclamations of the 
citizens. 

At a short distance from the town 
stands the chapel of the Madonna del 
Paradiso, who shares with St. Vitus 
the patronage of the city. Her picture 





ROUTE 5. —MAZZARA-LA MAROBlA. 


185 


on the festivals of the Visitation and 
Assumption is in the habit of weeping 
for the sins of the people, and attracts 
at those seasons a large concourse of 
devout and penitent citizens. 

The river of Mazzara appears in 
Instory ages before the town is spoken 
of, and it had then the name of Ma- 
zara or Mazarus , a word probably of 
Sicanian or Punic origin. It seems at 
an early period to have formed the 
boundary between the territories of 
Selinus and Egesta, for the land on its 
banks was disputed in 454 b.c. be¬ 
tween the Egestans and the “ Lily- 
bseans,” by whom Diodorus probably 
meant the Selinuntines, as the city of 
Lilybmum was not then in existence. 
At a somewhat later date it is certain 
that Selinus had a fortified emporium 
at its mouth, also called Mazarci or 
Mazarum, which was taken by assault 
by Hannibal, son of Giscon, on his 
march to lay siege to Selinus in 409 b.c. 
The present town must occupy the 
site of that emporium, for it stands on 
the 1. or Selinuntine bank of the river, 
which forms a small port, called Lo 
Stac/no, beneath its walls. By the 
Saracens the river was called Mcicje- 
num. It takes its rise 3 m. from Sa- 
lemi in 2 springs called Sanagia and 
Rapicaldo. 

Mazzara is remarkable as the spot 
on which the Arabs, under Abu Abd¬ 
allah Ased, first landed on their inva¬ 
sion of Sicily a.t>. 827, and from which 
they extended their conquests over 
the whole island. They first raised it 
to the importance of a city, enclosed 
it with walls in its present form, 
and made it the residence of their 
princes, and the capital of one of the 
3 districts into which Sicily was di¬ 
vided. In 1075 it was taken from 
them by Count Roger the Norman, 
who selected it as his abode, while Pa¬ 
lermo was under the sovereignty of his 
brother Robert Guiscard. Since this 
period it has been of little importance 
in Sicilian history. 

La Marobia. —An extraordinary phe¬ 
nomenon occasionally occurs on this 
coast, and is felt with most violence at 


Mazzara. It is called the Marobia, 
which Admiral Smyth takes to be a 
corruption of Mare Ubbriaco, or Tipsy 
Sea, “as its movement is apparently 
very inconsistent. It is generally 
foimd to happen in calm weather, but 
is considered as the certain precursor 
of a gale. Its approach is announced 
by a stillness in the atmosphere and a 
lurid sky; when suddenly the water 
rises nearly 2 ft. above its usual level, 
and rushes into the creeks with amaz¬ 
ing rapidity; but in a few minutes 
recedes again with equal velocity, dis¬ 
turbing the mud, tearing up the sea¬ 
weed, and occasioning noisome effluvia. 
During its continuance the fish float 
quite helpless on the turbid surface, 
and are easily taken. These rapid 
changes (as capricious in their nature 
as those of the Euripus) generally 
continue from 30 min. to upwards of 
2 lirs., and are succeeded by a breeze 
from the southward, which quickly 
increases to heavy gusts. This phe¬ 
nomenon may be occasioned by a 
westerly wind blowing, at some dis¬ 
tance in the offing, towards the N. 
coast of Sicily, and a S.E. wind at the 
same time in the channel of Malta, the 
meeting of which would take place 
between Trapani and Cape San Marco. 
I advance this idea, because the west¬ 
erly wind most usually precedes, and 
the S.E. succeeds, the Marobia.”— 
Smyth. 

The Mediterranean is called a tide¬ 
less sea; but on these shores the in¬ 
fluence of an uncertain tide is felt, 
running from f m. to 14 m. an hour, 
according to the winds, and rising 
from 10 to 20 in., or even more in very 
fresh breezes; being influenced, but 
not governed, by the moon, and being 
most affected when she is in her peri¬ 
gee. 

From Mazzara the road to Castel- 
vetrano, 12 m., is carriageable, and at 
some distance from the sea traverses 
an open stony country overrun with 
dwarf-palms, myrtles, and wild olives, 
or partly cultivated with the vine 1 , 
which hardly redeems the landscape 
from an air of sterility, and sprinkled 
with a few baglj or wine-farms. At 




186 


ROUTE 6.—CASTELVETRANO TO GIRGENTI. 


about 2 m. from the town the road 
crosses the river Arena, which here 
Hows between rocky banks. This 
stream takes its rise from 3 sources 
beyond Salemi, called Itabicis, Gibelis, 
and Gorgo di Donna, which after 
uniting turn the mills of that town ,* 
here it receives the name of Fiume di 
Salemi, which it exchanges lower down 
for that of Belliggero, then for that of 
Delia, and lastly for Arena, which it 
owes to the white sand at its mouth. 
The road next runs at the back of the 
long, low, sandy headland, Punta di 
Sorello, or Capo Granitola, about 6 m. 
from Mazzara, called by the Arabs 
“ Rds-el-Belat,’’ from being the plain 
where the Saracens on landing in 827 
w r on then first victory over Palata, the 
Byzantine general. Here you look 
down on the large lake of Candarvo, 
the resort of wild-fowl, and, beyond the 
point, on the Tower of the Three 
Fountains, so called from 3 springs 
wliich rise on the sandy shore. Inland 
from this some 3 m. is an eminence 
covered with the ruins of an old castle 
called Castellazzo. The landscape be¬ 
comes richer and better wooded as you 
approach Campobello (described in Rte. 
4, p. 168), but is again bare between 
that place and Gastelvetrano, described 
in the same Route, p. 167. 

If the traveller has left Mazzara 
early in the day, let him, on reaching 
Campobello, send his luggage on to 
Castelvetrano, the only town in the 
neighbourhood where he can obtain 
accommodation, and take a guide for 
the ancient quarries in the neighbour¬ 
hood of the former place, and for 
Selinunte, whence he can proceed to 
Castelvetrano in the evening, allowing 
himself 2 or 3 hrs. of daylight. If the 
day, however, is w r ell advanced when 
he arrives at Campobello, he must con¬ 
tent himself with the quarries, and 
must visit the remains of the ancient 
city from Castelvetrano on the morrow, 
as the route from Campobello to that 
town by Selinunte, doing the antiquities 
by the way, will occupy at least 4 or 
5 lus. 


ROUTE 6. 

CASTELVETRANO TO GIRGENTI. 

Miles. 


Castelvetrano to the Belici. 7 

The Belici to Sciacca. 18 

Sciacca to Montallegro.22 

Moutallegro to Siculiana . 8 

Siculiana to the Molo di Girgenti .. 8 

Molo to Girgenti. 4 


67 

The above is the direct route from 
Castelvetrano to Sciacca, but if Seli¬ 
nunte is taken in the way, as is gene¬ 
rally done, the route is lengthened by 
a few miles, thus :— 

Miles. 


Castelvetrano to Selinunte. 8 

Selinunte to Sciacca .22 


The only portion of the road that is 
practicable for carriages is the last 4 
m. between Girgenti and its port; all 
the rest is a mere bridle-path, often too 
rugged for the pedestrian, lying for the 
most part of the way along the shore, 
but at times running some distance 
inland, and crossing open, treeless, 
undulating downs abounding in game. 
The path is extremely lonely, and in 
former days of no good repute. It is a 
journey of 2 days; the traveller sleeping 
the first night at Sciacca, which it takes 
9 or 10 hours to reach. There are 
many streams to be passed, but two 
only, the Belici and the Platani, are of 
any size, and they are not easily forded 
after heavy rains. 

On the descent from Castelvetrano 
to the Belici, the path runs through 
tracts covered with olive-groves, or 
wastes of fan-palm and lentiscus, till 
on the banks of the river it crosses 
low, marshy grounds, in autumn rife 
with fever. The Belici is the ancient 
liypsas, which is represented on some 
of the coins of Selinus as a youth 











ROUTE 6—SCIACCA. 


187 


sacrificing at the altar of iEsculapius; 
probably in reference to the unhealthi- 
ness of the neighbourhood at certain 
seasons. Swinburne compares it to 
the Mole in Surrey in size and colour, 
but this is a much larger stream, flow¬ 
ing between higli sandy banks, hung 
with elms, willows, and tamarisks of 
luxuriant growth, and winding through 
a vale of corn and pasture. It is one 
of the few rivers of Sicily that are 
perennial. It rises in the northern 
part of the island, in the mountainous 
country between Palermo and Corleone, 
where it takes the name of Bichinello, 
and lower down that of Frattina, and is 
fed by the streamlets of Coniglione and 
Batticani, which fall into it from the 
E. Some distance to the W. of Corleone 
it washes the Saracenic fortress of Cala- 
trasi, and next the height of the ancient 
Ente 11a, which still bears that name, 
though for centuries abandoned. Lower 
down it flows through the valley be¬ 
tween Partanna and Santa Margherita. 
On some table-land below the former 
town probably stood the ancient Inycus, 
a place of little importance save for its 
wi no, and as being represented in my¬ 
thic legends as the capital of Cocalus, 
the Sicanian prince who sheltered 
Daedalus from the wrath of the Cretan 
Minos. From the site of Entella 
southwards the Belici forms the bound¬ 
ary between the provinces of Trapani 
and Girgenti. Some antiquaries have 
taken this stream, or a branch of it, 
to be the ancient Crimisus, on whose 
banks Timoleon the Corinthian, in 
340 b. c., encountered a Carthaginian 
host nearly seven times superior in 
numbers, yet achieved one of the most 
glorious victories of ancient days. 

The Belici is a deep stream, and 
after heavy rains is not fordable near 
its mouth. The traveller in that case 
must follow its course upwards for 
some miles until he finds a bridge. 
Instead of returning at once to the 
shore, his path will then lie across 
undulating downs, and through cork¬ 
woods, to 

Mmfrici, or Menfri, a town of 9300 
inhabitants, crowning a long, bare 
height, some 3 m. inland, about half 


way between Castelvetrano and Sciacca. 
It is situated in the midst of an open 
corn-country destitute of trees. Should 
the traveller be compelled to stay the 
night here, he will find 2 small locande, 
dirty enough, though the people are 
most attentive and anxious to please. 
The path hence to Sciacca joins that 
along the coast near the headland of 
San Marco. 

After fording the Belici, which at 
its mouth abounds in eels and mullet, 
the path traverses swelling downs now 
sprinkled with clumps of fan-palm, now 
with young cork-trees, or darkened by 
olive-groves; or it crosses wide sweeps 
of corn-land, with swamps in the hollows 
swarming with wild duck and lapwings, 
till it reaches the sea below Menfrici. 
On its way it fords the streamlet of 
Leone, which falls into the sea at the 
little port of Palo. The coast here is 
bleak and bare, with low dunes of sand, 
tufted with short grass, and indented 
with frequent creeks. As you follow 
the sandy beach you cross the mouths of 
the streams Gavarrello and Cannitello, 
the latter of which is the Carabi of the 
Arabs and the Afys of antiquity. Rice 
is cultivated on its banks. The path 
leaves the shore and crosses the downs 
at the back of the low headland of San 
Marco, from which Sciacca comes into 
view, crowning a wall of steep cliffs 
which overhang the sea, and backed by 
the grey mountain of San Calogero, 
with a hermitage on the summit. You 
descend to the shore, follow the sandy 
beach, and mount a steep road to the 
gate. 

25 m. Sciacca. — Inns: three, but 
none tolerable. The best is that “ dell’ 
Aquila,” yet it is full of all uncleanness. 
Here one traveller records his having 
caught 24 tormentors in half an hour ! 
“ Let those sleep here who can.”— 
E. C. B. 

A steamer touches at Sciacca every 
Saturday about noon on its way from 
Palermo and Trapani to Girgenti; 
and on its return it touches at Sciacca 
on alternate weeks — on Sunday at 
G a.m., and on Wednesday at 5 p.m. 



188 


ROUTE 6.-SCI ACC A. 


British Vice-Consul. —Sign. F. Im- 
bornone. 

Sciacca occupies the site of the 
Thermae Selinuntinee, a town of great 
antiquity, of Greek origin, the birth¬ 
place of Agathocles, the tyrant of Sy¬ 
racuse, and son of Carcinus a potter, 
who had come from Rhegium to settle 
in this town, which at that time be¬ 
longed to the Carthaginians. In later 
times it gave birth to the historians 
Fazello and Inveges. The modern name 
is a corruption of the Arabic “Sheikh,” 
or chieftain. Count Roger gave the 
town with its territory to his daughter 
Juliette, on her reconciliation with him 
after her runaway match with Robert, 
Count of Zamparron. The town at that 
time was little more than a fort, but it 
stood two sieges, first in 1267 from the 
forces of Charles of Anjou, and again 
in 1302 from the Angevins under 
Charles of Valois, who after 43 days 
was compelled to raise the siege and 
sign at Caltabellota the treaty of peace 
in which he recognised the independence 
of Sicily under Frederick II. of Aragon. 
This sovereign in 1330 enlarged the 
town to its present size, and much of 
his fortifications are extant. These 
were restored and strengthened with 
bastions by the Emperor Charles V. 

Sciacca stands on the verge of a lofty 
cliff overhanging the sea, which posi¬ 
tion, with its irregular walls, and the 
castles at its eastern angle, give it an 
imposing appearance at a distance. 
Yet within the gates, notwithstanding 
numerous churches and convents, and 
many substantial houses, with a popu¬ 
lation of 14,614, its general aspect is 
that of utter poverty and wretchedness, 
and no longer entitles it to the appel¬ 
lation of which it boasts—“ Sciacca la 
Degna.” It used to be one of the 
chief caricatori on the southern coast, 
and has immense magazines hollowed 
in the cliffs beneath the town, where 
the corn of the neighbouring country 
as formerly stored for shipment. It 
exports also fruit, anchovies, sulphur, 
and barilla, and at times has a brisk 
trade. There is no harbour, and the 
vessels which come here for cargoes have 
to anchor about a mile off the shore, 


where they are exposed to every wind 
from S.E. to W. 

There is little to detain the traveller 
within the walls of Sciacca. The Chiesa 
Matrice was founded at the close of the 
11th century by Juliette de Hauteville, 
daughter of Count Roger, in atonement 
for her sin in living with Count Zam¬ 
parron before marriage, and appro¬ 
priately dedicated by her to the Mag¬ 
dalen : it contains little of interest. 
San Salvadore, attached to the Carme¬ 
lite convent, was a foundation of Count 
Roger. The cloisters of this convent 
have been spoilt by restorations, but a 
beautiful quattrocento portal still re¬ 
mains. The Speclale Veccldo has also 
a fine portal of the same period. The 
churches of Santa Maria d'ltria, La 
Madonna dello Spasimo, Santa Marghe- 
rita, S. Michaele, and S. Domenico, are 
of later date—mostly of the 16th cent. 
That of Sta. Margherita deserves notice 
for its side-door, of the Renaissance, but 
not in the style of Gagini. In the eh. 
of the Jesuits' College is a picture of the 
Madonna by Michael Blasco, a native 
artist, of the school of Novelli, painted 
in 1655; and in that of St. Agostino is 
another of S. Tommaso da Villanova, 
by the same hand. Sta. Lucia con¬ 
tains 2 pictures, the Death and the 
Coronation of Sta. Rosalia, by Mariano 
Rossi, a native painter of the last cen¬ 
tury. Santa Maria delle Giumarre, out¬ 
side the town to the E., was founded 
by Juliette de Hauteville in 1103. Its 
frescoed ceiling was greatly admired by 
Swinburne. The apostles in the same 
church are by Rossi. 

Sciacca is not without interesting 
specimens of the domestic architecture 
of the middle ages. Among these is 
conspicuous the Palazzo Starafinto, 
whose fa 9 ade is studded with the nail- 
head ornament in a very singular 
manner: its upper story has pointed 
windows with double lights. The two 
castles in ruin at the E. end of the 
town are those of Per olio and Luna. 
The latter has pointed windows with 
archivolts banded black and white. 
Both are mementos of the deadly feuds 
which for several generations raged 
between these families, and desolated 
the town with fire and slaughter, from 



ROUTE G.- SCI A CCA—CASI DI SCIACCA. 


189 


the effects of which it has never reco¬ 
vered. The convulsions attending these 
feuds are known as the “ Casi di 
Sciacca.” 

Casi di Sciacca .—In the reign of 
Martin and Mary, the heiress of the 
house of Peralta, a lady of rare beauty 
and vast possessions, was wooed both 
by Count Artale di Luna and by 
Giovanni Perollo, a descendant of that 
Gilbert who had wedded Juliette de 
Hauteville on the death of her first 
husband Zamparron. The king, being 
partial to Luna as a Spaniard, prevailed 
on the lady to give her hand to him in 
preference to the Sicilian, which excited 
such rage in Perollo’s heart, that nothing 
less than the destruction of his fortu¬ 
nate rival could satisfy him. He made 
several attempts to cut him off by open 
violence, but, failing in these, he had 
recourse to secret revenge, and, in 1412, 
destroyed the count by poison. This in¬ 
famous deed entailed discord and ruin 
upon both families; but a kind of sullen 
quiet reigned till Artale’s son Antonio 
arrived at an age to take up the feud, 
when a civil war arose in Sciacca that 
involved the whole city in horror and 
desolation. Pietro Perollo, the inhe¬ 
ritor of his father’s quarrel, was the 
feudal lord of the fortress of Sciacca, 
which he kept full of his armed re¬ 
tainers. The Count of Luna possessed 
the strong castle of Caltabellotta, 12 m. 
distant. Each was ever seeking to 
compass the destruction of his foe. In 
April 1455 Luna and his followers 
were taking part in the solemn pro- 
cession of one of the holy thorns 
of Christ’s crown through the streets 
of the city, when, on passing Perollo's 
castle, Pietro, at the head of his 
bravoes, rushed out, assailed, and slew 
many of the Count’s suite, and put 
the rest to flight. Pietro, singling out 
his hereditary foe, attacked him with 
great fury, stabbed him repeatedly in 
the face and body, and left him for 
dead. Then rushing to the castle of 
Luna, he sacked it, drove out the 
family of his victim, and took refuge 
himself in the castle of Geraci The 
Count s body was found by his at¬ 
tendants, who, perceiving he was still 
breathing, tended him with such care 


that he was ultimately restored to 
health, when ho retaliated fiercely on 
the lives and property of his adversaries, 
sacking and burning Perollo’s castle, 
and putting more than 100 of his par¬ 
tisans to the sword. Pietro was fain 
to save himself by flight. The citizens, 
weary of this party strife, appealed to 
the government to maintain order. 
King Alfonso the Magnanimous sen¬ 
tenced the rival barons to perpetual 
banishment, and confiscated their pos¬ 
sessions; but 3 years later, on his 
deathbed, he revoked this sentence ; 
which ill-judged lenity was productive 
of further evils. Thus ended the first 
“ Caso di Sciacca.” 

The feud, thus suppressed, broke out 
afresh 74 years later. Giacomo Perollo, 
proud of his own wealth and power, 
and confiding in his popularity with 
the lower orders, and in his friendship 
with the viceroy the Duke of Monte- 
leone, assumed almost despotic power 
over the lives and liberties of the 
citizens of Sciacca, and bore himself 
with such haughtiness that he roused 
the spirit of Sigismundo di Luna, who 
could not brook the insults of his here¬ 
ditary foe. In 1529 he flew to arms, 
and, collecting a force of 400 foot and 
300 horse, threatened the castle of 
Perollo; but though the Baron Gia¬ 
como obtained assistance from the 
Viceroy, Luna contrived to obtain pos¬ 
session of Sciacca. After vain at¬ 
tempts to take the castle by assault, 
he turned against it the cannon on 
the city ramparts, effected a breach, 
stormed it, and put all within the 
walls to the sword. Perollo managed 
for a while to elude pursuit; but the 
Baroness and the wives of his follow¬ 
ers fell into the power of the Count. 
At the sight of these ladies Luna con¬ 
trolled his wrath, and treated them with 
all knightly courtesy. Laying aside 
his arms, he approached the Baroness 
with respect, kissed her hands, la¬ 
mented with her over her misfortunes, 
and, offering her his arm, conducted her 
and her attendant ladies to a neigh¬ 
bouring convent. Then resuming his 
ferocity, he returned to his search for 
the Baron, who, being betrayed into 
the hands of his retainers, was butch- 



190 


ROUTE 6.-SCI A CCA-BATHS-MONTE S. CALOGERO. 


creel by them before be could reach 
liis rival's presence. The Count, with 
savage delight at his death, had his 
corpse tied to a horse’s tail, and 
dragged through the streets in bar¬ 
barous triumph. He then took ven¬ 
geance on all the partisans of his 
deceased foe, and desisted only at the 
approach of the adherents of Perollo, 
who, rallying, returned to Sciacca in 
great force, when he thought prudent 
to retire to the castle of Bivona; his op¬ 
ponents retaliating on his faction, and 
repeating the tragedy of fire, sword, 
and rapine which lie had enacted. 

The Emperor Charles V., who then 
ruled Sicily, was not of a disposition to 
allow such outrages to pass unpunished. 
His viceroy deputed two judges of the 
Supreme Court to bring the Count 
and his partisans to punishment. 
Luna saw the storm approaching, fled 
from Sicily, and took refuge at Rome, 
confiding in the protection of Pope 
Clement VII., his uncle. Then the 
past illegal outrages were succeeded 
by judicial slaughters and persecution. 
The judges condemned many of the 
citizens of Sciacca to the gallows, 
others to perpetual imprisonment or 
banishment, and imposed on the city 
a heavy fine for having endured so 
long the outrages of the hostile fac¬ 
tions. All the followers of Luna that 
fell into their hands were hanged and 
quartered, their heads and limbs being 
set up throughout the cities and vil¬ 
lages of the island, as a terror to evil 
doers. The Count of Luna, having 
in vain attempted to mitigate the wrath 
of his sovereign, and finding himself 
without hope of pardon, was over¬ 
whelmed with despair, and threw him¬ 
self into the Tiber. This was the second 
“ Caso di Sciacca.” 

The hot springs, which were renowned 
of old, and gave their name to the 
Greek town, lie outside the walls to 
the E., and at the foot of the mountain 
of S. Calogero. Here are four springs 
rising at a short distance apart in a 
white saline clay, which lies on a 
stratum of chalky rock; they possess 
different characteristics and properties. 
One is sulphureous and hot, about 126° 


Fahr., and impregnated with iron, sul¬ 
phur, and salt, with a slight tincture 
of vitriol, and is highly esteemed in 
cutaneous or scorbutic disorders and in 
cases of paralysis. It runs into 2 courts, 
where men and women bathe sepa¬ 
rately. The next, called Acqua Santa, 
is only 59§° Fahr. in temperature, and 
is strongly impregnated with the saline 
quality of the rock, and powerfully 
purgative. The third, which is also 
potable, is esteemed for removing affec¬ 
tions of the eyes. The fourth, a stone’s 
throw to the E., is tepid and saline, 
and of great repute for drying up ulcers. 
The waters of these springs on their 
way to the sea leave a thick deposit, 
that hardens to a rock like travertine, 
which is much employed for building 
purposes. Fragments of the edifices 
used by the ancients for their baths, as 
well as of the conduits and pipes, are 
still visible. 

Monte San Calogero .—The most cele¬ 
brated baths of Sciacca are those on 
the summit of the mountain of S. Ca- 
logero, which every traveller should 
ascend, if not for scientific inquiry, at 
least for the magnificent view obtained 
from it. It is only 1035 ft high, ac¬ 
cording to Admiral Smyth’s measure¬ 
ment ; but the path is very steep and 
rocky, and it takes fully 1J hour to 
ascend, though the summit is but 3 
miles from the gates of Sciacca. Don¬ 
keys can be had for the ascent at 3 or 
4 tan each. The lower slopes are 
covered with vines, but the upper are 
rocky and bare, or sprinkled only with 
the dwarf-palm. Half way up is a 
large natural cavern, called by the Sa¬ 
racens Tayhano, and now Grotta di 
Diana, where is a remarkable echo. 
Somewdiat more to the rt. of the path, 
and on the S. side of the mountain, is 
an oblique well of great depth, in 
which a roaring noise is continually 
heard, probably caused by a subterra¬ 
nean stream. The mountain is com¬ 
posed of argilla and limestone, enclos¬ 
ing beds of sulphur, mixed with other 
mineral substances, and traversed by 
many springs, which cause the gurg¬ 
ling noises heard in the holes and 
wells, and the hot vapours which issue 



ROUTE 6.-SCIACCA TO GIRGENTI. 


191 


from tlie crevices. Under the brow of 
the mountain to the S. are the Stufe, 
or vapour-batlis, which, according to 
ancient fable, were fitted up by Daeda¬ 
lus, some 3000 years ago, and in which 
Minos, the celebrated king of Crete, 
was treacherously stifled by the daugh¬ 
ters of Cocalus, the Sicanian prince. 
They consist of several caverns, or su¬ 
dorific chambers, hollowed in the cliff, 
one of which is surrounded by benches 
hewn from the rock, where patients 
taking their seats are thrown into a 
perspiration by a current of vapour 
issuing' from the recesses of the moun¬ 
tain with the temperature of 102° 
Fahr., and scarcely any perceptible 
smell. In this cavern are traces of 
inscriptions of very remote times, but 
in what character is not now dis¬ 
cernible. On entering the cavern the 
air is suffocating and hot as the blast 
of a furnace, and the steam obscures its 
recesses. Next this is a cave, pointed 
out as the residence of the venerable 
Calogero, the tutelary saint of Sciacca, 
and containing a well or shaft of great 
depth, the descent into which has been 
attempted by means of ropes and 
torches, but the dense steam has always 
rendered the essay futile. At some 
little distance down the mountain to 
the E. is another cavern, called Grotta 
clelle Pulzelle, which also emits hot and 
sulphureous vapours. 

The baths are resorted to in the 
summer months, principally in June, 
by crowds of persons afflicted with all 
sorts of disorders, especially rheuma¬ 
tism, from the remotest parts of Sicily. 
The mountain was originally called 
after the Gimnarre, or fan-palms, which 
cover its base, till S. Calogero was 
commissioned by St. Peter to drive out 
the devils who were supposed to in¬ 
habit its recesses, and render the hot 
vapours serviceable to the afflicted. 
This San Calogero, who figures so 
much in Sicily and the AHolian Is¬ 
lands, was a hermit who made con¬ 
tinual excursions to discover hot 
springs and vapours for the benefit of 
the diseased; and tradition states that 
he rebuilt numerous baths at his own 
expense, particularly those of Sciacca, 
Termini, and Lipari. He was probably 


a Greek monk, whose name has been 
forgotten; for, as the Sicilians pro¬ 
nounce the word “ Caloyero,” it is but 
the modern Greek name for a wander¬ 
ing friar. On the summit of the 
mountain is a hermitage dedicated to 
the saint, to whom all the cures effected 
are attributed, with several buildings 
for the accommodation of those who use 
the baths, and of the monks who attend 
on them. From this spot a magnificent 
and extensive view is obtained of the 
luxuriantly fertile country and broken 
ground around Sciacca, of the isolated 
mountain of Luna d’Oro to the N.E., 
of the coast from Capo Granitola on the 
W. to a point beyond Girgenti on the 
S.E., and of the island of Pantellaria 
rising bluffly on the S.W. horizon. 


From Sciacca to Girgenti is a long- 
day’s journey of 42 m., with no spot 
in the interval at which the traveller 
can stop the night with comfort. It is 
therefore necessary to leave Sciacca at 
the earliest dawn. There are several 
streams to be forded, but the Platani 
alone is difficult, and that only after 
heavy rains. The path passes beneath 
the bare grey cliffs of Monte San Calo¬ 
gero, then over open undulating downs, 
clothed with dwarf-palms and thistles, 
and, after fording three streamlets, 
reaches the banks of the Verdura, the 
ancient Isburus , on the height above 
which is a ruined tower called Torre di 
Verdura. It is a large stream of 2 
branches, flowing through a wide bed ; 
rice grows on its banks, and a green 
cultivated hollow lies inland, whence 
its name of Verdura, but the heights 
which back this fertile tract are barren 
and waste. It is also called Flume di 
Caltabellota, from the town of that 
name, which stands on a height on its 
rt. bank, some 7 or 8 m. inland. The 
Verdura takes its rise in the mountains 
near Prizzi, in the centre of the island, 
then flows beneath the Albanian colony 
of Palazzo Adriano, and through a 
narrow gorge with the deserted town of 
Acristia on its 1. baffle, and Chiusa on 
its rt.; and then traverses the wider 
I valley between Caltabellota and Bur- 





192 


ROUTE G.—HERACLEA MINOA. 


gio, and enters the sea where an old 
mined tower, and a few fishermen’s 
huts, take the name of Rivella. The 
lofty serrated chain of mountains which 
here flank the coast, from their diffi¬ 
cult access, have in all ages been the 
resort of lawless characters. Here in 
the year 104 b.c. Tryphon and Athe- 
nion, with a band of runaway slaves, 
set at defiance the power of Rome for 4 
years in the strong fortress of Triocala, 
till they were defeated and destroyed 
by the Consul Aquilius; and here or¬ 
ganised bands of robbers have had their 
holds even within the present century. 
On the 1. bank of the Yerdura, only 

4 m. inland, on a vine-clad height, 
stands the town of Ribera, a miserable- 
looking place, regularly built, but with 
low, mean houses, and 5500 inhabitants. 
The place was settled only in 1633 by 
the Prince of Paterno, who gave it this 
Spanish name, which was that of his 
wife’s family, who was daughter of the 
Duke of Alcala. The houses were 
built in this low fashion as a precau¬ 
tion against the effects of earthquakes. 

From the Yerdura the route lies for 

5 or 6 m. along the shore through deep 
shingle, and beneath cliffs of white in¬ 
durated clay, showing the action of 
water and betraying by strata of breccia 
the lines of the beach at different pe¬ 
riods, to the Macasoli, which flows 
through a wild glen, backed by bare 
mountains. This stream rises near the 
town of Santo Stefano, and in its course 
washes the height on which Bivona, 
the chief town of the district, is situ¬ 
ated. Downs spotted with clumps of 
dwarf-palms lie between this stream 
and the Platani, which flows between 
low, sandy banks, through a bare plain 
of rich alluvial soil, backed by a range 
of naked heights, on whose slopes are 
seen the towns of Cattolica and Cian- 
eiano The stream is broad and deep, 
and when swollen by heavy rains is 
rapid and not to be forded without 
danger. It is the ancient Halycus, so 
called from the brackish character of 
its waters, and was the boundary be¬ 
tween the territories of the Greeks and 
Carthaginians in Sicily, as established 
both by Dionysius at the peace of 383 
rs.o., and again by Timoleon 338 b.c., 


after his victory at the Crimesus. The 
river abounds in fish, especially eels, 
“ cefali,” and “ aluzzi.” It rises beneath 
Castro Nuovo, and, under the name of 
Flume di S. Pietro, flows southward 
through the long, deep valley, through 
which runs the road from Palermo to 
Girgenti, having the huge Monte di 
Cammarata on its rt., and the fantastic 
heights of Musomeli and Sutera on its 
1. Below Castel Termini it takes the 
name of Platani, and, washing the Sa¬ 
racenic castle of Musara, it continues in 
many windings beneath the heights of 
Cianciano and Cattolica to the sea. 

The path now ascends to Capo Bi¬ 
anco, a headland of white rock, some 
90 ft. high. Here stood the very an¬ 
cient city of 

FLeraelea Minoa, founded either by 
Minos when he came from Crete in 
pursuit of Deedalus, or by his com¬ 
panions after they had interred him on 
the spot. It afterwards received a 
colony from Selinus; and about 509 
b.c. was taken by Euryleon with the 
remainder of the Spartan emigrants 
who had escaped slaughter when their 
prince Dorieus was defeated and slain 
by the Carthaginians and Egesteans 
at Eryx. Euryleon changed its ori¬ 
ginal name of Minoa to that of Hera- 
clea, or rather added the latter to the 
former, for thenceforth the town bore 
both appellations. It was first de¬ 
stroyed and then repeopled by the Car¬ 
thaginians, from whom it was taken both 
by Agathocles and by Pyrrhus; but in 
the First Punic War it was one of the 
principal naval stations of that people. 
In the Second Punic War it again fell 
into their hands, and was one of the 
last places held by them in Sicily. 
Tradition refers its destruction to the 
Saracens. In Fazello’s time, or 300 
years since, the substructions of its 
walls were to be traced all round it, 
showing it to have been 2 m. in cir¬ 
cuit ; and though no building re¬ 
mained standing within them, there 
were 2 large caves, whether cisterns or 
sepulchres he could not say, in the 
very heart of the city; and an aqueduct 
was still entire between the walls and 
the river. Nothing now remains above 
ground, and the broken stones and 



ROUTE G.-MONTALLEGRO—SICULIANA. 


193 


pottery alone attest the fact of ancient 
habitation on the site. In the cliffs 
beneath the walls are numerous ca¬ 
verns, probably used by the ancients 
for granaries. 

The path now traverses open downs 
to Montallegro, but before reaching 
that town it passes a little lake, about 
1 in. in diameter, half choked with 
rushes, and swarming with wild fowl. 
The deserted town of 

47 m. Montallegro (pop. 1437), on a 
hill-slope to the 1., enclosed by ruined 
Avails, is a most picturesque object, and 
is perhaps unique, as constructed wholly 
of alabaster. “ This skeleton of a 
toAvn, Avithout roofs, windoAvs, or doors, 
is occupied only by aloes and prickly 
pears, which grow from eA T ery opening. 
•Some zigzag steps cut in the rock form 
the only access to it.”— Simond. It 
Avas built only some 2 centuries ago, 
and fortified as a protection against the 
Barbary corsairs, and was abandoned 
on account of the scarcity of Avater ; the 
inhabitants removing to the village at 
its foot, Avhicli is scarcely less wretched 
and decayed in appearance. Even the 
church is in ruins. The place must 
have received its name of “Mount 
Cheerful ” in irony. The inn is “ the 
most fearful in all Sicily—like a con¬ 
demned cell, where tra\’ellers have re¬ 
corded their utter despair on the walls 
in default of a book.”— T. G. C. The 
inhabitants are miserably poor, Avanting 
the veiy necessaries of life, and suffer 
much from malaria; the fields are 
neglected, and much of the arable land 
is overrun with dwarf - palms and 
squills; though there are a feAv cotton- 
plantations, and some olive, orange, 
and carob-trees in the neighbourhood. 
A coarse oil is made by the peasantry 
from the berries of the lentiscus. The 
mountain which rises inland is com¬ 
posed of a white and grey alabaster, 
serviceable for decorati\’e architecture. 

A path runs hence northward to 
Cattolica, 4 m. distant, a modem toAvn 
of G500 souls, Avitli a handsome church. 
It is pleasantly situated on a height 
overhanging the Platani, which en¬ 
circles it on 3 sides, and among moun- 
[Sicily.'] 


tains of alabaster and gypsum, which 
the people burn to make lime and 
plaster of Paris. On the Avay to this 
toAvn you pass the two sulphur-mines 
of Montalta and Colle Rotondo, be- 
tAveen the path and the river. It is 8 
m. from Cattolica to Siculiana, through 
a mountainous but Avell - cultivated 
country, crossing the Fiume delle 
Canne, just beloAV the latter toAvn. 

For several miles E. of Montallegro 
the coast is rocky and sterile. The 
path mns first through a valley hemmed 
in by isolated cliff-bound heights, and 
then turns abruptly through a narrow 
pass opening to the sea, where the 
Avhite buildings and green dome of 
Siculiana Avith its old baronial castle 
presently come into view. 

55 m. Siculiana. —No inn. This 
Avas a feudal toAvn of the Cliiaramonte 
family, and sprang up around the 
castle, which Avas erected in the year 1350 
by Federico Cliiaramonte. It is plea¬ 
santly situated on two hills, about a 
mile inland, in the midst of a rock)' 
and barren country, yet the vale be¬ 
neath the town is dark with, fruit- 
trees. The toAvn is irregularly built, 
and has not a clean or cheerful aspect, 
though the absence of convents deprives 
it of one source of gloom. The houses 
are constructed of a dendritic stone, 
which Avhen split exhibits good arbori¬ 
zations. The inhabitants number 5981, 
and having some commerce in sulphur, 
Avhicli is shipped from the caricatore 
at the mouth of the Fiume delle Canne , 
they are comparatively in easy circum¬ 
stances, yet they suffer much from 
malaria. 

From Siculiana the road eastward 
lies through a long green valley 
flanked by heights of white argilla¬ 
ceous rock. After 4 m. the sea comes 
into view Avith the Mole of Girgenti, 
and the Punta di Palma stretching 
beyond it in a long Avhite line on the 
horizon—the finest prospect in this 
day’s journey. You proceed along the 
sandy beach, beneath slopes of greenish 
marl and Avaterworn cliffs of white 
friable clay, to Molo, or the port of Gir¬ 
genti. 


K 





194 


ROUTE 6.—MOLO—GIROENTI. 


Molo {Inn: “ Locanda della Tri- 
uacria; ” quite equal to any in Gir- 
genti, which is faint praise). This is 
a town of 2600 inhabitants, lying at 
the base of high white, cliffs, which 
render it insufferably hot in summer. 
It is entirely of modern construction, 
and is the shipping-place for the 
corn and sulphur of the neighbour¬ 
ing district. Nature has done little 
for the formation of a port here, and 
the site was chosen rather on account 
of the soil being adapted for the forma¬ 
tion of subterranean granaries, than for 
its eligibility for maritime purposes. 
The harbour is formed by a mole 
built by Charles III. in 1756, in the 
shape of 3 sides of an octagon, and 
constructed of large blocks of yellow 
crag, brought for the purpose from the 
ruins of the temple of Jupiter Olympius 
in the ancient Agrigentum. A breast¬ 
work of these blocks also protects the 
mole to seaward. The port is defended 
by a battery at the head, and a massive 
square tower at the inner end, of the 
mole. It is small, and so choked 
by the drift-sand washed up by the 
Scirocco winds, that none but very 
small craft can enter it; all other 
vessels are obliged to lie in the open 
roadstead, and are driven away by any 
breeze from the S. The town contains 
extensive stores for corn, and ware¬ 
houses for sulphur, besides a prison for 
galley-slaves, who, to the number of 
several hundreds, are kept here to clear 
the harbour of the drift-sand. It is a 
place of bustle and business, confined 
chiefly to sulphur, and carts or donkeys 
laden with large blocks of this product 
are continually arriving from the inte¬ 
rior. Corn used to be stored in vast 
conical cisterns, hollowed in the cliffs 
and open at the top. The rock is argil¬ 
laceous, and in appearance resembles 
potter’s clay. It has the singular pro¬ 
perty of preserving grain for many 
years, and is said to owe this anti¬ 
septic quality to a saline crust which 
forms on the interior of the pit. These 
granaries, though now empty, or con¬ 
verted into habitations, are well worthy 
of notice, but there is nothing else to 
detain the traveller in Molo. 

Girgenti, as seen from the cliffs 


above the port, has a most imposing 
appearance, crowning a ridge of great 
height fronting the sea, the houses 
lying in terraces on the slope, and the 
cathedral and castle towering in square 
masses above all. It lies 4 m. or more 
inland, and the road to it from Molo, 
though very steep, is carriageable and 
good, passing through broken ground 
enriched with corn, the olive, and the 
almond. After 2 m. the road forks, 
he rt. branch running eastward to the 
ancient temples, and so by a cir¬ 
cuitous but more gentle ascent to the 
city, which by this route is 7 m. 
from Molo. The direct road passes 
through a gap in a table-ridge which 
breaks on the N. into steep red cliffs, 
and is remarkable as the site of the 
Carthaginian camp during the siege 
by the Romans. Here opens a mag¬ 
nificent view of the temples, of the 
deep vale of the Hypsas, now Fiume 
Drcigo, and of Girgenti itself crowning 
the rocky steep in front. The road 
descends to the Drago, which it crosses 
by a fine modern bridge, and mounts 
by steep, sharp windings, over slopes 
partly rocky, partly covered with foliage, 
to the town, which it enters by the 
Porta di Mazzara. The ascent is sup¬ 
posed by the local antiquaries to follow 
the line of the road constructed bv 
Daedalus to the citadel of Camicus, 
where Cocalus, King of the Sicani, 
stored his treasures. Remark the geo¬ 
logical formation of the mountain, 
which is a mass of hard calcareous 
rock, full of fossil scallop, and other 
marine shells. 


Girgenti. 

67 m.— Inns: numerous, but all bad. 
The largest and most pretentious is the 
“Locanda di Bella Napoli e Sicilia,” 
in the Piano di Lena, in the higher 
part of the town, kept by Pietro Mes¬ 
sina; but it is exorbitantly dear and 
disgustingly dirty. The “ Locanda del 
Sole,” in the Via della Neve, kept by 
Caratozzolo, and looking over the old 
city and the sea, is somewhat cleaner 
and better; the charges moderate, and 




ROUTE 0. -GIRGENTI-CONVEYANCES-STEAMERS. 


195 


the people attentive. In the “Locanda 
del Leone,” in the Piazza Vecchia, kept 
by Saievi, the accommodation is small 
and the rooms dirty. The best is per¬ 
haps the “ Albergo Nuovo, kept by 
Nicolini, just below the main street, 
with a tine prospect, a decent cuisine, 
and tolerable accommodation, but of 
difficult access, for at the threshold 
lies unutterable tilth. 

Ciceroni. —Many people offer their 
services as ciceroni to the ruins, but 
Michele Pancucci can be recommended 
as having more knowledge of the sub¬ 
ject than is usually possessed by this 
class in Sicily. As guide to the me¬ 
dieval antiquities take Giacinto Poma, 
who is custode of the temple of Jupiter 
Polieus, where he is to be found. He 
knows all the fragments of Siculo-Nor- 
man architecture in Girgenti, which 
are not easily to be ferreted out without 
a guide. 

Sellers of Antiquities. —Don Raffaello 
Politi, the local antiquary, who has 
written a guide to the remains of the 
ancient city, has some good Greek 
vases, &c., from the tombs of Acragas, 
which he is willing to dispose of. 
He lives in the Via del Carnevale. 
Signor Gerlando Alletto, also, in the 
upper part of the town, has a few 
vases and other relics of antiquity 
on sale; and neat and correct little 
models of the temples, cut out of stone 
by his own hand, which he offers at 
moderate prices. 

Consuls.- British, Mr. John Oates. 
— American, M. Louis Granet— French, 
M. Thiers. 

Conveyances. —The corriera leaves 
Girgenti for Palermo, via Lercara, 
every Tues., Thurs., and Sat., at 12 
(Italian time). A diligence leaves 
for Palermo on the intervening days 
about the same hour. A diligence 
leaves Girgenti for Caltanisetta 2 or 3 
times a week. 

Steamers. — Every week a boat 
leaves the Molo of Girgenti for Pa¬ 
lermo, touching at Sciacca and Tra¬ 
pani ; one week it sails on Sat. at 
midnight, and the alternate week oil 
Wed. at 2 p m. The latter boat 


reaches the Molo on alternate Sat. 
afternoons, on its way from Palermo 
to Licata and Syracuse, at which port 
it meets a steamer ready to sail for 
Malta. 

Girgenti is the capital of one of the 
7 provinces of Sicily, the see of an 
archbishop, and has a population of 
16,412 souls. It occupies the crest and 
declivity of Mons Camicus, the acropolis 
of the ancient city of Agrigentum, 
which rises to the height of 1240 ft. 
above the sea. It is enclosed by me¬ 
diaeval walls with square towers at 
intervals, several of which on the S. 
side, near the Porta del Ponte, are of 
Saracenic antiquity. It is of quadrila¬ 
teral form, each side facing one of the 
points of the compass, and has a gate 
in each wall—Porta Biberia on the N.; 
Porta de’ Panitteri on the S.; Porta 
del Ponte on the E.; and Porta del 
Molo, or di Mazzara, on the W. The 
Porta del Ponte is a double gate with 
simple pointed arches, and an opening 
for a portcullis. 

Though from a distance Girgenti 
makes a most imposing appearance, and 
seems well to deserve its title of “ La 
Magnifica,” on entering the gates the 
illusion is at once dispelled. The town 
is irregularly built, traversed by one 
long street; the rest are mere alleys, 
tortuous, wretchedly paved, and incon¬ 
veniently steep, inaccessible to carriages, 
and dangerous even on horseback. The 
public buildings have neither grandeur 
nor beauty; and the houses are mostly 
small and shabby, relieved from an air 
of meanness by balconies of massive 
stone and elaborate sculpture. Add to 
this a general air of poverty and 
wretchedness, swarms of beggars and 
ragged children, revolting tilth and 
disgusting odours. “ The town is as 
foul and fetid as the face of nature 
around it is fair and smiling. Never 
perhaps was there a contrast more 
striking than between the luxury of 
ancient Agrigentum and the nastiness 
of modern Girgenti.” To its other 
defects Girgenti adds the want of water. 
Rain is sometimes caught in tanks, but 
is used only for washing; all the 
drinkable water has to be brought from 

k 2 




196 


ROUTE 6.-GIRGENTI—THE CATHEDRAL. 


the Pozzo di Buona-morrone, 2 m. 
from the city to the E. The men of 
the lower orders dress in blue velveteen, 
with white pendent cotton caps, and 
white stockings. The women wear a 
black shawl over their heads; and 
when this is of silk, it forms, with the 
apron to correspond, a pretty costume, 
more Spanish in character than the 
manto of Trapani or Syracuse. Few 
traces of the beauty which of old dis¬ 
tinguished the women are now to be 
seen. There is a small theatre here, 
where the attempts at tragedy are 
irresistibly comic. 

Girgenti contains 4 parish-churches 
besides the cathedral, 11 convents of 
monks, and 6 of nuns; also a large 
college with professorships of divinity, 
ethics, and the belles-lettres. The 
clergy and monies form a considerable 
proportion of the population. 

11 Duomo .—The Cathedral, which 
stands in a commanding situation in 
the upper part of the town, was founded 
in the 13tli century, but now exhibits 
an incongruous mixture of various 
styles. Externally the original struc¬ 
ture is seen chiefly in the Campanile, 
in which the archives are now pre¬ 
served. It is divided into 4 stories; 
the lower is panelled with foliage, 
mixed with animals in relief, and 
shows 4 ogee windows, once very rich 
with tracery, and divided by prominent 
shafts resting on corbels. This is a 
restoration of 1487, in the reign of 
Ferdinand the Catholic. The second 
story has round-headed windows with 
ogee labels, and Northern features; the 
third is of much earlier style, having 
a pointed window with a triple chevron 
on the archivolt, and the acanthus on 
the label. The clock-tower at the op¬ 
posite angle of the church is also of 
ancient construction. 

The interior of the church is mo¬ 
dernised, with massive columns dividing 
it into 3 aisles. The roof of the nave 
is of wood coffered, the beams being- 
painted with saints, bishops, and coats 
of arms, and is Norman in character, 
though the details of the ornamenta¬ 
tion are of much later style. The central 
beam bears the date of 1688, probably 


that of the restoration of the roof. At 
the intersection of nave and transepts 
is an imitation-dome, painted in per¬ 
spective on a flat surface. In the rt. 
transept is the chapel of S. Gerlando, 
the first Bishop of Girgenti, raised to 
the see in 1093. It is fronted by a 
handsome brass door, and contains the 
bones of the saint in a chest of massive 
silver, ornamented with reliefs illustra¬ 
tive of events in his life. The chest 
is surmounted by a figure of the saint 
on his knees, also of solid silver, and 
weighing nearly 20 lbs. The whole was 
wrought by Michael Hicca of Palermo 
in 1639. “ The bones of this venerable 
prelate were discovered by his own 
spectre to an affrighted sexton, who, 
neglecting to make known so important 
an acquisition, was nightly visited, and 
at length scourged terribly by the en¬ 
raged ghost. The bones were then 
dug up, canonised, enshrined, and the 
poor sexton slept peaceably in his bed.” 
— Hughes. In the same eliapel is a 
small silver sarcophagus for the exhi¬ 
bition of the Host during Holy Week, 
with two small reliquaries of Byzan¬ 
tine art, in the form of churches, beau¬ 
tifully enamelled, with figures of Christ 
and saints. 

The Choir has seats of walnut-wood 
carved in the Renaissance style. The 
tribune is raised 3 steps, and is en¬ 
crusted with rococo-work of cherubs, 
foliage, scrolls, &c., gilt and in pro¬ 
minent relief, mixed with wretched 
frescoes; the whole in villanous taste. 
The higli-altar shows on its paliotto 
some reliefs in silver—the Last Supper 
in tire centre, San Gerlando preaching 
to the Saracens on one hand, and the 
martyrdom of the saint on the other. 
The chapels on either hand are in the 
same style. That of the Sacrament 
has a tabernacle of silver. Against 
the adjoining pilaster is a monument 
to Card. Branceforte, Bp. of Girgenti, 
once Papal Nuncio to Louis XY. and 
to the republic of Venice, who died 
1786,—’the work of Frederico Siracusa 
of Palermo. The altarpiece in the N. 
transept is a Madonna by Guido, which 
has been a beautiful picture, though 
now spoilt by vile restorations, so that 
in parts only can the hand of the master 




ROUTE 6.-GIRGENTI-THE CATHEDRAL. 


197 


be recognised. The Virgin with her 
cheek resting on her left hand is fondly 
watching her sleeping Babe, as he lies 
on her lap encircled by her other arm; 
and the pensive beauty of her counte¬ 
nance is only surpassed by the won¬ 
derful truth and nature in the slum¬ 
bering Infant. There are no other 
pictures worthy of notice. 

The chapel of the Madonna della 
Neve in this transept contains a monu¬ 
ment of a Cavalier Marino, whose 
effigy in armour reclines on tiie sarco¬ 
phagus. It bears date 1192, and is 
the best sepulchral monument in the 
church. Here is also a curious ivory 
tabernacle in several stages, with a 
multitude of figures, carved by an 
Italian shepherd. 

The Baptismal Font in the N. aisle 
is an ancient sarcophagus of marble 
with sculptures in relief, represent¬ 
ing either the death of Phintias, the 
tyrant of Agrigentum, who was*killed 
by a wild-boar in Africa, or more pro¬ 
bably the story of Phaedra and Hip- 
polytus. On one front a number of 
youths with horses and dogs are pre- 
paring for the chase; and Phaedra’s 
nurse is seen disclosing to Hippo- 
lytus the guilty passion of the queen. 
The opposite front portrays the chase 
itself—tiie wild-boar being brought to 
bay by the dogs, while men on foot 
and horseback are attacking him with 
swords, lances, and stones. At one 
end the queen is fainting amid her 
attendants, who are endeavouring to 
soothe her with instrumental music; 
and at the opposite end the youth is 
thrown from liis chariot and trampled 
under foot by his steeds, which have 
taken fright at the marine monster 
sent by Neptune. The style of art is 
very unequal, some of the figures dis¬ 
playing considerable beauty and spirit, 
others the stunted proportions, the care¬ 
lessness, and mannerism of the deca¬ 
dence; which fact seems to mark the 
monument as a copy from some more 
ancient work. Near this is another 
sarcophagus of classic times, without re¬ 
liefs, but ornamented with frets in 
colour. 

Here is also a tasteless monument 
to Count Lucchesipalli, Bishop of Gir- 


genti, who died in 17G8. He deserved 
a better sepulchre, for he was a man 
of many virtues, and a benefactor to 
his native city, having paved the 
streets, erected the college for priests, 
formed a public library, and be¬ 
queathed a cabinet of coins and other 
antiquities as the commencement of a 
museum. 

In the opposite aisle is a well with 
a small circular mouth of marble, bear¬ 
ing reliefs—among which is the device 
of the city: 3 boys sustaining a castle 
on their shoulders. 

Porta Voce .—While at this end of 
the church the traveller should not 
fail to test the curious phenomenon so 
called. If he stands here at the W. 
gate, and another person mounts to the 
cornice behind the high-altar, they 
can hold a conversation in low whis¬ 
pers, though the distance is nearly 
280 ft. “ By a most unlucky coin¬ 
cidence the precise focus of diver¬ 
gence at the former station was 
chosen for the place of the confes¬ 
sional. Secrets never intended for 
the public ear thus became known, to 
the dismay of the confessors and the 
scandal of the people, by the resort 
of the curious to the opposite point 
(which seems to have been discovered 
accidentally), until at length, one lis¬ 
tener having had his curiosity some¬ 
what over-gratified by hearing his 
wife’s avowal of her own infidelity, 
this telltale peculiarity became gene¬ 
rally known, and the confessional was 
removed .”—Herschel on Sound. 

In the Sacristy are shown a very rich 
chalice ; two ostensoirs with a profu¬ 
sion of diamonds, rubies, amethysts, 
and emeralds; an early picture of the 
Madonna, which is said on 20th May, 
1638, to have perspired in presage of 
some approaching calamity ; a walking- 
stick of ivory, in 18 pieces, engraved with 
scenes from the Old Testament, once 
belonging to Don Henrique Guzman 
Count of Olivares, who was viceroy 
from 1592 to 1595. 

In the Archivio in the campanile, to 
which you mount by a narrow, steep 
staircase, are a few Greek vases of no 
great beauty, discovered in the tombs 




198 ROUTE 6. -GIRGENTI—TEMPLE OF JUPITER—CHURCHES. 


of Agrigentum. Here was also kept 
the collection of antiquities bequeathed 
by the Bishop Lucchesipalli, among 
which were 2 gold vases; but these 
treasures have gradually disappeared, 
nothing being now forthcoming at the 
demand of the traveller. But what is 
shown as a great curiosity is a scrawl 
in some unintelligible character, which 
purports to be a letter written by his 
Satanic Majesty with his finger-nails, 
and addressed to a nun, dated 11th of 
August, 1676, the only portion of the 
epistle that is legible. Its genuineness 
no one in Girgenti ventures to call in 
question. 

Temple op Jupiter Polieus. —The 
little church of Santa Maria de Greci, 
below the Cathedral, is in the Sicilian 
pointed style, with 3 aisles separated 
by massive columns. The roof is of 
wood coffered, and appears coeval with 
the church. The portal is pointed, 
with some Northern features. But the 
interest of this church lies in its occu¬ 
pying the site of an ancient Greek 
temple, supposed to be that of Jupiter 
Polieus, which is known to have stood 
in the acropolis of Agrigentum, and 
was constructed by the tyrant Pha- 
laris, about the year 570 b.c. It was 
by means of the money intrusted to 
him for the completion of this temple 
that Phalaris arrived at the possession 
of supreme power in Agrigentum. 
Few vestiges of the temple are extant. 
Within the church are fragments of 
2 fluted Doric columns in situ, one in 
each wall; and in a subterranean pas¬ 
sage at the back of the church are the 
bases of 4 others, resting on a stylo¬ 
bate of 3 steps. The columns are 
only 4 ft. 2 in. in diameter, showing 
that the temple could not have been of 
large size. It was hexastyle-peripte- 
ral; but how many columns it had in 
the wings, and its precise length, can¬ 
not be ascertained. In the court-yard 
in front of the church are some frag¬ 
ments of the entablature. The re¬ 
mains bespeak a very archaic style, 
quite in character with the tradition 
attached to the temple of Jupiter; 
and justify us in regarding this as one 
of the most ancient monuments in 


Girgenti. The custode of this temple 
is Giacinto Poma, who resides close 
at hand. He is the best guide also to 
the mediaeval antiquities of Girgenti. 

San Giorgio .—This church, on an 
esplanade to the W. of the town be¬ 
low the cathedral, is modernised, but 
its portal is a rich and beautiful spe¬ 
cimen of Siculo-Norman architecture, 
decorated with the triple chevrou and 
dog-tooth mouldings, and with scroll 
and acanthus foliage. 

San Giovanni .—The church of St. 
John, in the principal street, within 
the Porta del Ponte, is of similar archi¬ 
tecture, with a portal showing the 
triple chevron and dog-tooth mould¬ 
ing, and an apse to correspond. It is 
now used as a Military Hospital. Just 
below it is the church of 

San Francesco, a modern building ; 
but in the yard adjoining are some 
picturesque fragments of pointed archi¬ 
tecture, in a door and 2 windows, 
which formed part of an old monas- 
tery once existing on this spot. 

Monasterio Grande, or Chiesa dell 
Abbate, on the slope above the Military 
Hospital. The church of this nun¬ 
nery, though modernised in the inte¬ 
rior, retains its Norman doorway of the 
13th century, in good preservation, 
ornamented with the dog-tooth and 
elegant scroll mouldings of Greek cha¬ 
racter. Over it is a circular window 
to correspond. The church contains a 
marble sarcophagus of the low Em¬ 
pire. 

The Abbattella delle Orfane, near the 
church of S. Domenico, has pointed 
windows with double lights, and a 
curious portal with a depressed arch, 
and prominent label with foliated cor¬ 
belling ; the whole enclosed by a square 
hood, decorated with a fringe of tracery, 
and surmounted by a coat of arms. It 
dates from the close of the 15th century. 

Girgenti contains several interesting* 
specimens of mediaeval domestic archi¬ 
tecture. 





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A, A. Ancient City. 

B, B. The Citadel. 

C. Monto Toro. 

1. Temple of Jnpiter Polieus. 

2. Rupe Atenea. 

3. Temple of Ceres and Proserpine. 
4, 4, 4. Walls of massive masonry. 


5. Gate. 

G. Temple of Juno Lacima. 

7. Walls, hewn from the rock. 

8. Temple of Concord. 

9. Subterranean Tombs. 

10. Temple of Hercules. 

11. Porta Auvea, the Sea-Gate. 


| 12. Tomb of Theron. 

13. Temple of TEsculapius. 

14. Ancient Baths. 

! 15. Temple of Jupiter Olympius. 

16. Temple of Castor and Pollux. 

17. Stoa? 

18. Piscina. 


19. 

20 . 
21 . 
22 . 

23. 

24. 

25. 


Condotti Feaci. 
Temple of Vulcan. 
Oratory of Phalaris. 
Ponte de’ Jlorti. 
Saracenic Baths. 
Ancient Tombs. 
Santo Nicola. 


„ . i n o 





















































199 


ROUTE 6.-PALACES—ACRAGAS OR AGRIGENTTJM. 


A little above the Abbattella is the 
Palazzo Gueli, with a doorway of very 
similar character. 

Higher up, at the back of S. Do¬ 
menico, is the Palazzo Torricelli , or 
Filipazzi, which shows 3 pointed win¬ 
dows divided by shafts into double 
lights, with trefoil heads. 

Palazzo Buonadonna , a Siculo-Nor- 
man palace, below the last, and near 
the church, of S. Domenico. On the 
lower floor are a simple pointed door 
and a window with double lights ; but 
on the upper story are 3 large and 
very beautiful pointed windows, show¬ 
ing the dog-tooth and chevron, and 
separated by graceful columns with 
foliated capitals into 3 lights, resting 
also on a stringcourse of small coupled 
columns with Norman decorations. A 
flight of steps within the courtyard 
leads to a pointed door decorated with 
the triple chevron, and with a running 
scroll of great beauty and Greek cha¬ 
racter. 

The Casa Cicero, close to S. Giorgio, 
displays the depressed arcli and square- 
headed hood of the close of the 15th 
century. 

There are no remains of classic days 
within the walls, except the temple of 
Jupiter already described; but be¬ 
neath the town are some exten¬ 
sive subterranean excavations vulgarly 
called 

Sotteraneo del Camico, or Le Cata- 
combe. —They are vast chambers of 
irregular form, supported by massive 
piers of rock, and connected by narrow 
and tortuous passages. The ceilings 
are generally flat, and in most parts 
are encrusted with stalactites. Here 
and there are square shafts sunk from 
the ground above, probably to give 
light and air; many are still open in 
the modern city, and some give access 
to these caverns. The most convenient 
entrance is from the court in front of 
the Chiesa del Purgatorio. From the 
resemblance of these excavations to the 
latomie of Syracuse, with the exception 
of not being open to the sky, there can 


be little doubt that they were the quar¬ 
ries whence the stone was hewn for 
the construction of the temples and 
other edifices of the ancient city. 

Just outside the Porta di Ponte, on 
the E. of Girgenti, is a public garden 
on the hill-slope, laid out with wind¬ 
ing paths and beds of flowers, and 
styled Giardino Inglese. Above it 
stands a convent of Reformed Friars, 
dedicated to 

Santo Vito. —It is fronted with a 
portico or loggia of circular and 
pointed arches, resting on massive 
octagonal columns, with simple capi¬ 
tals. The portal is pointed, with 
mouldings and decorations of North¬ 
ern character, and bears date 1404. 


Ruins of Ageigentum. 

The ancient city, called Acragas by 
the Greeks, and Agrigentum by the 
Romans, was of great size, 10 m. in 
circumference, second only to Syra¬ 
cuse among the cities of Sicily, and, 
like it, comprising 5 cities in one. Its 
site has been correctly described by 
Polybius. “ Situated at the distance 
of only 18 stadia from the sea, it pos¬ 
sesses all the conveniences which the 
sea procures. The whole circuit of the 
city is rendered uncommonly strong 
both by nature and art; for the walls 
are built upon a rock, which partly by 
nature and partly by the labour of art 
is very steep and broken. It is sur¬ 
rounded also by rivers on different 
sides —■ on the side towards the S. 
by a river of the same name as the 
city (now the Fiume di S. Biagio), 
and on the W. and S.W. by that which 
is called the Hypsas (now the Dr ago). 
The citadel, which stands upon a hill 
on the N.E. side, is secured all round 
the outside by a deep and inaccessible 
valley, and has one way only by which 
it may be entered from the city. On 
the summit of the hill is a temple 
dedicated to Minerva, and another to 
Jupiter Atabyrius, as at Rhodes. For 
as the Agrigentines were a colony 
from Rhodes, they gave this deity not 
improperly the same appellation by 







200 


ROUTE 6.-SITE AND RUINS OF ACRAGAS. 


which he was distinguished iu the 
island from which they came. Agri- 
gentum excels almost all other cities 
in strength, and especially in orna¬ 
ment and beauty. It is in all respects 
magnificent, and is adorned with por¬ 
ticoes and temples, among which the 
temple of Jupiter Olympius, though 
not finished, indeed, with great splen¬ 
dour, is equal in size and in design to 
any of the temples of Greece.”— Hamp¬ 
tons translation. 

The height which the city occupied 
was of quadrangular form, lowest 
towards the sea, and rose at first 
in a gradual slope, but ultimately 
in a much steeper acclivity, to the 
ridge which terminated it on the N., 
and which was divided by a depres¬ 
sion into 2 heads, that to the N.W. 
crested by the modern town, that to 
the N.E. being the ancient citadel, 
called the “ Athenaeum,” from the 
temple of Minerva upon it, and still 
known as the “ Rupe Atenea.” The 
peculiarities of its situation explain 
the fact that, in the two great sieges 
Agrigentum sustained, the assailants 
always attacked it from the S. or the 
S.W. Indeed, it is expressly stated by 
Diodorus that only on the side of the 
Hypsas, or to the S.W., could military 
engines be brought to bear upon its 
walls. The natural and artificial 
strength of the city is celebrated by 
Virgil :— 

“ Arduus inde Acragas ostentat maxima longe 
Mcenia, magnauimum quondam generator 
equorum.” JEn. iii. 703. 

“Agrigentum, in its site, possessed 
something of the magnificent peculiar 
to itself. Nature traced out its plan 
in a vast platform of rock; Art had 
but to perfect the design of that great 
architect. This magnificent area, 
which is nearly square, is elevated to 
a very considerable height above the 
surrounding territory; its perpendi¬ 
cular precipices formed the basis for 
walls; ravines penetrating into the in¬ 
terior offered most commodious situa¬ 
tions for gates, whilst numerous little 
eminences, scattered about within, 
seemed as if designed for the advan¬ 
tageous display of noble edifices. 


Imagination can scarcely conceive a 
more glorious prospect than that which 
the southern cliff of this great city 
once displayed, surmounted by a long 
unbroken line of the finest monuments 
of Grecian art, among which stood six 
majestic temples, of that severe Doric 
order which so happily combines ele¬ 
gance and simplicity with solidity and 
grandeur. The ruins of these stately 
edifices still command the admiration 
of posterity, where they stand, the 
images of calm repose, the memorials 
of a mighty state, and the vindicators 
of its ancient grandeur. Time has 
spread over them its sombre tints, 
which blend harmoniously with the 
surrounding landscape, and throw, as 
it were, a sacred charm around its 
rocks and mountains.”— Hughes. Agri¬ 
gentum, as Mitford observes, “ was 
such a phenomenon of political pro¬ 
sperity that its very relics are neces¬ 
sary documents for supporting the 
truth of its historical records.” The 
natural fertility of its territory, the 
industry of its inhabitants, and its 
proximity to Carthage, with which the 
Agrigentines from an early period 
maintained an extensive commerce, 
especially in olives and oil, raised the 
city to such a height of opulence, 
magnificence, and luxury as was never 
surpassed in any colony of ancient 
Greece. Its population is stated to 
have been 200,000, though another 
account raises it to four times that 
number.. Pindar celebrates the splen¬ 
dour of Acragas, and terms it “ the 
fairest of mortal cities.” And such 
was the beauty of its edifices both 
public and private, and such the lux¬ 
ury of its citizens, that Empedocles, 
the most illustrious among them, re¬ 
marked that they built as though they 
expected to live for ever, and lived as 
though they were to die on the mor¬ 
row. The luxury induced by the ex¬ 
cessive opulence was shown in their 
garments, which were of the finest 
texture embroidered with gold, and 
in their ordinary vessels and imple¬ 
ments, which were of the precious 
metals; it was carried to such a 
length, that even in the height of the 
siege by the Carthaginians it was 





ROUTE (3.-ACRAGAS. 


201 


found necessary to issue a decree that 
no citizen on his watch at night should 
have more than one mattress, one 
blanket, one coverlid, and two pillows ! 
Hence we may infer, says Diodorus, 
what their luxury must have been at 
other times. The citizens were as 
famed for their hospitality as for their 
profusion, and the name of Gellias has 
been proverbial in all ages for un¬ 
bounded generosity to strangers. 

Acragas was the last city of import¬ 
ance founded by the Greeks in Sicily. 
It owes its origin to Gela, a colony 
from which in the year 582 i;.c. settled 
on the banks of the Acragas, and gave 
its name and their own Doric laws 
and institutions to their town. Gela 
having been colonised from Rhodes 
explains the statement of Polybius, 
that Acragas was a colony from that 
island. Soon after its foundation, or 
about 570 is.c., Acragas fell under the 
yoke of Phalaris, a despot who did 
much to promote the material pro¬ 
sperity of the city, extended its terri¬ 
tory at the expense of his neighbours, 
patronised literature and the arts, but 
sullied his reputation by acts of such 
inhuman cruelty that his good deeds 
are eclipsed by their blackness. The 
brazen bull was for ages a monument 
of his infamy. It was constructed by 
Perilaus as an instrument of tortiue, 
and was so contrived that, if fire were 
applied beneath it, the shrieks of the 
victim enclosed within the body would 
resemble the bellowings ot the animal 
it represented. Perilaus thought to 
ingratiate himself with the tyrant by 
presenting it to him, but Phalaris, ap¬ 
preciating the invention, and eager to 
make the experiment, ordered the 
artist himself to be cast into the oven, 
and to be subjected to the very tor¬ 
ments he had devised for others—a 
just retribution, as Dante observes :— 

“ 11 bue Cicilian, cho muggbio prima 
Col pianto di colui, e do fu dritto, 

Che 1’ avea temperate con sua lima, 
Mugghiava con la vocc dell’ afflitto, 

Si cbe, con tutto ch’ e' fosse di rame, 

Pure el pareva dal dolor trafitto.” 

Inferno, xxvii. 7. 

This bull, having been carried to 
Carthage on the conquest of the city, 


was restored to Agrigentum by Scipio 
Africanus. In 488 b.c. the supreme 
power was usurped by Tiieron, a wise 
and generous prince, whom Pindar 
called “ the eye of Sicily,” and of whom 
he said that it was easier to reckon the 
sands on the sea-shore than his acts of 
bounty and kindness. By the expul¬ 
sion of the tyrant Terillus from Hi- 
mera, Theron extended the dominion 
of Acragas to the Tyrrhene Sen, and 
by the great victory which, jointly 
with his son-in-law Gelon of Syracuse, 
he obtained over the Carthaginians at 
Himera in 480 b.c., he raised the glory 
of ancient Sicily to its meridian lustre. 
To this event Acragas also owed her 
most magnificent monuments. The 
numerous captives which fell to her 
share after that victory were employed 
in the construction of the temples, the 
sepulchres, and other great works of 
public utility, such as the Phseacian 
sewers, and the vivaria which supplied 
the public banquets with fish. These 
were the days of the chief glory of 
Acragas, when no Greek city surpassed 
her in wealth and luxury, and when 
in Sicily she was second in power to 
Syracuse alone. During the Athenian 
expedition, when all the other Doric 
cities of Sicily sent succours to Syra¬ 
cuse, Acragas alone observed a strict 
neutrality. Syracuse was more gene¬ 
rous when, a few years later, in 40G 
b.c., the Carthaginian host of 120,000 
men, which had already destroyed 
Selinus and Himera, appeared before 
the walls of Acragas ; for she de¬ 
spatched a large force to its assistance. 
But the fieet, which was stored with 
provisions, being taken by the Cartha¬ 
ginians, the successes of the Greeks on 
land were of little avail, and after 7 or 
8 months of resistance the citizens 
were reduced to such straits by famine, 
that most of their allies deserted them, 
and they came to the resolution of 
abandoning their city and seeking- 
refuge in Gela. “Few scenes can be 
imagined more deplorable than the 
vast population of Agrigentum obliged 
to hurry out of their gates during a 
December night, as their only chance 
of escape from famine or the sword of 
a merciless enemy. The road to Gela 

k 3 




202 


ROUTE 6.—ACRAGAS. 


was beset by a distracted crowd of 
botli sexes, and of every age and con¬ 
dition, confounded in one indiscriminate 
lot of suffering. Not a few, through 
personal weakness or the immobility 
of despair, were left behind. The old, 
the sick, and the impotent were of 
necessity abandoned. Some remained 
and slew themselves, refusing to sur¬ 
vive the loss of their homes and the 
destruction of their city. Others con¬ 
signed themselves to the protection 
of the temples, but with little hope 
that it would procure them safety. 
The morning’s dawn exhibited to 
Imilcon unguarded walls, a deserted 
city, and a miserable population of 
exiles huddled together in disorderly 
flight on the road to Gela. The Car¬ 
thaginians rushed upon the town with 
the fury of men who had been strug¬ 
gling and suffering before it for 8 
months. They ransacked the houses, 
slew every living person that was left, 
and found plunder enough to satiate 
even a ravenous appetite. Temples 
as well as private dwellings were alike 
stripped, and those who had taken 
sanctuary in them became victims 
like the rest. The great public orna¬ 
ments and trophies of the city—the 
bull of Phalaris, together with the 
most precious statues and pictures— 
were preserved by Imilcon, and sent 
as decorations to Carthage.”— Grote. 

From this blow Acragas never reco¬ 
vered, though the fugitives were per¬ 
mitted to return, on condition of paying- 
tribute to Carthage; and when in 310 
b.c. Timoleon restored peace to Sicily 
by his victory at the Crimisus, he found 
this city so reduced that he was obliged 
to repeople it from Yelia in Italy. It 
soon, however, recovered its prosperity 
to such an extent as in the time of 
Agathocles to dispute the supremacy 
with Syracuse. Acragas next fell 
under the yoke of the tyrant Phintias. 
In the First Punic War it declared for 
the Carthaginians, and admitted a 
garrison of their troops within its walls. 
The Romans in 202 b.c. laid siege to 
the city. This siege lasted nearly as 
long as the former, and great priva¬ 
tions were endured on both sides; the 
Romans, being pressed upon from 


without by a relieving army under 
Hanno, were at once in the position 
of besiegers and besieged; but they 
stood their ground till Hanno, attack¬ 
ing them, was repulsed with utter 
loss, and the Carthaginians within the 
walls, despairing of holding out, made 
their escape from the city by night. 
The Romans entered in the morning, 
and secured a vast booty and 25,000 
prisoners. Seven years later Agri- 
gentiun was retaken by Cartlialo, the 
Carthaginian, who burnt the city and 
destroyed the fortifications. At the 
peace it again changed hands, but 
in the Second Punic War it was sur¬ 
prised by Ilimilcon, and held by the 
Carthaginians till the close of the con¬ 
test, being the last city of Sicily that 
submitted to Rome. Agrigentum never 
rose to much importance under the 
Roman domination. It did not, how¬ 
ever, cease to exist, like too many of its 
fellows; but has shrunk in the course 
of ages to the narrow dimensions of 
Girgenti. In a.d. 827 it fell under 
the yoke of the Saracens, from which 
it was delivered by Count Roger in 
1086, who fortified it, and established 
the bishopric. 

“The interior of the ancient city is 
now divided into farms and vineyards, 
though the direction of its principal 
streets may still be traced by the deep- 
worn furrows of the chariot-wheels; but 
solitude has succeeded to the tumul¬ 
tuous throng which once circulated 
there; corn waves over the regal man¬ 
sion of Phalaris, and the reign of silence 
is disturbed only by the shepherd’s 
pipe or reaper’s song.”— Hughes. 

It is an excursion of some length to 
visit all the remains of this ancient 
city, the temples on the S. cliff being 
3 or 4 m. from the modem town. Tra¬ 
vellers, therefore, who would avoid 
fatigue, or who care to see only the 
principal ruins, may hire a carriage iu 
Girgenti, and drive to the convent of 
San Nicola, and thence to the temples 
of Jupiter, Hercules, Concord, and Juno 
Lacinia in succession, extending their 
researches on foot on either hand as 
far as their strength, time, or interest 
will permit, Those, however, who 





ROUTE 6. -RUPE ATENEA-TEMPLE OF CERES AND PROSERPINE. 203 




would thoroughly investigate this an¬ 
cient site must devote more than one day 
to it, and must make then- excursions 
either on mules, which are to he had 
in Girgenti at the usual rates, or, 
hotter still, on foot. 

On issuing from the Porta del Ponte, 
the eastern gate of Girgenti, you have 
the convent of Santo Yito with its 
cypress-grove on the slope opposite, 
the English Garden by its side, and 
the church of St. Calogero a little 
below. The main-road runs down the 
slope to St. Nicola and the temples, 
hut a path to the 1. leads up by the 
side of Santo Yito, past the Campo 
Santo or burial-ground, to the summit 
of the rock about a mile from the 
town. This height, once the citadel 
of Acragas, and still called 

Rape Atenea, is considerably higher 
than that on which Girgenti is built. 
The ridge rises in a steep, bare slope 
from the S., but breaks on the N. into 
a sheer precipice of more than 100 ft., 
on which side it is inaccessible. The 
summit is an elevated platform of no 
great size, surrounded on all sides by 
cliffs, save on the S., where it sinks 
in a green declivity to the site of the 
ancient city. On this platform once 
stood the temple of Minerva, which 
of old gave the name of Athenaeum 
to the height, but not a vestige of it 
remains. On this height, as Poly¬ 
bius tells us, also stood a temple to 
Jupiter Atabyrius, whose worship w as 
derived from Rhodes, to which Acra¬ 
gas, through Gela, owed its origin; 
though his words have also been inter¬ 
preted as meaning that there was but 
one temple on the spot which was de¬ 
dicated to both those deities. It was 
in the temple of Minerva that the 
wealthy and hospitable Gellias took 
refuge, on the capture of the city by 
Himilcon, when, finding that the sacred¬ 
ness of the place would afford no pro¬ 
tection against his barbarian foes, he 
set fire to the temple, and perished in 
the flames together with his family 
and all his treasures. 

From the summit of the l ull the pros¬ 
pect is most extensive, comprehending 
the modern town, which crests the other 


summit of the ridge, and is distin¬ 
guished by its outline rather than colour 
from the rocky slope beneath it; and the 
site of the ancient city mapped out at 
your feet, its southern boundary being 
marked by the line of its temples, in 
various stages of decay, and its interior 
now divided into corn-fields and vine¬ 
yards, olive and almond groves, hardly 
diversified by a single habitation. Be¬ 
yond it the eye traces the stream, the 
ancient Acragas, in glittering windings 
to the sea, and to the rt. in the W.S.W. 
is caught by the white houses, the 
mole, and shipping of the modern 
port. Westward rises the long and 
lofty ridge of Monte Serrato, on the 
lower and nearer part of which Hanno 
pitched his camp during the siege by 
the Romans. Eastward rise other 
heights, one of which, in S.E., was the • 
site of the Carthaginian camp in the 
first great siege, and beyond stretches 
a wide, heathy, treeless tract for many 
miles to the distant headland of 
Palma. On the N. the eye plunges 
over the precipices into a dee]), treeless 
and rock-strewn valley, and rises to 
cross one bare, swelling ridge after 
another, till it rests on the lofty crest 
of Monte Cammarata, which from the 
centre of the island dominates both 
seas. In the declivity beneath the 
summit to the S. are extensive quarries 
hollowed in the hill-side, and now con¬ 
verted into plantations of olives and 
almonds. 

Descending from the summit along 
the verge of the precipice, and over the 
rocky slope for another mile, you reach 
at the N.E. angle of the ancient city 
the ruins of a Grecian temple, on which 
is based the little church of S. Biagio. 

Temple of Ceres and Proserpine. 
—On your way to it by the high-road 
you turn off at the fountain of Buona- 
morrone, 2 m. from Girgenti, and on 
the ascent pass some quarries in the 
hill-side. You soon find traces of an 
ancient road sunk in the rock, and 
leading up to the temple. This stands 
on a platform excavated for it in the 
slope, and about 25 yards in width, by 
nearly 100 in length. It is of that 
primitive form of Greek temple called 






204 ROUTE 6.—G1RGENTI—TEMPLE OF CERES AND PROSERPINE. 


“ in antis," being a simple cella, whose 
walls to the E. terminated in a portico 
of 2 columns, with antx or pilasters at 
the angles. There are no traces of a 
peristyle. The basement is formed of 
regular masonry, receding in steps. 
The cella is composed of large blocks 
very neatly and regularly arranged, 
rising on the S. side in 11 courses, or 
nearly to the original height of the 
wall, but not a block of the entablature 
remains. The substructions are nearly 
perfect, a small portion at the E. end 
only being wanting. The place of the 
pronaos is now occupied by the apse of 
the Norman church which has been 
raised on the ruins; and the wall of the 
posticum is pierced by a plain pointed 
doorway, with small lights above it. 
This temple is commonly ascribed to 
Ceres and Proserpine, or sometimes to 
the latter goddess alone, and is sup¬ 
posed to be the shrine to which Pindar 
alludes when he calls Acragas “the 
abode of Persephone.” But there is 
nothing to identify this ruin with the 
shrine of that goddess. To whomever 
it may have been consecrated, it was 
placed in a most picturesque position, 
commanding a view of every part of 
the ancient city. 

The dimensions of the temple are 
as follow :— 

Feet. In. 

Length of the stylobate on the upper 


step.91 0 

Breadth, ditto .41 4 

Depth of the pronaos.25 0 

Depth of the naos .66 0 


Descending from this temple, and 
following the line of the precipices 
southward, which form the natural 
boundaries of the city, you pass the 
remains of ancient walls in several 
1 daces on the edge of the cliff, together 
with traces of two gates, before you 
reach the picturesque remains of the 
temple of Juno Lacinia. This difficult 
path, however, may be left to the 
antiquary; the more practicable track 
lies through the olive and almond 
groves which cover the slope to the 
south-eastern angle of the city. 

“Here the combination of scenery 
is unequalled. Imagine a long ridge 
towering above the plain below, almost 


covered with palmetto-shrubs and 
odoriferous wild-flowers, which start 
from every crevice in the rock, and 
fill the air around with intoxicating 
sweetness. On the commanding brink 
of this precipice, separated by a short 
interval, stand two temples of Doric 
architecture; the nearer dedicated to 
Juno, presenting an incomparably pic¬ 
turesque group of columns, some up¬ 
right, and others prostrate or thrown 
in wild confusion around; the second, 
called that of Concord, still apparently 
entire. The colouring of these edi¬ 
fices, a pale golden amber, is relieved 
by the soft yet brilliant sunshine, 
which defines every detail of the 
architecture, and every ruined frag¬ 
ment, and every fallen stone, with 
an effect indescribably resplendent. 
But it is the combination of these 
temples with the scenery around them 
that renders tins part of Girgcnti 
almost unique in beauty. Never 
perhaps was there an instance in 
which the admirable taste of the 
Greeks in the position of their edifices 
was more remarkably displayed than 
here. Art and nature are made mu¬ 
tually to enhance each other. From 
whatever point we view the temples 
they are a glorious adornment of the 
scene; while the view from them is 
no less magnificent and commanding, 
over plains, valleys, and mountains 
around, whose every outline is ro¬ 
mantic, and the distant sea, of a soft 
and slumberous azure, which expands 
towards the southern horizon. It is 
hi the midst of such a scene that we 
may comprehend something of the 
life of the ancient Greeks, and that 
intense feeling for beauty which was 
the predominant element of their 
existence.”— Bartlett. 

Temple of Juno Lacinia. — The 
name attached to this interesting monu¬ 
ment in the time of Fazello was the 
Temple of Modesty, or the Tower of the 
Virgins, but since his day it has been, 
on no authority, ascribed to Juno 
Lacinia. Pliny indeed states that the 
Agrigentines, wishing to dedicate a 
picture to that goddess, employed the 
great painter Zeuxis, who, in order to 







ROUTE (3. -TEMPLE OF JUNO LAC1X1A. 


205 


form a model of beauty transcending 
any single instance of mortal charms, 
prevailed on the loveliest maidens of 
the city to appear naked before him, 
and selecting 5 of the most beautiful, 
combined their several perfections in 
his picture of the goddess, which was 
regarded as his masterpiece. 

“ Quando Zeusi l’hnagine far volse 
< 'he pur dovea net tempio di Giunone, 

E tante belle nude insieme accolse; 

E cbe per una fame in perfezione 

l)a chi una parte, e da chi un altra tolse.” 

Ariosto, xi. 71. 

But as Cicero distinctly refers the story 
to the temple of Jnno on the promontory 
of Lacinium on the coast of Bruttium, 
it is probable that the picture was 
painted for that, and not for any temple 
at Agrigentum. . In short, it is not 
clear that there was any such temple on 
this site, and the association of the name 
with this ruin is purely gratuitous. 

This temple is situated on an emi¬ 
nence at the very angle of the city, 
and at the verge of a precipice, with 
huge masses of rock strewn around, 
and mingling with “ just as much foli¬ 
age as gives architecture its happiest 
effectthe whole forming a scene ini¬ 
mitably picturesque. It was raised on 
a lofty stylobate of isodomon masonry, 
surmounted by 3 steps, with a grand 
flight leading to the portico at the E. 
end. The plan is hcxastyle-peripteral, 
i. e. it had G columns in eacli portico, 
and columns also at the sides, in this 
case 13 in each wing, including those 
at the angles; so that the total number 
in the peristyle was 34. Of these 4 
are entirely wanting, one in the pronaos, 
and 3 in the S. wing. Only 1G preserve 
their capitals, viz. all in the N. wing, 
2 in the pronaos, and one in the pos- 
ticum. Of the entablature nothing 
remains save a single block of the 
architrave at the S.E. angle of the 
pronaos, and the entire architrave on 
the N. side, surmounted by 3 blocks of 
the frieze. Till 1774 the whole north¬ 
ern side remained perfect. Many of 
the columns wore overthrown by earth¬ 
quakes in the last century, but Fazello 
describes the temple as in a very totter¬ 
ing condition even in the reign of 
Charles Y. The columns are composed 
of 4 drums, exclusive of the capital and 


abacus; they have the legitimate num¬ 
ber of 20 flutes, diminish upwards about 
one-fifth, and are rather less than 5 
diameters in height. The capitals are 
of beautiful form, less archaic in out¬ 
line than those of most of the temples 
of Selinus; besides the usual fillets 
under the echinus, they are ornamented 
with mouldings round the neck, like 
those of the Parthenon and Theseum. 
The cella is in antis at both ends. It 
is raised 2 steps, and enclosed by 
walls of massive masonry, which bear 
internally traces of fire, probably of 
the conflagration which the temples 
suffered on the capture of the city by 
the Carthaginians. In some parts 
vestiges of the plaster which lined 
them are also perceptible. Just within 
j the cella on either hand of the doorway 
are the ruins of square towers, contain¬ 
ing the stone staircases which led to 
tire roof. A portion of the pedestal of 
the divinity, with 3 steps leading to it, 
is still standing in the uaos, in the 
midst of the fallen masses of the walls 
which enclosed it. In the peristyle 
the ancient pavement, of large square 
flags, with a hollow drain beneath 
them, is to bo noticed. The architrave 
exceeds the frieze in height by one- 
fifth, which is a characteristic of early 
Doric. Not a fragment is left either of 
the cornice or pediment. The stone of 
which this and the other temples is com¬ 
posed is a yellow concretion of sand and 
small shells agglutinated by pressure, 
hard and durable, yet less compact, and 
more subject to disintegration from the 
action of the weather, than that of 
which the temples at Selinus were 
constructed. On the S. side the effects 
of corrosion are most apparent, doubtless 
from the action of the sea-air. The 
date of the temple is supposed to be 
between 480 and 500 b.o. 

The measurements are as follow :— 

poof Tri 

Lcngtli of the upper step of the stylo¬ 


bate .125 7 

Breadth ditto . 55 4 

Length of the cella . 91 6 

Breadth ditto . 32 0 

Diameter of the columns at base .. 4 3 

Ditto at neck. 3 4 

Height of columns, including capital 21 3 

Width of the iulercolumniations .. 5 10 

Height of the architrave. 3 11 

Ditto frieze . 3 4 














206 


ROUTE 6.-GTRGENTI-TEMPLE OF CONCORD. 


In front of this temple are some 
curious remains of massive masonry, 
arranged in 2 terraces, with traces of 
seats facing the portico, apparently 
for the convenience of those who 
wished to witness the solemn pro¬ 
cessions. 

Just below the N.W. angle of this 
temple is a large conical pit sunk in 
the rock, topped with a wall, and fitted 
with a lid. Below it are several sar¬ 
cophagi hollowed in the rock. The 
city-walls in the interval of half a mile 
between the temples of Juno and of 
Concord, are in a most picturesque 
state of ruin. They were hewn out 
of the natural rock, which was left to 
form a rampart many feet above the 
level of the city, and were excavated 
on the inner face into tombs and 
sepulchral niches. The rock having 
been subsequently split in every di¬ 
rection, huge masses of these honey¬ 
combed ramparts lie upturned on the 
slope below, where, shaded by carob 
and almond trees, and overgrown with 
ivy, cactus, and acanthus, they present 
most picturesque studies for the port¬ 
folio. 

Temple of Concord. —This temple, 
which stands in isolated majesty on a 
natural eminence, is in a comparatively 
perfect state of preservation, and is the 
most complete Doric temple of Grecian 
times extant, save perhaps the Theseum 
at Athens. “ Though, not being of 
the colossal dimensions of the temples 
of Prestum, it has not their majestic 
grandeur, it is still a very beautiful 
and harmonious specimen of Grecian 
Doric architecture.” The name by 
which it is vulgarly known has been 
given to it on no better authority than 
that of Fazello, -who, finding a Latin 
inscription in the market-place of 
Girgenti, in which some monument 
was “sacred to the concord between 
the Agrigentines and the republic of 
Lilvbreum,” attached to this temple 
the name it has ever since borne, 
though no possible relation could exist 
between a dedicatory inscription of 
Imperial times, and a monument which 
breathes in its every feature the cha¬ 
racter of the noblest period of Greek art. 


In plan this temple is precisely simi¬ 
lar to that of Juno Lacinia, being 
hexastyle-peripteral, and differs only in 
being slightly superior in dimensions. 
The cella was converted to a church in 
the middle of the 15th century, and 
was dedicated to St. Gregory “ delle 
Kaiie,” or “ of the turnips,” when the 
columns of the peristyle were coated 
with plaster, the wall which divided 
the naos from the posticum removed, 
and 12 arches opened in the side-walls 
of the cella, to give light to the church ; 
thus the beauty of a building which 
wanted little beyond the roof to be 
perfect was seriously injured. Never¬ 
theless, as it stands, it is the most 
complete Doric temple in Sicily or Italy. 
It rests on a stylobate of 4 steps, which 
on the N. side are supported by a wall 
of masonry. The columns have nearly 
the proportions of those of the temple 
of Juno, being a little less than 5 dia¬ 
meters in height, and tapering some¬ 
what more than one-fifth. They are 
composed of 5 drums, and have 20 
fiutes, but have not the necking which 
decorates those of the temple last 
described. The entablature is very 
heavy, being hardly less than half the 
height of the columns. The cella is 
raised a little above the peristyle. Its 
walls are composed of masonry of 
wonderful neatness and regularity, the 
blocks fitting so close, and the surface 
being so smooth, as to appear almost 
fresh, instead of some 24 centuries old. 
Within the door are spiral staircases 
of stone, leading to the cornice, simi¬ 
lar to those in the temple of Juno. In 
the pediment at each end of the cella 
was a window of Greek form, encircled 
with an arched moulding. There are 
no traces in any part of the temple of 
the existence of decorative sculptures. 
The architrave of the E. portico was till 
recently disfigured by a marble tablet, 
recording the repairs effected in 1788 
by King Ferdinand I. And the co¬ 
lumns have in many parts suffered 
from vile attempts at restoration with 
stone and plaster. 

This interesting monument stands 
in lonely and silent beauty at the 
verge of the precipice, and from every 
part of the surrounding country forms 




ROUTE 0.-TEMPLE OF HERCULES. 


207 


the most conspicuous feature in the land¬ 
scape. For imposing effect it lias been 
compared to the Parthenon, “ though 
the materials, extent, and execution 
create a vast difference in favour of the 
glory of the Acropolis.” 

The measurements of the temple 
are— 

Feet. Iu. 

Length on the upper step of the stylo¬ 


bate .129 4 

Breadth of ditto. 55 9 

Length of the cella. 94 7 

Breadth of ditto. .. 30 

Diameter of columns at base ... 4 lo 

Ditto at neck . 3 9 

Intercolumniations. 5 8 

Height of columns. 22 o 

Ditto of entablature. 10 o 


A little to the W. of this temple is 
a dome-shaped subterranean tomb, of 
large size, excavated in the rock, called 
Grotta de Fragapani. It has many 
sepulchral niches of various shapes and 
of irregular distribution, hollowed in 
its walls, and sarcophagi are also sunk 
in its floor. There are several other 
subterranean sepulchres between the 
temples of Concord and Hercules. The 
city walls here do not rise much above 
the level inside, but vast masses have 
been detached, and lie scattered on the 
slope and in the valley beneath. Many 
sarcophagi are sunk on the very ram¬ 
parts. 

About 300 yds. W. of the temple of 
Concord lies a confused heap of enor¬ 
mous blocks, at the verge of the cliff, 
and from it a solitary column rises in 
ruin to the sky. These are the re¬ 
mains of a temple generally supposed 
to be the 

Temi'LE of Hercules. —Till of late 
years this was such a confused mass of 
debris as to be hardly intelligible, but 
recent excavations have made known 
its true form, and have brought to light 
its peculiarities. A glance at the pros¬ 
trate and scattered masses shows it to 
have been on a much grander scale 
than the temples already described. 
Next to the vast temple of Jupiter 
Olympius, this was the grandest of the 
many fanes of ancient Acragas, rival¬ 
ling the Parthenon in dimensions. Like 
the temples of Juno and Concord, it 


was of the Doric order, liexastyle-pe- 
ripteral, but with 15 columns in each 
wing; so that there were 38 in the 
peristyle; and it was amphiprostyle, or 
with a portico in advance of the cella 
at either end. In fact, in plan, as well 
as in size, this temple resembled the 
Parthenon. The stylobate had 4 steps, 
except on the E. or front, where a flight 
of 8 led up to the entrance. The pave¬ 
ment of the peristyle, composed of slabs 
8 ft. square, is in parts distinguishable. 
The columns were fluted, were a little 
more than 44 diameters in height, and 
tapered upwards somewhat more than 
one-quarter. The shafts were composed 
of 4 drums; the only one standing, 
which is at the N.W. angle of the 
temple, has but 3 drums in situ, but 
from this has been ascertained the 
entire height of the columns. The 
wide-spreading capitals, the bold para¬ 
bolic curve of the echinus, the short 
and rapidly-diminishing shaft, are all 
archaic features, and mark this as of 
earlier date than the temples of Juno 
and Concord. The columns of the S. 
wing have fallen outwards; some of 
the drums are half, some wholly buried 
in the earth, and others have rolled 
over the precipice into the vale be¬ 
neath. Of the cella only the lower 
courses arc standing, the N. wall having 
fallen inwards, and the blocks lying- 
disjointed, but in regular order, on the 
ground. From what remains it is 
evident that the cella at each end was 
“in antis." Just within it are the 
vestiges of the square staircases which 
led to the roof; 6 steps only are left. 
The inner part of the cella is divided 
into 3 chambers, the central one being- 
prefaced by a vestibule, an arrangement 
never found elsewhere in Greek temples, 
and probably a Roman interpolation, 
as the masonry appears to indicate. In 
the central chamber are remains of the 
pedestal for the statue of the deity to 
whom the temple was dedicated. Who 
that may have been cannot be deter¬ 
mined with certainty, but the conjecture 
which has ascribed it to Hercules is 
favoured by probability in this instance. 
Cicero describes the temple of this god 
at Agrigentum as being “not far from 
the forum;” and as the temple stands 


. «*■» 











208 


P.OUTE 6.-G1RGENTI-TEMPLE OF HERCULES. 


close to the sea-gate, near which the 
forum in maritime cities was usually 
situated, the popular nomenclature in 
this case is probably not far from the 
truth. If this be indeed the temple of 
Hercules, it must have contained the 
celebrated picture of Alcmena, which 
Zeuxis, who painted it, considered as 
beyond all price, and therefore refused 
a remuneration for it, but presented it 
to the city of Acragas. Here also must 
have stood that magnificent bronze 
statue of Hercules, whose attempted 
theft by Verres has been recorded by 
Cicero. 

“ There is a temple of Hercules 
fit Agiigentum, not far from the 
forum, regarded as very sacred and. 
greatly reverenced by the citizens. In 
it is a bronze : statue of the god (than 
which I cannot say that I have ever 
beheld anything more beautiful), vene¬ 
rated to such an extent that his mouth 
and chin are somewhat worn away, 
because in their prayers and thanks¬ 
givings to him the people arc wont, not 
merely to worship, but even to kiss 
him. On this temple, one stormy night, 
while Verres was at Agrigentum, a 
large body of armed slaves, under the 
command of Timarchides, made a sud¬ 
den attack. An alann was given by 
the watchmen and guardians of the 
temple, who, when they attempted to 
resist the attack and defend the shrine, 
were driven back, well beaten with 
sticks and bludgeons. Afterwards, 
having forced the bolts, and burst open 
the doors, the slaves endeavoured to 
pull down the statue, and overturn it 
with levers. Meanwhile, from the out¬ 
cry of the keepers, the rumour spread 
abroad throughout the city that the 
country’s gods were attacked, not by 
the unexpected invasion of enemies, nor 
by a sudden assault of robbers, but by 
a band of armed and disciplined slaves 
from the house and retinue of the 
praetor himself. No one in Agrigentum 
was either so advanced in age, or so 
infirm in strength, as not to rise up on 
that night, awakened by the tidings, 
and to seize whatever weapon chance 
put into his hands. Thus in a short 
time a crowd was assembled at the 
temple from every part of the city. 


Already for more than an hour had 
many been striving to pull down that 
statue, yet all that time it stirred not 
in the least: some, by putting levers 
beneath it, were endeavouring to raise 
it up; others were hauling it towards 
them by cords fastened to all its limbs. 
On a sudden the citizens rush in from 
all sides, and hurl showers of stones at 
the intruders; whereon the nocturnal 
soldiers of that illustrious commander 
take to flight, but they carry off with 
them two very little images, that they 
might not return entirely empty-handed 
to that robber of sanctuaries. It never 
goes so badly with the Sicilians that 
they cannot say something facetious 
and pithy. So on this occasion they 
said that this most ferocious * boar-pig ’ 
(Verres) was not less entitled to lie 
classed among the labours of Hercules 
than the wild boar of Ery man thus.”— 
In Very. v. 43. 

In one of the side-chambers was dis¬ 
covered the trunk of a marble statue, 
half-draped, and the work of a Roman 
chisel, which has been taken to repre¬ 
sent Aesculapius. It is now in the 
Museum of the University of Palermo. 
Among these ruins were also found 
some fragments of the cornice, with 
lions’ heads as antefixa*, and decorated 
with foliage, meanders, and other pat¬ 
terns, in very slight relief, and deli¬ 
cately painted with blue, red, and 
black, on a cream-coloured stucco. 
These, which are perhaps the most 
beautiful as well as instructive frag¬ 
ments of Greek polychromy in archi¬ 
tecture, are also preserved in the same 
Museum. 

The dimensions of this temple arc— 

Feet. In. 

Length of the upper step of the 


stylobate.219 8 

Breadth of ditto. S3 0 

Length of the cella. 156 3 

Breadth of ditto. 45 5 

Diameter of the columns in the peri¬ 
style at base. 7 3 

Ditto at neck . 5 4 

Height of ditto, including capital .. 33 0 

Width of intercolumniations .... 8 0 

Height of entablature . 16 2 


Diameter of the columns of the cella 6 2 { 

Immediately below the posticum of 
this temple was an ancient gate, with. 










ROUTE 6.-TEMPLE OF JUPITER OLYMriUS. 


209 


a road sunk between cliffs; it led to 
the emporium or port of Acragas, at 
the mouth of the river, 2j m. distant. 
This was the gate through which the 
Romans were introduced in their siege 
of the city in 210 b.c. It is now known 
as the Porta Aurea. Just opposite 
this gate, and in the plain beneath the 
walls, stands the so-called tomb of 
Tlieron; and the traveller who would 
make the tour of all the ancient re¬ 
mains of Acragas can now descend to 
inspect it, and the ruins of the temple 
of Aesculapius beyond. But we will 
describe the'monuments within the city 
before we take up those without the 
walls. On the cliff on the other side 
of the sunken road, and immediately 
opposite the temple of Hercules, are the 
ruins of an edifice of stupendous size, 
the 

Temple of Jupiter Olympius.— 
This is the only temple within the city 
whose appellation is known with cer¬ 
tainty ; and it is moreover the only Greek 
fane in Sicily which has been minutely 
described, and whose measurements 
have been given by ancient writers. It 
was commenced after the great victory of 
Himera, in 480 b.c., when the Cartha¬ 
ginian prisoners were so numerous that 
many of the citizens of Acragas had 
500 to their share, and it was finished, 
all but the roof, when the city was cap¬ 
tured by the Carthaginians in 406 b.c. 
Two centuries and a half later Polybius 
speaks of it as “ though not indeed 
brought to a completion, yet in grandeur 
of conception, and in magnitude, not 
surpassed by any such edifice in Greece.” 
Diodorus, a century later, gives a de¬ 
tailed account of it in the following 
words :—“ The construction of their 
temples, especially that of Jupiter, 
manifests the magnificence of the 
Agrigentines of that age. For of the 
other temples some were burnt, others 
utterly demolished in the frequent 
captures of the city. But the temple 
of Jupiter Olympius was about to 
receive its roof when its completion 
was prevented by the war. From the 
time of the destruction of the city, the 
Agrigentines never had the power to 
bring to a completion the buildings 


then in the course of construction. 
This temple has a length of 340 ft., 
with a breadth of 160 ft.,* and rises to 
the height of 120 ft., exclusive of the 
basement. It is the largest of all the 
temples of Sicily, and for the magni¬ 
tude of its proportions may not un¬ 
justly compare with those in foreign 
lands. Although the design did not 
happen to be brought to a completion, 
the intended arrangement is clearly 
manifest. While some raised temples 
with simple walls, and others sur¬ 
rounded them with columns, this 
temple partakes of both those modes 
of construction; for the columns were 
built up in the same mass with the 
walls, and are rounded externally, but 
have a square face towards the inte¬ 
rior of the temple. Their circumfer¬ 
ence in the outer portion is 20 ft., so 
that a man’s body can be contained in 
one of the fiutings; and the measure¬ 
ment of the inner portion is 12 ft. The 
vastness and height of the porticoes 
are stupendous. In the part facing 
the E. was represented the Battle of 
the Gods with the Giants, excellent 
for size, for beauty, and for skilful 
workmanship; in that toward the W. 
the capture of Troy, in which each of 
the heroes, elaborately carved, is to 
be recognised by his own appropriate 
characteristics.”— Diodorus. 

These vast ruins remained neglected 
throughout the dark ages, until in 
1401 they were finally overthrown; 
and in the following century the greater 
part of the debris was carried oft* for 
the construction of the mole of the 
modern port. Nothing now remains of 
this wonderful temple, but vast masses 
of stone scattered on the ground. Not 
a remnant of the sculptures described by 
the historian is to be seen; such is the 
ruin that the very foundations of the 
building are not in every part to be 
distinctly traced. 

The first thing that strikes the eye 
on ascending to the plateau of this 
temple is the vast scale of the structure ; 
the next the paucity of the remains. 
On the S. side is a heap of debris, and 

* The text has “60 feet,” but that this is an 
error of the transcribers is universally admitted 
by the critics. 








210 


ROUTE 6.-GIRGENTI—TEMPLE OF JUPITER OLYMPIUS. 


beneath the walls to the N. lie many 
fragments; but the interior of the 
temple is a wide smooth plain, here 
and there strewn with blocks, but 
mostly carpeted with orchids and 
squills. In plan this differs from all 
the other temples of Sicily in being 
“pseudo-peripteral,” that is, it wants 
the usual peristyle of detached co¬ 
lumns, but is enclosed by a wall in 
which its outer columns are engaged, 
and with which they are built up, 
just as Diodorus has described. It is 
in fact the only example of a Greek 
temple of this peculiar form extant, 
though Eoman fanes on this plan are 
not uncommon; and it may be re¬ 
garded as the primitive type of all 
such temples. It was heptastyle, or 
with 7 columns in each front, and had 
14 in each wing, including those at 
the angles. 

The temple stood on a solid base¬ 
ment of 5 steps, on the upper of which 
rested a plinth of 2 courses, and on 
this a moulded stylobate, which sup¬ 
ported the columns, taking the cir¬ 
cular form of their bases. The co¬ 
lumns themselves were constructed 
of the same masonry as the walls, 
and were thus composed of small 
blocks, instead of large drums as 
usual. Few traces of them remain, 
vet the truth of Diodorus’s statement 
that they can hold a man in the tiutes 
is to be verified in the fragments, 
for the flutes measure 22 inches 
in breadth. The outer side of the 
columns is rounded, but the inner is 
flat, like a pilaster, just as Diodorus 
describes, and the measurements of 
22 ft. and 12 ft. 2 in. Eng. respectively 
correspond, though not precisely, with 
Ins 20 and 12 Greek ft. The capitals 
and abaci are in single, and most 
ponderous masses, the latter being 
nearly 15 ft, square. Some idea may 
be formed of the vast proportions of 
this temple when it is stated that a 
triglyph measures 9 ft. 1 in. in height, 
and that each of its channels is 14^ in. 
in breadth. 

The interior of the temple was di¬ 
vided into 3 longitudinal compart¬ 
ments by 2 rows of massive piers, 
12 in each row, united by a wall, the 


piers corresponding with the pilasters 
in the outer wall. The central com¬ 
partment was the cella. It has no 
vestige of a portico at either end. As 
in the E. front of the temple there 
were 7 columns, and it is evident that 
no opening was left in the centre for 
a door, the entrance must either have 
been at the W. end, contrary to the 
plan of every other Greek temple in 
Sicily, or in some other unusual place, 
perhaps, as some suppose, at the an¬ 
gles of the eastern facade, where the 
abruptness of the masonry seems to 
favour such a view. Yet such a mode 
of entrance to so grand a fane is hardly 
consistent with Greek ideas of fitness. 
The temple must have been hypsethral, 
or without a roof to the cella ; and 
unless there were windows in the 
outer wall, the peristyle must have 
been very dark and gloomy. 

In the middle of the cella now lies, 
in 13 disjointed fragments, the colossal 
figure of a man, who, by his arms 
raised over his head as if supporting a 
heavy burden, is recognised as an 
Atlas or Telamon. His length, as 
he now lies, is 26 ft.; his breadth 
across the shoulders 8 ft. A portion 
of a similar statue lies close by. Frag¬ 
ments of 11 such figures having been 
found among the ruins, it is clear that 
they must have entered into the 
architecture of the temple ; but the 
place they occupied has been the sub¬ 
ject of much controversy, some plac¬ 
ing them over the walls of the cella, 
in lieu of a second order of columns 
to support the roof; others arranging 
them against the inner walls of the 
cella. It is surprising that Diodorus 
in his minute description of this temple 
omits all mention of these figures. 
They were naked, save a cap on the 
head; and the hair was arranged in 
small stiff curls. As far as it is possible 
to determine from their present frag¬ 
mentary condition, there is much of 
archaic dryness and rigidity about 
them, though their size and sim¬ 
plicity must have made them grand 
and imposing. From them the struc¬ 
ture lias in modern times received the 
name of the “ Temple of the Giants.” 
Until 1401 tln-ee of these Atlantea. 




ROUTE 6 . -TEMPLE OF CASTOR AND POLLUX. 211 


were erect in their places, sustaining 
a portion of the ponderous entablature; 
and the city of Girgenti adopted them 
as her arms, with the legend— 

“Signat Agrigentum mirabilis aula Gigantum.” 

Several fragments of sculpture have 
been found among the ruins, portions 
doubtless of the figures described by 
Diodorus as adorning the pediments; 
but not a vestige of them remains on 
the spot beyond a block bearing a 
lion’s tail, in relief. 

The dimensions of this temple will 
be found to differ but little from those 
given by Diodorus; the ancient Greek 
foot somewhat exceeding the English. 

Ft. In. 


Length on the upper step of the 

stylobate. 354 7 

Breadth ditto .173 8 

Length of the cella. 302 1 

Breadth ditto . 68 8 

Width of the peristyle or ambulatory 37 2 

Diameter of engaged columns at base 11 6 

Ditto at neck . 9 8 

Ditto at capital. 14 9^ 


The height of the columns and en¬ 
tablature can only be approximately 
ascertained. 

Casa di Gellia .—A little within the 
sea-gate, and not far from the Temple 
of Hercules, some substructions are to 
be traced, which, for want of a better 
name, have been designated the 
“ House of Gellias.” The abode of 
that illustrious citizen of Agrigentum 
should, however, be recognised by the 
wonderful cellars which were ex¬ 
cavated in the rock beneath it. Dio¬ 
dorus quotes Polyclitus as stating in 
liis History, that “ when he was a sol¬ 
dier in Agrigentum he saw these 
cellars, in which were 300 vats, hewn 
out of the rock, each of which con¬ 
tained 100 amphorae; and that near 
them was a cistern, lined with cement, 
capable of holding 1000 amphora;, and 
from which the wine flowed into the 
vessels.” Gellias was the wealthiest 
and at the same time the most hos¬ 
pitable of all the Agrigentines. His 
house was full of chambers for the 
reception of guests, and so anxious 
was he to exercise the virtue of hos¬ 
pitality, that he used to place servants 


at his doors to invite all strangers to 
enter. 


Temple of Castor and Pollux.— 
Not far from the N.W. angle of the 
temple of Jupiter Olympius stand 4 
Doric columns with their entablature, 
and a fragment of the pediment of the 
temple to which they belonged. A few 
years since there was nothing visible 
on this site beyond some scattered 
blocks and a Doric capital, but on 
excavations being made by the Sici¬ 
lian Commission of Antiquities so 
many remains were brought to light 
that they were enabled not only to 
ascertain the character of the struc¬ 
ture, but even to set up again this 
portion, which forms a most pic¬ 
turesque feature in the scenery of this 
ancient site. 

The name attached to this ruin rests 
on no authority. The existence of a 
temple to the Dioscuri at Agrigentum 
has not been ascertained, still less have 
these remains been identified with such 
a structure. In plan this temple,, 
whatever it may have been, corre¬ 
sponded with those of Juno and Con¬ 
cord, though it was of rather smaller 
dimensions. It stood on a stylobate of 
4 steps, and had 34 columns in the peri¬ 
style, each of which had 20 flutes, and 
was a little less than 5 diameters in 
height. They, as well as the entabla¬ 
ture, were coated with a fine stucco, 
much of which still remains, and con¬ 
trasts its brilliant whiteness with the 
warm yellow hue of the stone beneath 
it. On this stucco the decorations were 
painted in red, blue, and black, traces 
of which may still be seen on some of 
the fragments which strew the site. 
The cornice exhibits Roman features, 
and must have been restored by that 
people, as the lower members are of 
pure Grecian Doric. 

The measurements of this temple 
were the following :— 

Ft. In. 


Length of the upper step of the 


stylobate. 104 

Breadth ditto . 44 

Diameter of the columns at base .. 3 

Intercolumniations . 4 

Height of columns, including capi¬ 
tals . 19 

Ditto entablature . 9 


2 

0 



7 

2 















ROUTE 6.-G1RGENTI—PISCINA-TEMPLE OF VULCAN. 


212 

Portico Dorico. — The excavations 
just mentioned brought to light the 
remains of several other ancient build¬ 
ings in the neighbourhood of the Tem¬ 
ple of Castor and Pollux. The prin¬ 
cipal of these was an area hollowed 
in the rock, and levelled for the 
foundations of a building of which a 
few blocks only remain in situ, to¬ 
gether with fragments of columns 
which show it to have been of the 
Doric order, and of Greek antiquity. 
The proportions, too square for those 
of a temple, render it probable that this 
was a stoa, or portico, of which we know 
that Agrigentum possessed many mag¬ 
nificent specimens. 

Piscina .—The Temple of Castor and 
Pollux stands on the brink of a ravine 
of some depth, with cliff's of reddish 
rock hung with cactus, and with a rich 
carpet of vines, orange, olive, and 
carob-trees, in the hollow. This is 
supposed to have been the site of the 
celebrated Piscina, or vast fish-pond, 
described by Diodorus, who says it 
was outside the city, 7 stadia or nearly 
a mile in circumference, and 20 cubits 
deep, and was among the works con¬ 
structed by the Carthaginian captives 
that fell to the share of Agrigentum 
after the victory of Himera. “ In an¬ 
cient times it served as a place to 
exercise the youth in swimming; it 
supplied delicious fish for the sump¬ 
tuous public entertainments; its sur¬ 
face was covered with stately swans 
and other aquatic birds; whilst the 
umbrageous walks on its banks ren¬ 
dered it a favourite resort of the Agri- 
gentine citizens. The limpid streams 
still flow in deep channels bored 
through tile surrounding hills, adding 
freshness and luxuriance to the 
orange-groves and gardens which now 
occupy this cool and agreeable re¬ 
treat.” — Hughes. Diodorus tells us 
that this vivarium was utterly de¬ 
stroyed before his day, so that it is 
vain now to look for any remains. It 
is not easy to descend into the hollow, 
from the Temple of Castor and Pollux, 
as there is no pathway on this side. 

Condotti Feaci .—In both walls of 


this ravine open sundry sewers, ex¬ 
cavated in the rock, high and narrow, 
such as are common in many ancient 
sites in Greece, Italy, and Sicily. 
Antiquaries have agreed to recognise 
in them the Phaeaeian sewers de¬ 
scribed by Diodorus as constructed 
by the Carthaginian slaves taken at 
the battle of Himera. “ These cloacae 
were of such an extent that, although 
they might be despised on account of 
the vile purposes they served, yet 
were they well worthy of inspection. 
The director of these works was 
named Pliaeax, and from the excel¬ 
lence of their construction he allowed 
them to be called after him, Pliaeaces.” 
— Diodorus. 

Temple of Vulcan .— On the plateau 
which bounds the ravine to the "W., 
and exactly at the S.W. angle of the 
ancient city, stand the remains of this 
temple, marked by 2 broken Doric 
shafts rising among vines, olives, and 
carobs. There is no authority for the 
name attached to these ruins, though a 
temple to Vulcan is known to have 
existed at Agrigentum; this is only 
another instance, therefore, of the un¬ 
warranted nomenclature in which the 
local antiquaries have indulged. Nor 
is it even clear to what description 
of edifice these remains belonged; it 
is not easy without excavation to 
determine the point; but the outline 
at present traceable, which is 62 ft. 
long by 57 wide, is too square for the 
plan of a peripteral temple. One of the 
columns rises at the N.E. angle, rest¬ 
ing on a stylobate of 4 courses, and 
has a portion of the ancient wall ad¬ 
joining. The other is at the opposite 
angle of the quadrangle, based on 
5 steps. The columns rest on square 
plinths, are deeply fluted, and have 
fillets between the flutes. All these 
are Roman features, and the frag¬ 
ments of the entablature found on the 
spot confirm the view that this build¬ 
ing, whatever it may have been, dates 
from the Roman days of Agrigentum. 
There is little of antiquarian interest 
on the spot, but that deficiency is 
compensated by the magnificent view 
it commands of the range of temples, 




ROUTE 6.-ORATORIO DI FALARIDE. 


rising above the olive-clacl level of the 
ancient city. 

Fonte Oleoso .—Pliny and Solinus 
have recorded the existence of a 
spring of petroleum at Girgenti; and 
Fazello states that in bis time the oil, 
which was of a bituminous nature, was 
collected from its surface, and used for 
the cure of various disorders. Several 
modern travellers have testified to the 
existence of such a spring; though 
Hughes states that it now contains very 
few bituminous qualities, and describes 
the water as “ covered with a thick 
scum or greasy substance, in appearance 
like the suds of soap.” He also indi¬ 
cates the site as being opposite to the 
Temple of Vulcan, under a hill on the 
other side of the river Hypsas, or 
Drago. Neither the local antiquaries 
nor the peasantry recognise the exist¬ 
ence of any spring with these peculiar 
properties. Yet, in an orange-grove 
at the foot of the red cliff*, just oppo¬ 
site to the Temple of Vulcan, to the 
W., there are 2 or 3 springs, which, as 
they issue from the rock, leave a de¬ 
posit of thick black mud, and a rusty 
yellow slime covered with scum, as 
Hughes describes it. They are pro¬ 
bably the springs referred to by Pliny 
and Solinus, but are not worth visiting. 

At some distance northward from the 
Temple of Vulcan are two conical hills, 
with a beautiful plain of turf between 
them, called La Meta, or “ the Goal.” 
“Nature herself seems to have marked 
out the spot which tradition thus 
assigns to the exercise of those noble 
Agrigentine steeds, which so often bore 
away the prize of the Olympic games.” 
— Hughes. There are no vestiges, how¬ 
ever, of a hippodrome on this spot. 

The traveller, if he pleases, can follow 
the outline of the ancient city up to the 
modem town, along the red cliffs which 
overhang the valley of S. Leonardo. 
Here are a few sepulchres hollowed in 
the rock, some remains of an ancient 
bridge over the Drago, and traces of the 
massive walls of Acragas. But beyond 
these, and the picturesque beauty of the 
valley, there is nothing to compensate 
for the difficulty of the track along the 


213 

brow of the precipices, or among the 
rocks in the hollow. Most travellers 
will content themselves with returning 
from the Temple of Castor and Pollux, 
to that of Jupiter, and with pursuing 
the high-road thence to the Convent of 
Santo Nicola, on their return to Gir¬ 
genti. 

Oratorio di Falaride. — A pro¬ 
minent and picturesque feature in 
the scenery of the ancient city is pre¬ 
sented by the deserted convent of 
Santo Nicola, environed by pines 
and cypresses, close to which, in a 
field of corn, stands an ancient edi¬ 
fice vulgarly called the “ Oratory of 
Phalaris.” It is a small structure, 
hardly 20 ft. square internally, and has 
been used as a church in Norman times, 
for it has a pointed doorway in front, 
another at the back, now blocked up, 
and a groined roof within. The original 
doorway, cut into by the modern arch, 
the pilasters at the angles, and the 
architrave, the only portion of the enta¬ 
blature which remains, with the guttaj 
at intervals along its top, all show the 
ancient date of the building and the 
Doric order of the architecture. The 
whole rests on a moulded basement of 
considerable height, which, extending 
some distance beyond the pilasters of 
the facade, proves that the building was 
prefaced by a portico, which must have 
had 4 columns, with a flight of steps 
leading up to it. The plan must thus 
have borne a resemblance, though on a 
smaller scale, to that of the temples of 
Aesculapius, and of Ceres and Proser¬ 
pine. The peculiarities of its archi¬ 
tecture stamp this edifice as not of pure 
Grecian art, and in all probability of 
Roman construction. To what god it 
was consecrated can only be matter of 
conjecture. It is certain that it has no 
right to its vulgar appellation, as the 
tyrant Phalaris lived in the earliest days 
of Agrigentum. 

To see this Oratorio you must enter 
the Casino Panitteri, by which name 
the Convent of S. Nicolais now known. 
In the garden, beneath some magnifi¬ 
cent pines, are the remains of a beautiful 
circular Corinthian cornice, in 7 frag¬ 
ments, of Roman times. The house. 



514 ROUTE 6.-GIRGENTI-SANTO NICOLA—SEPOLCRO DI TERONE. 


which shows its early date in a pointed 
window adorned with the triple chevron, 
contains the remains of 2 draped marble 
statues of Consular times; some frag¬ 
ments of ancient architecture; and a 
relief, dated 1529, representing 3 giants 
supporting a castle—the arms of modern 
Girgenti. 

Santo Nicola .—The church is of me¬ 
diaeval construction. It has a pointed 
portal between 2 projecting buttresses, 
with a heavy horizontal cornice, and a 
roof of pointed arches, vaulted in with 
stone—a very unusual feature in Sicilian 
Gothic. Only the front portion of the 
building retains its roof; in that which 
is open to the sky runs, beneath the 
cornice, a series of frescoes of early date 
and quaint style, depicting religious 
processions, well worthy of notice. 
Those who care not for mediaeval an¬ 
tiquities should yet ascend to the cornice 
above the facade, whence they will have 
a superb view over the expanse of corn¬ 
fields, olive and almond groves, which 
now carpet the ancient city; of the line 
of ruined temples on its southern verge; 
and of the plain beyond, through which 
the river winds its glittering way to the 
sea. 

In this part of the city are sundry re¬ 
mains of ancient days. A little below 
S. Nicola to the S., beneath the high 
road, is a large piece of mosaic pave¬ 
ment. Fragments of columns, cornices, 
and statues have also been brought to 
light in the neighbourhood, and sub¬ 
structions of massive masonry are in 
several places extant. Some have 
pretended to see in these remains 
vestiges of a theatre, and of a forum; 
but they are too fragmentary to indicate 
the original purpose and character of 
the structures. It is somewhat remark¬ 
able that no traces have been found of 
any theatre or amphitheatre on this 
site; yet the Agrigentines were a 
wealthy and luxurious people, fond of 
spectacles, and it is on record that they 
possessed a theatre. Even under the Ko- 
mans the city was of sufficient import¬ 
ance to have claimed such structures. 

I Bagni .—Beneath Santo Nicola, 
to the W., and between it and the Villa 


Mendola, is a ruin which has correctly 
received the name of “ the Baths.” It 
is a quadrangle 46 ft. by 20, sunk some 
feet in the earth, and enclosed by mas¬ 
sive masonry lined with stucco. It 
was supplied with water by the stream¬ 
let which flows from the Fountain of 
Buona Morrone, and entered it through 
the E. wall, making its exit by a chan¬ 
nel in the S. wall, by which it found its 
way through the ravine of the Piscina 
to the Fiume di S. Biagio. Fragments 
of Doric columns and cornices, and 
of marble statues, now prostrate in the 
area, show that the edifice was origin¬ 
ally decorated with architecture and 
sculpture. It is most easily reached 
through the grounds of the Villa Men¬ 
dola, near the Temple of Hercules. 

The gate between the temples of 
Jupiter and Hercules leads to the plain 
at the' point where the plateau of the 
city is lowest. Vast masses of rock 
detached from the cliffs, some honey¬ 
combed with sepulchral niches, lie on 
the slope or at the base of the heights, 
mingled with fragments of the ancient 
temples and blocks of the city walls, 
overrun with cactus, and shaded by 
olives and earobs. In this plain was 
part of the cemetery of ancient Acragas, 
but of its multitude of tombs, whose 
magnificence was extolled by ancient 
writers, one only now rises from the 
plain to satisfy the curiosity of the 
traveller. 

Sepolcro di Terone. — The so- 
called “ Tomb of Tlieron ” stands in the 
midst of corn-fields, dotted with aged 
olive-trees. Diodorus relates that Han¬ 
nibal, in his siege of the city in 406 b.c., 
ordered his troops to demolish the tombs 
outside the city, to furnish him with 
materials for the erection of immense 
mounds on which he might plant his 
engines on a level with the walls. His 
host had already put the order exten¬ 
sively into execution, and had begun to 
pull down the sepulchre of Tlieron, 
which, as the monument of the greatest 
monarch of Acragas, was of vast size 
and magnificent construction, when they 
were terrified into forbearance by a 
thunderbolt which shattered the build- 



215 


ROUTE 6.-TEMPLE OF AESCULAPIUS-LE MACCALUBE. 


mg, and struck terror into the camp. 
A pestilence that soon broke forth, and 
carried off a great portion of the troops, 
with Hannibal himself, was interpreted 
as manifesting the wrath of Heaven; 
the spectres of the dead whose tombs 
had been violated appeared nightly to 
the soldiers on guard; and Himilcon, 
on whom devolved the command, was 
compelled to atone for the sacrilege by 
immolating a boy to Saturn, and by 
casting a number of victims into the 
sea as offerings to Neptune. The monu¬ 
ment which passes at Girgenti as the 
tomb in question in no way answers 
the conditions. It is a small unpre¬ 
tending structure, exhibits no signs 
of having been injured by lightning, 
and is evidently of much later date 
than the first half of the 5tli century 
b.c. It is a square tower of 2 stories, 
resting on a plinth, 1G ft. 9 in. square, 
and tapering slightly upwards. The 
lower story is quite plain, but the 
upper has an Ionic column fluted, en¬ 
gaged at each angle, supporting a Doric 
entablature, of which the architrave 
and frieze alone remain. In each face 
of this story is a recessed blank window 
of Doric .character, with moulded cor¬ 
nice and panels. The height of the 
whole from the ground, as it now stands, 
is 28 ft. 8 in. A doorway has been 
broken through the S. wall; but none 
existed originally. From its pyramidal 
form some have taken this to be the 
tomb of some horse that had gained the 
prize at the Olympic games, as it is 
known that the Agrigentines often 
honoured the memory of their favourite 
steeds with such monuments; but the 
precise character of this solitary sepul¬ 
chre can only be matter for conjecture. 

Temple of JEsculapius. —In'the corn- 
plain, some half a mile from the walls 
to the S., stands a solitary building, a 
modern house on the ruins of an ancient 
temple. The nomenclature is in this 
instance more happy than is usual with 
the monuments of Agrigentum. Poly¬ 
bius mentions a temple of this name as 
standing without the walls, and on the 
site of one of the camps which the Ro¬ 
mans formed during their siege of the 
•city; and as the position indicated by 


him for that temple well accords with 
the position of this ruin, there is con¬ 
siderable probability of their identity. 
This shrine was of great sanctity in 
ancient days, and in it was kept a beau¬ 
tiful statue of Apollo, the work of the 
celebrated Myron, whose name was in¬ 
scribed on its thigh in diminutive letters 
of silver. It was carried off by the Car¬ 
thaginians when they captured the city, 
but restored by Scipio Africanus on his 
destruction of Carthage; yet it did not 
escape the rapacity of the praetor Verres. 

Enough of this temple is standing to 
show its plan and dimensions. It was 
of small size, less even than that of 
Ceres, being only 66 ft. 10 in. in length, 
by 30 ft. 10 in. in breadth. In plan it 
resembled that temple, being “ in antis," 
without a peristyle ; but it had the pe¬ 
culiarity of a false posticum, this end of 
the temple being, like the other, “ in 
antis," though the spaces between the 
pilasters are walled up, so as to leave 
the columns engaged. At this end the 
pilaster to the N. is still standing, 
together with the shafts, to the height 
of 16 ft. These show it, like most of 
the temples within the city, to have been 
of Grecian Doric. Not a vestige re¬ 
mains of the capitals or entablature. 
Of the facade only the southern anta is 
standing. Within the entrance on eitller 
hand are traces of the staircases which 
led to the roof. The temple stood on a 
stylobate of 4 steps, and had a flight of 
steps at the entrance, whose foundations 
are still visible. 

This ruin has so little of the curious 
or picturesque that, if the traveller be 
hurried, he may omit it from his list 
of videnda; though the view hence of 
the ancient city, with the modem town 
peering above its temples, is surprisingly 
grand, and, as Hughes remarks, “the 
ruins on the southern precipice appear 
like fine monuments upon the prosce¬ 
nium of an immense theatre.” 

Le Maccalube .—An interesting ex¬ 
cursion may be made to the singular 
mud-volcanoes of this name, which lie 
at the distance of 7 m. from Girgenti, 
and 3 westward of the high road to 
Palermo. You leave this road at the 
barriera or turnpike, 4 m. from the 




216 


ROUTE 7. -PALERMO TO CATANIA. 


city, and follow a bridle-path over the 
bare downs to the 1.; but the volcanoes, 
as they hardly rise above the ground, 
are not easily found without a guide. 
For a description of these curious 
phenomena see Route 9, p. 249. 


ROUTE 7. 

PALERMO TO CATANIA. 

Miles. Posts. 


Palermo to Abate . 

5 

- 

Abate to Misilmeri . 

4 

11 

Misilmeri to Ogliastro .. .. 

7 


Ogliastro to Villafrate 

5 

H 

Yillafrate to Ponte di Vicari .. 

9 

l 

Ponte di Vicari to Manganaro .. 

6 

l 

Manganaro to La Gulfa 

12 

B 

La Gulfa to Vallelunga .. .. 

10 

l 

Vallelunga to Landro. 

12 

H 

Landro to Sta. Caterina 

9 

1 

Sta. Caterina to Villarosa .. 

12 

n 

Villarosa to Misericordia .. 

11 

H 

Misericordia to Leonforte .. 

12 

li 

Leonforte to Nissorfa. 

4 

- 

Nissorfa to S. Filippo d’Argirb .. 

5 

i 

S. Filippo to Regalbuto 

9 

n 

Regalbuto to Sisto . 

7 

i 

Sisto to Adernb. 

9 

i 

Aderno to Biancavilla. 

3 

- 

Biancavilla to Licodia. 

O 

o 

- 

Licodia to Paterno . 

5 

14 

Paterno to Misterbianco .. 

8 

- 

Misterbianco to Catania 

4 

14 


171 

214 


This is the stradone or mail-post road 
across the island. 

The corriera leaves Palermo every 
Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, at 
7 r.M., and professes to accomplish the 
journey in 34 hours in fair weather, 
not taking into account any detention 
that may occur at the Fiume Grande, 
or the other bridgeless streams on the 


route, from the swelling of the torrents 
after heavy rains. There are but 3 
seats in the vehicle, the conductor oc¬ 
cupying the fourth. The fare is 8 
ducats and 73 bajocchi, or 7 dollars, 
3 tari, and 3 bajocchi; besides which 
at every relay there is a buonamano of 
5 bajocchi to be given to the postilion, 
which will bring the fare to within a 
fraction of 8 piastre. The traveller 
should provide himself with a stock of 
small change for the postilions. 

This is the high road also to Messina 
on the one hand, and to Syracuse and 
Noto on the other, coaches being in 
correspondence with those cities, to 
which, on his arrival at Catania, the 
traveller can proceed with little delay. 
The distance from Palermo to Messina 
by this route is 234 m., which is pro¬ 
fessedly done in 46 hrs.; fare, 11 ducats 
73 bajocchi, or 9 dollars 9 tari and 3 
bajocchi. From Palermo to Syracuse the 
distance is 224 m.; fare, 11 ducats 28 
bajocchi, or 9 dollars 4 tari and 8 ba¬ 
jocchi. From Palermo to Noto is 246 
m.; fare, 12 ducats 38 bajocchi, or 10 
dollars 3 tari and 8 bajocchi. To these 
fares the postilions’ fees must be added 
in each case. 

You leave Palermo by the Porta 
Garibaldi. The road crosses the plain, 
and proceeds beneath the rugged 
heights of Monte Grifone and Gibel- 
rossa to the village of Abate , where, 
if he is approaching Palermo, the tra¬ 
veller is stopped at the Dogana. A 
mile beyond is the hamlet of Portella di 
Mare, lying between the steeps of Gibel- 
rossa and Monte Buongiorno. Here the 
road turns southward along the base of 
the lofty mountain which forms the west¬ 
ern boundary of the deep and narrow 
valley to 

9m. Misilmeri (pop. 11,029)—along, 
straggling, poverty-stricken town, with 
flat-roofed 1 louses, lying at the foot of 
naked heights, and dominated by a 
large square castle of yellow stone, iu 
an imposing situation and a picturesque 
state of decay. It was built by Manfred 
Chiaramonte in the 14th century. The 
present town owes its origin to Francesco 
Bosco in 1540. But in Saracenic times 
a village occupied the site, as is proved 

















ROUTE 7. -MISILMERI—BAGNI DI CEFALa. 


217 


by the appellation of the place, Misil- 
meri being a cormption of “ Menzil-al- 
Amir,” or the “ village of the Emirs.” 
Here in the year 1068 Count Roger 
encountered a vast host of the Saracens 
who had come forth from Palermo to 
oppose him, and so utterly routed them 
that hardly a man escaped the slaugh¬ 
ter. Some baskets were found among 
the spoil containing pigeons which the 
Moslems had brought with them to 
convey the tidings of their triumph to 
Palermo. Roger let them fly to tell a 
different tale. There is a short cut of 
6 or 7 m. across the mountains from 
Misilmeri to Palermo by the Pass of 
Mezzagna. This was the route that 
Garibaldi took on the night of the 26th 
May, 1860, when, after a rapid flank- 
march from Piana de’ Greci, over some 
of the most rugged mountains in all 
Sicily, he joined the Sicilian insurgents 
at Misilmeri, and advanced on Palermo, 
taking that city by a coup de main. The 
stream which flows below the town takes 
its rise 10 m. inland near the Saracenic 
castle of Resalaymi, whose name it 
assumes ; lower down it exchanges this 
for F. de Mirti, or “ Myrtle River,” 
and, after crossing the fertile plain of 
Bagaria, it falls into the sea between 
that place and Ficarazzi. 

You follow the upward course of 
this stream, which flows through a 
vine-covered valley, for 4 m., when you 
cross it by a bridge ; soon after a road 
opens to the rt. leading to Marineo 
18 m. from Palermo), which is seen 
some miles up its valley on a lofty 
cliff, overhung by a remarkable conical 
height of yellow rock, called Rocca- 
bianca. This road is carriageable, and 
runs through Marineo to the royal 
palace of Ficuzza, and to Corleone, 
39 m. from Palermo. 3 m. beyond this 
fork is the village of 

16 m. Ogliastro, a wretched place of 
1588 inhabitants on the hill-side. You 
now approach the Castle of Diana, 
which on its abrupt conical height, 
with its masses of ruin rising to the 
sky, forms a most picturesque feature 
in the scene. At the foot of the steep, 
and rather more than 18 m. from 
Palermo, you cross by a large bridge 

[Sicily.] 


a rivulet which falls into the bay of 
Termini beneath the village of Alta- 
villa. It is here called Fiume de'Bagni , 
from some curious Saracenic baths 
close to this bridge on the 1. of the 
road, and now called 

I Bagni cli Cefala, but by the 
Saracens “Gefalath.” They stand in 
the midst of mean modern edifices 
which have sprung up around them. 
The mineral waters which brought 
them into existence have secured them 
from destruction, for they are still 
resorted to in spring, and are in a 
tolerable state of preservation. They 
are thus described by Signor Musumeci, 
an architect of Palermo :— 

“ Externally the baths are a large 
oblong pile, about 90 ft. long. At the 
height of the springing of the roof a 
band, with Saracenic inscriptions, was 
originally carried entirely round the 
4 sides. The walls themselves ascend 
a story higher. This upper story is 
modern work, but probably the build¬ 
ing was as lofty at first as it is at pre¬ 
sent, and, having suffered from the 
injuries of time, has in part been re¬ 
newed. There are now 3 doors of 
entrance, but none are ancient. What 
appears to have been the only original 
door is now walled up. It consists of 
a plain pointed arch, constructed of 
large thin bricks. 

“ Internally you find a spacious hall, 
covered with a stone vault of a con¬ 
siderable span, which is here and there 
perforated with circular apertures to 
admit light and air. These baths, 
surrounded by a broad pavement, oc¬ 
cupy the largest portion of the floor. 
The upper end is separated from the 
body of the hall by 3 pointed arches, 
supported by pillars with capitals. 
Within this space is a larger bath, 
which appears to have been used for 
plunging. The mineral stream, first 
conducted into the largest of the baths, 
successively flows into the 3 others, 
and is then carried away by subter¬ 
ranean channels. 

“ The history of these baths is un¬ 
known, but, from the construction, ns 
much as from the inscriptions in 
Cuphic characters, there is every 

L 




218 


ROUTE 7.-VILLAFRATE—31EZZOJUSO. 


reason to believe that the original 
portions of the building were the 
work of the Saracens.” The water is 
warm, of the temperature of 31° 2' 
Reaumur, quite pure, colourless, and 
without taste or odour. It is in great 
repute in cases of rheumatism and 
stone. When cold it is used for cook¬ 
ing, drinking, and washing. It con¬ 
tains carbonate of lime to the extent 
of §, muriate of soda 1, sulphate of 
lime T \j, carbonate of lime rather more 
than ,’ n , sulphate of soda ^ 

From this bridge a road runs 
through the hollow to the W. of the 
Castle of Diana, and through a fertile 
valley, to Mezzojuso, 6 m. distant. 

The high-road winds up the steep 
height towards the square ruined 
castle, now called Gastello di Diana, 
but by the Saracens, who originally 
built it, “ Kalata Gefalath.” The re¬ 
mains which now crest the red breccia 
cliff are for the most part of much 
less remote antiquity, being of the 
lGtli century, and built by the Counts 
of Chiarastillo, whose arms are seen 
over the doorway. The castle has 
little architectural interest, but its 
highly picturesque character claims 
for it a place in the sketch-book, and 
the view it commands is one of won¬ 
derful variety and beauty. 

The road leaves the castle to the 
rt., and proceeds up the valley, beneath 
the bare, serrated range of Chiarastillo, 
once the haunt of the notorious bandit, 
Fra Diavolo, to the village of 

21 m. Villafrate. — Inns: two : the 
first, the “ Locanda di Villafrate,” the 
posthouse, is kept by Giuseppe Ca¬ 
ruso, a civil landlord, but the beds are 
of doubtful cleanliness. The “Locanda 
di S. Lorenzo,” higher up the road, is 
kept by Andrea Polizzi, whose skill in 
cooking, when he has the opportunity 
of displaying it, is only surpassed by 
his attention to his guests. These 
inns are by the road-side, but the 
town, a wretched little place of 2397 
souls, lies on the hill-slope above. 
Just opposite the former inn a road, 
which is carriageable, forks to the rt. 
through a valley rich in corn, olives, 


and almonds, to Mezzojuso, more than 
4 m. distant, hanging on the wooded 
slopes of the bold, craggy, serrated 
mountain of Busammara. The woods 
at its base are among the very few 
natural forests which exist in Sicily, 
and owe their preservation to their 
being royal property and preserves for 
game. Those in the hollow are called 
Bosco di Capelleri; those on the slope 
Bosco Pizzonfvolo. The royal palace 
of Ficuzza lies 7 or 8 m. to the W. of 
Villafrate, at the other end of the 
preserves, and beneath the northern 
precipices of the mountain. 


Mezzojuso, called by the peasantry 
“ Menziuso,” and with more correct¬ 
ness, as the word is a corruption of the 
Arabic “ Menzil Iusuph,” or “ Jo¬ 
seph’s Village,” is one of the 4 colonies 
of Albanians who on the death of 
Scanderbeg in the 15th century fled 
to Sicily to avoid the oppression of the 
Turks. They preserve their language 
to a great extent, and follow the Greek 
ritual; their priests being allowed to 
marry—a privilege of which they do 
not fail to avail themselves, and of 
which their flocks reap the advantage. 
Mezzojuso lies at the distance of 25 m. 
from Palermo, contains about 5427 
souls, and, notwithstanding its position 
on a hill-slope, and its picturesque 
exterior, is one of the filtliiest towns 
in all Sicily. It has several locande, 
but none fit for a Hottentot. It 
has 2 “ Chiese Matrici,” one for the 
Greek, the other for the Latin ritual. 
The former has a neat and pretty 
interior. There is nothing at Mezzo¬ 
juso to tempt the traveller from the 
high-road; and if he expects to find 
the Greek costume, as in many of the 
Albanian colonies in Southern Italy, 
he will be disappointed, for the in¬ 
habitants, save on fete-days, are not to 
be distinguished in feature or dress 
from the peasantry of the rest of 
Sicily. It is 12 m. hence by a bridle¬ 
path, under the southern face of Bu¬ 
sammara, to Corleone. 

It is 19 m. from Villafrate to Cor¬ 
leone, by the path round the northern 
side of the mountain. At 3 m. it 
passes through the wretched hamlet 





ROUTE 7. -VICARI—MANGANARO. 


219 


of Godrcino, on a height which hounds 
the rich vale of Mezzojuso to the N., 
and it then descends through the 
dense forest of oak, ilex, and cork¬ 
trees, broken only by fallen masses of 
rock, for some miles to the royal palace 
of Ficuzza, near which it meets the 
coacli-road from Palermo to Corleone. 
The whole s path is wild and pic¬ 
turesque in the extreme, and for some 
miles both before and beyond Ficuzza 
it is overhung by the bare beetling 
precipices of Busammara. For the rest 
of the road to Corleone see Rte. 
8, p. 242. 


Above Villafrate the road mounts a 
cultivated slope to the summit of a 
ridge, and then winds down into a long 
deep treeless valley lying between the 
Alpine heights of Busammara and the 
cliffy ridge of Gracia, and bounded 
on the S. by an olive-clad range crested 
by the ruined castle of Vicari. At the 
foot of this is 

30 m. Ponte di Vicari, a large bridge 
of 4 arches spanning the fierce and 
turbid stream which is here named 
from that town, but is better known 
as the Fiume di S. Leonardo, and 
falls into the sea below the walls of 
Termini. The slope below Vicari is 
covered with olives and almonds in 
rich luxuriance. It is a steep winding 
ascent of 4 m. to the top of the pass, 
where a road turns off to the 1. to the 
town at a short distance. In the wide 
valley to the rt., some 4 m. from the 
road, lies a venerable castle of such 
antiquity that it is popularly termed 
Castello dell’ Eternita. 

Vicari, a small town of 3800 inhabit¬ 
ants, lies round the base of the mound 
on which its castle is built. This is 
a large fortress, erected by Manfred 
Cliiaramonte in the 14th century, with 
towers and battlements now in pictur¬ 
esque decay. In the Chiesa Matrice is 
an oil-painting of Santa Rosalia sur¬ 
rounded by angels, ascribed to Novelli. 
It was in the castle of Vicari that 
Giovanni di San Remigio, the French 
Justiciary, or Governor of the island, 
took refuge after his escape from the 
fury of the Palermitans on the first 


terrible night of the Vespers. Tim 
next day an armed force from Palermo, 
having tracked his footsteps, arrived 
before the walls, and summoned the 
garrison to surrender, promising them 
permission to embark for Provence. 
The French, regarding them as an 
undisciplined rabble, answered by a 
vigorous sortie. But the Sicilians 
received them with shouts of “ Death 
to the French! ” repulsed their attack, 
and drove them back within the walls. 
The Justiciary, appearing on the ram¬ 
parts to propose terms of surrender, 
was shot by an arrow, and his fall 
became the signal for a general assault. 
The multitude stormed the fortress, 
and put the entire garrison to the sword. 

From the top of the pass a grand but 
wild view opens of the Madonian 
mountains to the E.; of Monte San 
Caldgero, the Mediterranean, and the 
JEolian Islands to the N.E.; and of 
the double crest of Monte Cammarata 
rising over inferior hills to the S. The 
road descends along the ridge which 
forms the right-hand barrier of the deep 
and cultivated but uninhabited valley 
beneath you, and near the 36th mile¬ 
stone forks, the rt. branch running to 
Lercara, 5 m. distant, high among the 
mountains, and surrounded by sul¬ 
phur-mines. Between this place and 
Palermo there is a constant traffic in 
the mineral, which is conveyed in 
gaily-painted carts to the capital for 
shipment. A road has very recently 
been opened in continuation of this, 
from Lercara across the island to 
Girgenti. 

36 m. Manganaro —a solitary post- 
house, with a tolerable locanda —clean 
beds, much attention, but no provi¬ 
sions, save bread, eggs, and maccaroni. 
The road here turns northwards for 
some miles, skirting the wild mountain- 
slopes which bound the deep, treeless 
valley of the Fiume Torto, and de¬ 
scends towards the little village of 
Roccapalumba, overhung by an enor¬ 
mous crag. Tliere are a tew olives 
around the village, but the country is 
bare and dreary in the extreme. The 
road leaves Roccapalumba some half- 
mile to the 1., turns again to the W* 

l 2 







220 


ROUTE 7. —VALLELUNGA—SANTA CATERINA. 


and descends through bold craggy 
ground to the river; mounting again 
towards the picturesque town of Alia, 
of some 4400 inhabitants, which crests 
a height above the road. Just before 
reaching it, a wild glen, which opens 
on the 1., hemmed in by bold cliffs, 
with a rocky torrent fretting through 
it, and pines and cypresses in the fore¬ 
ground, offers a tempting morsel for 
the sketch-book. A little beyond 
Alia stands the solitary post-house of 

48 m. La Gulfci. —The scenery of 
this interior region is wearisomely 
wild and monotonously dreary. The 
want of cultivation, which, where it 
exists, is only that of corn, and the 
absence of trees and of habitations, 
impart a melancholy aspect, which 
neither the fine forms of the higher 
mountain-peaks, nor the occasional 
view of the snowy crest of Etna in the 
eastern horizon, can dispel. The 
heights to the N. are the Madonian 
chain, known to the ancients as the 
Nebrodes, and are second in altitude 
to Etna alone among the mountains 
of Sicily, rising to the height of nearly 
6,200 feet. Among them, at some 
miles’ distance, as you descend from 
La Gulfa, you perceive the town of 
Valledolmo under the brow of a moun¬ 
tain, and in the opposite direction the 
abrupt peaks of Musumeli and Sutera 
mark the sites of towns of the same 
names. 

58 m. Vallelunga. —Just before reach¬ 
ing this town you cross from the pro¬ 
vince of Palermo into that of Cal- 
tanisetta. It is a place of 4097 
souls, lying in a valley smiling with 
vines, olives, corn, and prickly pears. 
The road runs at the bottom of the 
town, and here also stands the locanda, 
kept by Rosario Spuoto, which, unlike 
most inns in Sicily, is better than it 
looks, belying its shabby exterior. 

road here branches to the rt. to 
ViUalba, a small town of 2700 inhabit¬ 
ants on the slope of a high craggy 
ridge 3 m. distant. It is vulgarly 
called Muzzica by the peasantry. 
Four miles beyond you cross the 


stream of San Giorgio, which flows 
southward, and under the name of 
Fiirnie Salito falls into the Platani 
below Campofranco. Cultivation soon 
ceases again, and you commence a 
long wearisome ascent of many miles 
among bare limestone mountains of 
bold outlines, with green downs in 
the valley, but no trees or shrubs to 
relieve the general dreariness and de¬ 
solation. Wild fennel, squills, orchids, 
and irides take the place of cultivation, 
and the brown vultures are as nu¬ 
merous as the human inhabitants. 

70 m. Landro. —The rocks about 
this lonely post-house contain marine 
substances, madrepores, &c. No ac¬ 
commodation to be had here. A path 
leads hence northwards to Resuttanci, 
a few miles distant, a town of 3200 
souls, whose Arabic name (Rabat 
Sattan, “ fortified village ”) bespeaks 
the strength of its position. 

A mile or two beyond Landro you 
reach the top of the pass, a ridge of 
Monte Mucini, which commands a most 
extensive view of the wild mountainous 
country to the E., with the twin-heights 
of Calascibetta and Castrogiovanui in 
the middle distance, and the snowy 
mass of Etna filling the horizon. You 
descend by a winding road to Santa 
Caterina, in the bosom of the deep 
rich valley beneath; and on the way, 
between the 74th and 76th milestones, 
observe the singular stratification of 
schist and marble in contorted strata. 
The ridge along which the road runs 
in its descent extends for many miles 
due N. and S. across the island, over¬ 
hanging the valley of the Fiume dl 
Petralia, a tributary of the Salso. 

79 m. Santa Caterina.—Inn: “ Al- 
bergo Cortese,” or “Locanda della 
Fortuna,” as wretched as might be 
expected in a place which is a mere 
straggling assemblage of hovels, and 
contains perhaps more misery than 
any other town of ifs size (6188 inha¬ 
bitants) in Sicily or elsewhere in 
Europe. The traveller may here find 
his bedroom literally a pig-sty. A 
little beyond the town a road branches 
to the rt. to the city of Caltanisetta, 



221 


ROUTE 7.— VIL 

distant 13 m., though only 9 by 
the “ scorza.” 

The high road, after crossing the 
Flume cli Petralia, continues for some 
miles through an undulating country, 
■winding along the rocky slopes of 
Monte Lagaria till it descends into the 
valley of the Scdso, which it crosses by a 
ford. The river derives this name from 
the brackish character of its waters, 
and its alias of Flume Grande 
from the great volume its torrent 
assumes after heavy rains. It is the 
Himera Meridionalis of antiquity, 
which rises in the Madonian moun¬ 
tains, and nearly divides Sicily into 
two parts. It flows through a wide 
sandy bed, and at ordinary times is 
not difficult to ford, though the water 
may rise to the horses’ girths; but 
when swollen by the rains it is dan¬ 
gerous to attempt the passage, and 
the malle-poste in winter is not un- 
frequently detained for some days on 
its banks until the waters subside. 
When the ford is difficult, there is no 
lack of bare-limbed peasants, called 
“ Maranguni,” paid by Government to 
render their services, and without 
whom it would often be impossible to 
cross. They expect a small fee from 
the travelled. The road winds up ful¬ 
some miles along the slope of a bare 
mountain to 

91 m. Villarosa (pop. 3696), a small 
dirty town, at most times full of mules 
and asses laden with sulphur from 
the mines in Monte Mannaro, which 
rises to the N. It contains a 
wretched loccmda, fit only for mule¬ 
teers. The scenery beyond is fine; 
the lofty table-land crowned by the 
towers of Castrogiovanni, and bound¬ 
ing the view to the II, forms a mag¬ 
nificent object in the landscape. The 
country here is well cultivated with 
olives, corn, and vines, and the stream 
which you ford a few miles beyond 
Villarosa, the Flume del Fico, hints 
in its appellation at the rich vegeta¬ 
tion on its banks. Beyond the 95th 
milestone a path turns to the rt. to 
Caltanisetta. Castrogiovanni, as seen 
from this spot, is most imposing. The 
rock is here foreshortened, which gives 


LAROSA—ENNA. 

it an appearance of more altitude and 
steepness than when viewed from a 
greater distance. At the angle where 
the road meets the foot of the moun¬ 
tain, a path climbs the steep direct to 
the town, but it is so fearfully pre¬ 
cipitous and rugged that no beast but 
a mule or goat could climb it, and 
even a mule could with difficulty 
descend. The coacli-road to the town 
branches from the stradone some dis¬ 
tance beyond, and winds up through 
dense olive-groves to the summit. The 
high-road enters the gorge between 
the two rival heights of Castrogiovanni 
and Calascibetta: at the 101st mile¬ 
stone it throws off a branch to rt. to 
the former town; then crosses the 
wooded hollow, and after forking to 1. 
to the latter, reaches 

102 m. Misericordia, a lonely post- 
house well deserving of its name. 
There is no view in all Sicily grander 
than that from this gorge—precipices 
on either hand rising to a stupendous 
height, and apparently inaccessible, 
crested with picturesque buildings 
and yet more picturesque ruins, a 
luxuriance of foliage in the hollow, 
and the majestic mass of Etna seen 
through the gorge, cutting the blue 
heavens with his icy peak. All this 
is classic ground,— 

“Where each old poetic mountain 
Inspiration breathes around 

for the height to the rt., now covered 
with the mean buildings of Castro¬ 
giovanni, was the site of 

Enna, one of the most ancient cities 
of Sicily, the chosen abode of Ceres, 
the scene of the rape of Proserpine, 
dear to fable and renowned in history, 
the never-failing theme of the poets, 
the seat of perpetual spring, the site 
on which Nature had lavished all 
her charms and treasures. Cicero de¬ 
scribes the site thus concisely and 
faithfully : “ Enna est loco perexcelso 
atque edito, quo in summo est rnquata 
agri planities, et aqute perennes ; tota 
vero ab omni aditu circumcisa atque 
dirempta est; quam circa lacus lucique 
sunt plurimi et ketissimi flores omni 




222 


ROUTE 7.—ENNA—CASTROGIO V A NNf. 


tempore anni,” &c. “The peculiar 
situation of Enna is indeed one of the 
most remarkable in Sicily. Placed 
on the level summit of a gigantic hill, 
so lofty as almost to deserve to be 
called a mountain, and surrounded on 
all sides with precipitous cliffs, almost 
wholly inaccessible, except in a very 
few spots which are easily defended, 
abundantly supplied with water, which 
gushes from the face of the rocks on 
all sides, and having a fine plain or 
table-land of about 3 m. in circum¬ 
ference on the summit, it forms one 
of the most remarkable natural fort¬ 
resses in the world.”— Buiibury. It 
well deserves its mediaeval title of 
“ L ! Inespugnabile,” or “The Impreg¬ 
nable.” The site lies in the very heart 
of the island, within a day’s journey, 
as Cicero says, of the nearest point 
on all the three coasts, whence it re¬ 
ceived the singular appellation of 
“ Umbilicus Sicilise.” 

The origin of Enna is uncertain. 
Its foundation has been ascribed by 
Stephanus of Byzantium to Syracuse ; 
but it is not mentioned as a colony of 
that city by either Thucydides or 
Diodorus. From the earliest times it 
was the chief seat of the worship of 
Ceres, that great deity of the Sici¬ 
lians— 

“Grata domus Cereri, multas ea possidet urbes, 
Jnquibns est culto fertilis Enna solo.” 

Ovid, Fast. 

Here Gelon of Syracuse, after his 
triumph at Himera in 480 b.c., founded 
a magnificent temple to that goddess, 
which he never lived to complete. 
Dionysius the Elder obtained posses¬ 
sion of Enna in 403 b.c., not by force, 
but by treachery. His son, at a later 
date, took it by surprise; and it 
subsequently fell into the hands of 
Agathocles. In the First Punic War 
it was taken first by the Carthaginians, 
and then by the Romans, in both cases 
by treachery. In the Second Punic 
War the inhabitants were all put to 
tlie sword by the Roman garrison, 
from the dread of an insurrection. 
Enna figured as the head-quarters of 
the revolted slaves under Eunus in 
the First Servile War, and from its 


impregnable position they were en¬ 
abled for years to defy the power of 
Rome, defeating three armies before 
the town was at length betrayed into 
her hands. Enna did not escape the 
rapacity of Verres, who, regardless of 
the sanctity of the site in the eyes of 
the Sicilians, violated the shrines and 
carried off everything of value. In 
a.d. 828 it was besieged by the Sara¬ 
cens, but though often attacked was 
not taken by them till 859, when it 
was captured by surprise, the Moslems 
creeping one by one through a sewer 
into the town. Beneath its walls, in 
1062, soon after their first landing in 
the island, the Normans obtained a 
complete victory over the Saracens 
against tremendous odds; but the 
town itself was one of the last places 
that fell into their hands. In 1086 
Count Roger led a force against it, 
when Cliamut, the governor, not daring 
to stand a siege, delivered it up to the 
Normans, and became a convert to 
Christianity. The Count peopled it 
with his Lombard followers, who 
inhabited that quarter which is still 
called from them “ Lombardia.” 


Castrogiovanni. 

Inns: two, both of the most filthy 
and miserable description. That of 
Mariano Buono, alias “ Marianazzo,” 
is especially to be avoided. The 
traveller may at times find accom¬ 
modation in the house of Don Ales¬ 
sandro Pinturo, close to the ruined 
church of S. Giovanni, who, though 
no innkeeper, will do his best to 
make his guests comfortable. Fran¬ 
cesco Longo offers his services as 
cicerone. The modern name of the 
town is a corruption of the ancient; 
Castrum Ennse having been converted 
into “Cassar Janli, or Janna,” by the 
Arabs, which in the course of time 
was Italianised into Giovanni, as a 
name more familiar to the ears of the 
peasantry. The platform on which 
the town stands rises to the height 
of 3049 ft. above the sea, being the 
highest inhabited spot in the island. 
It is more than a mile in length, and 






ROUTE 7. -CASTROGIOVANNI—CHURCHES. 


is intersected by a deep ravine, whose 
slopes and cliffs are honeycombed with 
sepulchral caverns, some of which are 
now inhabited by the poorer classes, 
The population numbers 13,747 souls, 
most of whom appear to be in abject 
poverty—labourers or beggars. There 
are a few respectable houses of nobles 
and proprietors, but most of the build¬ 
ings are shabby and dilapidated, and 
the general aspect is mean and me¬ 
lancholy. This appearance may be 
in part owing to the dampness of 
the atmosphere at this unusual ele¬ 
vation, the town being often for 
days together lost in cloud and mist, 
which tinge the edifices with weather- 
stains. Its climate is so cool, that in 
summer many people resort to it to 
avoid the heat of the plains. “ From 
the rocks still gush out, as in days of 
old, perennial streams and crystal 
fountains, amidst a profusion of shrubs, 
creepers, and wild flowers, while the 
line cypress-groves and gardens of the 
convents form a shade impervious to 
the sun.”— Hughes. 

The churches and convents of 
Castrogiovanni are unusually nume¬ 
rous, even for a Sicilian town. 

The Chiesa Mcitriee is not a cathe¬ 
dral, but a collegiate church. It was 
founded by Eleanor, wife of Frederick 
II., at the commencement of the 14th 
century, and dedicated to the Virgin. 
Though originally of pointed archi¬ 
tecture, it has been so much altered in 
the course of ages, that few traces of 
that style remain. The only portions 
of the exterior which retain that cha¬ 
racter are the apses and the door of 
the S. transept, which has 3 orders, 
the inner showing the triple chevron, 
and all resting on slender shafts with 
foliated capitals. Over it is a relief 
of St. Martin sharing his cloak with 
the beggar, which originally stood in 
the chapel of the castle. The door 
has been blocked up ever since some 
pope, many years since, did it the 
honour of passing through it. The 
apses are octagonal, with lancet win¬ 
dows. 

Internally the aisles are divided by 


223 

pointed arches resting on massive 
columns of dark grey stone with Re¬ 
naissance capitals, and bases of white 
marble. The first pair of columns on 
entering are pointed out as the work of 
Domenico Gagini, whose name is in¬ 
scribed on that to the 1., with the date 
of 1560. This must be a son or 
nephew of the celebrated Antonio. 
The capitals are enriched with heads, 
masks, figures, and foliage, and have 
animals or monsters for volutes; that 
to the rt. showing the emblems of the 
Evangelists; the plinths are adorned 
in the same fanciful manner. The 
other capitals are corrupt Corinthian, 
varying in details, and are probably 
the work of Raffaelle Russo of Florence, 
whose name is inscribed with the date 
of 1551 on the 2nd column to rt. The 
water-basins are of white marble, on 
shafts covered with cinquecento ara¬ 
besques, that to the 1. being in part 
ancient, with a dance of juvenile Bac¬ 
chanals in relief, apparently the shaft 
of a candelabrum, said to have been 
found on the site of the Temple of 
Ceres. The roof is of wood, flat, with 
carved beams, octagonal lacunaria, and 
harpies for corbels. The tribune and 
side-apses have pointed arches and 
groined roofs, disfigured by subsequent 
encrustations. The seats of the choir 
are of carved wood, with scenes from 
the Old and New Testament in relief. 
In the tribune hang 5 pictures by 
Filippo Paladino of Florence; on the 
rt. the Visitation and the Presentation 
of the youthful Virgin; on the 1. the 
Presentation of Christ and the Immacu- 
lata ; and in the centre the Assumption 
of the Virgin : they are esteemed the 
chefs-d'oeuvre of the master. In the 1. 
apse are 2 pictures attributed to the 
Cavalier d'Arpino. The altarpiece in 
the 1. transept is a Madonna by William 
Borromans, from whose hand there are 
4 other pictures in this church—the 
Baptism of Christ, and 2 saints, in the 
rt. aisle, and St. Martin and St. Con¬ 
stantine in the left. In the 3rd chapel 
in this aisle is an early Crucifix painted 
on a gilt ground. In the Sacristy are 
several old paintings on panel with 
gilt grounds, but in wretched pre¬ 
servation. 




224 


ROUTE 7. —CASTROGIOYANNI-THE CASTLE. 


Biblioteca PuhbUca .—Opposite the 
Chiesa Matrice is tlie public library, 
containing a cabinet of coins and other 
relics of ancient Enna. 

The church of S. Francesco di Assisi 
has a square Norman tower, with a 
porch beneath it, with circular arches, 
heavy abaci, and slender shafts at the 
angles. 

The churches of S. Giovanni and 
S. Tommaso are also of Siculo-Norman 
architecture, and the Carmine lias a 
campanile in the same style. 

In the outer wall of S. Antonio is a 
column marked with the linear mea¬ 
sures of Sicily, supposed to have been 
set up by some of the early kings, 
when Castrogiovanni was a royal resi¬ 
dence. 

S. Francesco di Paola. —The church 
of this convent contains a picture attri¬ 
buted to Novclli, but probably by his 
pupil Giacomo lo Verde, representing 
the Virgin offering the infant Christ 
to her parents Joachim and Anna. It is 
covered 'with the dust and filth of ages, 
but bears traces of delicate painting. 

Santa Maria la Nuova, outside the 
town, contains a large picture of the 
Slaughter of the Innocents by Zoppo 
di Gangi, with his name and the date 
of 1G11—full of incident, but curious 
rather than beautiful. Like most pic¬ 
tures in country churches in Sicily, it 
is in wretched preservation. The walls 
are covered with frescoes of later date, 
but of some merit. 

Outside the town, on a spot called 
Monte Salvo, stands the convent of 
the Padri Hi format i, in whose garden 
tradition places the Temple of Proser¬ 
pine, to which the statue of Ceres was 
yearly carried from her temple on the 
opposite side of the city on a visit to 
her daughter. A similar custom pre¬ 
vails at the present day, “ for the Ma¬ 
donna is removed from the Cliiesa 
Matrice to that of the Riformati every 
year, and makes an annual stay of 15 
days, during which time a great con¬ 
course of people assembles, and con¬ 
tinual feastings are held on this plain.” 
— Hoare. 


Costello Alcontres, or Torre Ttoccalu- 
mara.- —Outside the town to the W. is 
a large octagonal tower, surrounded by 
an outer wall now much ruined. The 
tower itself is in good preservation. 
From the central chamber, which has 
a groined ceiling, a corkscrew staircase 
leads up to the roof, which commands 
a superb view. The forms below are 
pointed, but the windows in the upper 
story are square-headed, with shafts at 
the angles. 

Of the private palaces in Castrogio¬ 
vanni few are worthy of notice. The 
Palazzo Castagna is of pointed archi¬ 
tecture, with double lights, adorned 
with tracery. The Palazzo Cliiaramonte 
is in a later style, having windows of 
square form, with flamboyant tracery, 
and a corbelling of ogee arches. 

The Castle stands on the highest 
part of the platform, to the E. of the 
town. It was erected by Frederick II. 
of Aragon, who made this city his 
headquarters when Sicily was invaded 
by the Angevins at the close of the 
13th century. It is of quadrangular 
plan, with towers at the angles and in 
the sides, and stands on a platform of 
rock which rises from 20 to 40 ft. above 
the table-land on which the city is 
built. The rock is the grey sandstone 
of the district, with a horizontal strati¬ 
fication. The masonry is the small and 
neat ashlar used alike by the Saracens 
and Normans. The arches are generally 
pointed without and rounded within. 
The castle contains 3 large courts. In 
the 1st are a small chapel with a square 
apse and pointed arches, and several 
towers which are used as prisons. The 
2nd court contained the offices and 
apartments of the household; the inner 
was the residence of the lord of the 
castle. In one of the towers a stair¬ 
case, partly in the thickness of the wall, 
leads to the roof. The view hence, on 
a clear day, is one of the finest in all 
Sicily. Far at your feet around the 
base of the mountain lie “ the fair fields 
of Enna,” and at 5 m. to the S. its 
lake, renowned in ancient fable and 
song, lies gleaming from the midst of 
naked hills. On the other hand you 



225 


ROUTE 7. -CALASC1BETTA. 


look down on the table-land of Calasc'i- 
betta, which at a distance appears to 
rival this, but is now seen to be much 
interior in height. As Castrogiovanni 
lies pretty nearly in the centre of Sicily, 
almost the entire island is visible from 
it. Westward the eye distinguishes the 
forms of Monte Cammarata and Sutera, 
and in the N.W. the conical peak of 
Monte S. Caldgero above Termini. The 
mountains to the N. lie in 2 long 
parallel ridges, in the further and 
higher of which tower that of Ganei or 
Petralia in the N.N.W., and that of 
Artesino in the N.N.E.; the former is 
the highest peak of the Nebrodes, and 
second only to Etna ; the latter the 
most elevated in the Herman range. 
Eastward the eye passes a number of 
heights, all of different forms, and each 
crowned by its town—Leonforte, Asa- 
ro, San Filippo, Centorbi, Troina — 
lying in the tract which intervenes 

v O 

between Castrogiovanni and Etna, that 
“pillar of the heavens” which fills the 
eastern horizon. “ The most striking 
circumstance in this panoramic survey 
is the extreme inequality of the ground 
in every direction. There are many 
countries where the mountains are 
much higher than those of Sicily*, 
Etna excepted; but there is not per¬ 
haps any part of the globe of similar 
extent so uniformly rugged. From this 
elevated spot nothing is to be seen but 
hills rising beyond hills, like the waves 
of the ocean in a storm, without the 
slightest apparent intervention of level 
ground .”—Marquis of Ormonde. 

Few cities so renowned as Enna re¬ 
tain such scanty traces of their ancient 
splendour. No local remains meet 
the eye to confirm the evidence of 
history. Of all its temples, which 
were so numerous os to make Enna 
appear not so much a city as one vast 
shrine of the gods, of its theatre, where 
Pinarius, the Roman general, slew all 
the magnates of the city on the occa¬ 
sion of the great massacre, and of its 
other public buildings, not a vestige 
remains. The very site of the cele¬ 
brated Temple of Cere3 is not deter¬ 
mined. It is generally supposed to 
have stood on a projection of the moun¬ 
tain, just beyond the castle to the E., 


where, from its commanding position, 
it must have been visible to the greater 
part of Sicily. To reach this spot you 
must pass round the castle at the verge 
of the precipice. Here you find, sepa¬ 
rated by a slight depression from the 
castle, a level platform of rock ; on this 
the temple is thought to have stood ; 
and the smallness of the site, so dis- 
proportioned to the magnitude of the 
shrine of the chief of Sicilian deities, 
is explained by the falling of the 
greater part of the cliff in subsequent 
ages. And in truth vast crags lie at 
the foot of the tremendous precipice 
into which the mountain here breaks. 
A flight of steps cut in the rock gives 
access to the platform, but you look in 
vain for a vestige of the temple which 
is supposed to have occupied it. It was 
a shrine as celebrated for its beauty as 
for its antiquity, and it contained a 
bronze image of the goddess, of mar¬ 
vellous beauty and exquisite workman¬ 
ship, which Verres, notwithstanding the 
profound veneration in which it was 
held throughout Sicily, did not hesitate 
to carry off, to the profound grief of the 
citizens. 

Signori Rcstivo and Falcone in the 
town have collections of coins and other 
antiquities found on this site and in its 
neighbourhood. 

From Castrogiovanni it is IS m. to 
Caltanisetta by the direct track across 
the mountains, the same distance to 
Piazza, and also to Pietraperzia; 30 m. 
to Caltagirone. 

Calascibetta .—A mean, dismal-look¬ 
ing town of 5069 souls, without an inn. 
The name is Saracenic, signifying the 
Castle of Xibeth, or Scibet; but the 
town owes its origin to Count Roger, 
who, when in the year 1086 he laid 
siege to Castrogiovanni, made this 
height his head-quarters, and built a 
fortress on the spot where the church 
of San Pietro now stands. Calascibetta 
was a favourite residence of Peter II. of 
Aragon, who died here in 1342. The 
tower of the principal church is of early 
architecture, but beyond this there are 
no remains to tempt the antiquary to 

T Q 

L 




226 


ROUTE 7.—LEONFORTE. 


mount tlie steep ascent to the town. 
The summit, 2570 ft. above tlie sea, 
commands a magnificent view, very 
similar to that from the opposite 
height of Castrogiovanni, but that pic¬ 
turesque mass of rock, wood, and ruin 
itself forms the most prominent feature 
in the scene. 

The post-road, on emerging from the 
wooded gorge between Castrogiovanni 
and Calascibetta, winds down into a 
deep and wide valley, with a varie¬ 
gated cultivation of corn, vines, olives, 
almonds, and fruit, watered by the 
Fiurne di S. Benedetto, and bounded 
to the E. by the heights of Leonforte 
and Asaro; the former town hardly 
distinguishable from the lofty white 
cliffs against which it hangs, the latter 
cresting the summit of a height to the 
rt., above which soars the mass of Etna 
in icy sublimity. At 109 m. you ford 
the Dittaino, the ancient Clirysas, whose 
tutelary god was worshipped with pe¬ 
culiar reverence by the ancient inha¬ 
bitants of this part of Sicily. The 
Dittaino rises in Monte Fucilino, one 
of the Hersean Mountains, to the N., 
and, after forming for some miles the 
boundary between the provinces of 
Caltanisetta and Catania, flows through 
the plain of the latter city, and loses 
itself in the Simeto about 20 m. from 
its mouth. From this stream the road 
ascends amid a wild mountainous 
country, with the lofty peak of Monte 
Artesino, prominent among the He- 
' rsean chain, to the N., and the bare 
green range of Aidone forming a long 
wall to the S. Leonforte appears just 
before you, but a rocky ravine of great 
depth, full of foliage, intervenes, and 
the road makes a long detour round it, 
and climbs beneath steep cliffs of lime¬ 
stone to the town. 

114 m. Leonforte. Inn: “Lo- 
canda del Leone,” kept by Salvatore 
Gioffita, affords little comfort, but 
abundant civility. The town has a 
long straight street of mean houses, 
with a circular piazza in the centre. 
The large yellow palace of Count Buon- 
signore stands at the W. end, at the 
verge of the steep, and a gay villa of 


the same family at the opposite ex¬ 
tremity of the town. The population 
numbers 11,522 souls. The church of 
the Capuchin Convent has as an altar- 
piece an Assumption, ascribed to No- 
vdli. On the heights above Leonforte 
are the remains of the Saracenic castle 
and town of Tavi. From Leonforte a 
path runs northward across the moun¬ 
tains to Nicosia, 12 m. 

After ascending through a cultivated 
valley, at 2 m. beyond Leonforte a 
path turns to the rt., beneath a ridge of 
rocks strangely resembling the ruins 
of a castle, to Asaro, 3 m. off the post¬ 
road. This town, a miserable place 
with 2900 inhabitants, lies on the slope 
below the ruins of its fortress which 
crown the height. It is the represen¬ 
tative of Assorus, one of the cities of 
the Siculi, which were in alliance witli 
Dionysius of Syracuse; and when all 
the other Sicilian cities deserted him 
and went over to the Carthaginians, 
Assorus alone remained faithful. It 
has preserved both its name and site. 
There is a quarry of alabaster in the 
neighbourhood. At the foot of the 
height on the road to Enna stood a 
temple to the god Chrysas, containing 
Ids statue, beautifully carved in marble. 
This fane was invested with such 
singular sanctity that even Verres dared 
not openly plunder it, but sent his myr¬ 
midons by night, who burst open the 
doors, and would have carried off the 
image, had not the peasants, alarmed 
by the priests, rushed at once to the 
rescue, and saved the shrine. Of this 
temple considerable remains were ex¬ 
tant in the middle of the 16th century. 

118 m. Nmoria, a wretched village 
of 1700 inhabitants, on an eminence 
in the midst of a cultivated hollow, sur¬ 
rounded by bare heights, the loftiest 
of which is that of Asaro to the S.W. 
Between this and S. Filippo lies the 
high table-land of Santa Agate, here 
bare and rocky, there yielding corn 
and wine, and commanding a superb 
panorama of mountains, among which 
the towns of Asaro in the W., Nicosia 
in the N.W., Troina in the N.E., and 
S. Filippo in the E., are seen cresting 







227 


ROUTE 7. -S. FIL11TO L>’ ARG1RO. 


tlieir respective heights. The wide, 
deep valley of the Salso lies beneath 
to the N., and Etna fills the eastern 
horizon. Around S. Filippo the country 
is well cultivated, though the soil, a 
yellow tufaceous sandstone, is arid and 
sterile in appearance. 

123 m. S. Filippo d’ Argiko, called 
by the natives Argira. — Inns: two. 
“ Loeanda della Rosa,’’ kept by Alfio 
Leonard!, is the larger and better ; the 
other, “ Loeanda della Provvidenza,” 
though very small and homely, is clean, 
and is kept by Carmine Garafa, whose 
civility and attention are not to be 
exceeded. 

S. Filippo, a town of 7264 souls, 
is built around the crest of a lofty, 
steep, and conical height, whose sum¬ 
mit is crowned by the ruins of a 
Saracenic castle. Though now of little 
importance, it occupies the site and 
inherits the name of Agyrium, one of 
the chief cities of the Siculi, wdiicli 
contained not less than 20,000 citizens, 
a theatre of vast size, and magnificent 
public buildings; and w r as renowned 
for its wealth, which was derived from 
the corn grown in its territory. It was 
one of the most ancient cities of Sicily, 
existing before the Trojan war, and 
associated with the earliest myths of 
the island, especially with the wan¬ 
derings of Hercules, who was received 
by the citizens as a deity, had a temple 
erected to his honour, and instituted 
several religious rites, which continued 
to be observed to a late period. It is 
more renowned as the birthplace of the 
historian Diodorus, who has left us 
sundry particulars concerning his na¬ 
tive town. In his day the foot-prints 
of Hercules’ oxen in the rock, by which 
the god proved his divinity, were still 
shown, and also a lake or pool, half a 
mile round, believed to have been dug 
by the god’s own hands. Yearly fes¬ 
tivals with palsestric games were then 
celebrated in honour of Hercules and 
his companion Iolaus. In the year 
404 b.c., when Agyrium is first named 
in history, it was governed by a tyrant 
named Agyris, who was second only to 
Dionysius of Syracuse in power, wealth, 
and extent of dominion. In 339 b.c. 


Timoleon relieved it from the yoke 
of another tyrant, Apolloniades, and 
colonised it with 10,000 Greeks, who 
were attracted by the extent of the 
territory and fertility of the soil. At 
this period, besides several temples, an 
agora, a curia, towers, and other monu¬ 
ments, Timoleon constructed a theatre, 
which was reputed the finest in all 
Sicily, after that of Syracuse. Agyrium 
subsequently fell under the yoke of 
Pliintias of Agrigentum, but threw this 
off and allied itself witli Hieron of 
Syracuse. Under the Romans it was 
still “ a fair and wealthy city,” and its 
peasantry were renowned for their skill 
in ploughing. Not a vestige of the 
former magnificence of Agyrium is now 
left, and a few sepulchres hollowed in 
the hill alone remain to attest its an¬ 
tiquity. In Fazello’s time some remains 
of the ancient town were visible on the 
spot called Lombardia, now corrupted 
into La Maldia; but there is nothing 
now save a fragment of Roman pave¬ 
ment not worth seeing. In Christian 
times Agyrium became celebrated as 
the abode of St. Philip, who lias given 
his name to the town, and who, like S. 
Calogero near Sciacca, drove out the 
devils who occupied the place, and con¬ 
verted the inhabitants to Christianity. 
His shrine has been ever since re¬ 
nowned for the miracles wrought at it, 
and on the 1st of May is resorted to by 
pilgrims from all parts of the island. 
Devils used then to be exorcised, and 
the gift of tongues conferred, to which 
Fazello testifies on the evidence of his 
own senses; at present the votaries of 
the saint are satisfied with the more 
vulgar cure of diseases. Argira was 
for ages a baronial fief, but the citizens 
purchased tlieir freedom in the 16th 
century. 

The town is more neatly built, and 
has more appearance of competence, 
if not of wealth, on the part of the 
inhabitants, than any other lying be¬ 
tween it and Palermo. The streets 
are steep and rugged ; but the prin¬ 
cipal one, called after the illustrious 
citizen of ancient days, “ Strada Dio- 
dorea,” contains some large and sub¬ 
stantial houses. The women wear 
the Catunian manto of black silk. 




228 


ROU^TE 7. —S. FILIPPO I)’ ARGIRO. 


Sant ’ Antonino da Padova and 
Margheriki are two of the largest 
churches. Both are modern and con¬ 
tain nothing of interest, but are im¬ 
posingly situated, especially tire latter, 
which is erected on a mediaeval bas¬ 
tion. 

In the sacristy of the church of 
Sant ’ Antonio Abate is a marble saieo- 
phagus, shown as a relic of the ancient 
city, but it is of cinqicecento art. 

Santa Maria, just below the castle, 
is an early church of Norman architec¬ 
ture, with only 2 aisles, separated by 
1 round and 4 pointed arches, resting 
on massive columns with heavy, foli¬ 
ated capitals of very rude character. 
Local tradition, disregarding the ar¬ 
chaeology of art, ascribes the church 
to the 1st century, and states it to have 
been founded by St. Philip, who bap¬ 
tised his first converts in it. A painted 
crucifix of early date, and a chalice of 
silver and brass of the year 1577, are 
among the curiosities of this church. 

San Salvatore, below the castle to 
the'N., is also an early church, though 
with a Renaissance facade. It is 
square in plan, with 3 aisles, each 
terminated by an apse, and separated 
by circular-headed arches. The co¬ 
lumns which support them have capi¬ 
tals in imitation of the classical, and 
all varied in detail. In the sacristy is 
a small picture of St. Philip on panel, 
with a gilt ground—of early date. 
The campanile attached to this church 
is of Siculo-Norman architecture, with 
some peculiar features; among which 
are the angular billet mouldings round 
one window, diaper-work about another, 
and the foliage in relief encircling a 
third. 

Real Batia, —This church stands in 
the lowest part of the town to the W., 
facing the road to Palermo. It is 
modern, and of Italian architecture, 
with a neat facade of yellow stone. 
The interior is spacious, and is divided 
into 3 aisles by 12 beautiful columns 
of green and red mottled marble, with 
Ionic capitals. The seats of the choir 
are adorned with 24 small reliefs, illus¬ 
trating the history of St. Philip and his 
miracles at Agyrium, carved by Nicola 


Bagnasco of Palermo in 1820—of cu¬ 
rious subjects but mediocre art. The 
saint is buried in the crypt. Over the 
door to it are two early pictures, on 
gilt grounds, of St. Eusebius and St. 
Sabba, companions of St. Philip. The 
crtjpt is supported on circular arches 
with corrupt Composite capitals. Be¬ 
neath the altar is a marble statue of the 
saint stretched out in death, simple, 
natural, and well executed. His ashes 
repose in a small sarcophagus of silver, 
like a Roman Doric temple, preserved 
in a side-chapel. 

The grotto which the saint is said 
to have inhabited is in the lower part 
of the town, and is an ancient tomb ex¬ 
cavated in the rock, with sarcophagi 
hollowed in the walls. 

In the upper part of the hill around 
the castle, especially on the S. side, 
are many sepulchres hollowed in the 
rock, but the sandstone is so soft and 
friable, that their distinctive features 
are in most cases obliterated. 

The Castle, now an utter ruin, is of 
Saracenic construction, dating from 
the 10th century. It is of neat ashlar 
masonry, with square and octagonal 
towers. The windows are pointed 
without, and rounded within. On the 
highest part of the enclosure is a mo¬ 
dern chapel of S. Pietro, in front of 
which, in a deep pit, is the entrance 
to a vaulted chamber, probably con¬ 
structed for a prison or a depository of 
treasure, for the door appears to have 
been strongly barred. The view from 
the summit of this hill is grand beyond 
expression—commanding a sea of roll¬ 
ing heights of varied forms and dif¬ 
ferent altitudes, many of them crested 
with towns or castles. As the eye 
scans the horizon it rests in turn on 
Asaro, Castrogiovanni, Calascibetta, 
Nicosia, Troina, Regalbuto, Centorbi, 
Aidone; and the panorama is enclosed 
on all sides by mountains, except where, 
in the S.E., they break down into the 
wide green plain of Catania, which 
stretches to the sea in the eastern ho¬ 
rizon. For the greater part of the year 
these ranges are capped with snow, 
and Etna with his glittering diadem 
adds eternal sublimity to the scene. 





ROUTE 7.—GAGLIANO—REGALBUTO. 


229 


In the neighbourhood of the town 
are found beautiful marbles, s ipona- 
ceous clay, and fuller’s earth. 


From S. Filippo to Nicosia is a dis¬ 
tance of 12 m. by the valley of the 
Salso; to Troina by Gagliauo is the 
same distance: in both cases the track 
is a mere mule-path. For the former 
road, see Rte. 12, p. 286. 

Gagliano, situated on a lofty granite 
peak on the rt. side of a narrow valley 
and about half-way to Troina, is a small 
place of 3300 souls. It is supposed to 
be the ancient Galaria, a town of the 
Siculi, or of the Morgetes, who crossed 
from Italy at the same early period. 
Very little mention is made of Galaria 
in history. In 345 n.c. some succours it 
sent to Entella, then besieged by the 
Carthaginians, were cut to pieces while 
on their way to that city. In 312 n.c. 
it opened its gates to the Syracusan 
exiles under Diuocrates, who were soon 
driven out by Agathocles. In the year 
1300 Gagliano was the scene of the 
slaughter of 300 French knights in the 
service of Robert Duke of Calabria, 
who, from having sworn to conquer 
Blasco Alagona, the Sicilian chieftain, 
or perish in the attempt, were called the 
“ Knights of Death.” The governor 
of Gagliano feigned treachery to a 
French prisoner under his charge, and 
allowed him to write to Robert, then at 
Catania, informing him that the fortress 
would be delivered into his hands if he 
despatched a force against it. The go¬ 
vernor sent his own nephew to Catania 
to negotiate the matter, and thus re¬ 
moved all suspicion of treachery. 
Robert would have headed the expedi¬ 
tion had lie not been deterred at the 
last moment by the entreaties of his 
wife. It was night when the band ap¬ 
proached the castle, and they became 
aware that they were entrapped when 
the blast of trumpets and the war-cry 
of “ Blasco Alagona! ” told them of 
the close proximity of tiie enemy. 
They were urged to retreat at once 
to the plain, but refused to turn their 
backs on an invisible foe, and halted 
on the spot. Blasco generously re¬ 


frained from taking advantage of the 
night, and in the morning the French 
did not wait to be attacked, but rushed 
on the Sicilians, were overpowered 
by superior numbers, and were all cut 
to pieces. The French prisoner, who 
beheld the combat from the castle, in 
bis agony at having been the means of 
luring his countrymen to destruction, 
dashed out his brains against the walls 
of his prison. 


The road between S. Filippo and 
Regalbuto runs along a narrow and 
undulating ridge of yellow sandstone, 
which separates the valley of the 
Salso from a number of green hollows 
which open out on the vale of the 
Dittaino. Hedges of cactus and aloe 
border the road, and the slopes of the 
ridge are cultivated with corn, vines, 
olives, and almonds, but beyond, the 
landscape is wholly destitute of foliage. 
To the S. the hills roll down in green 
treeless waves towards the great plain 
of Catania; to the N., beyond the deep 
vale of the Salso, the mountains rise in 
bare and rugged steeps, nowhere re¬ 
lieved by woods, and their monotony 
is broken only by the abrupt granite 
peaks of Gagliano at the entrance of 
an opposite gorge, and the more dis¬ 
tant cones crested by the towns of Ni¬ 
cosia and Troina. In front the pictu¬ 
resque grey heights of Regalbuto and 
Centorbi, backed by Etna’s stupendous 
mass of lava and snow, are in view 
during the whole stage. An avenue 
of acacias leads up to 

132 m. Regalbuto. — Inn: “ Locanda 
di S. Francesco di Paola,” very small, 
and not too clean, but the people ex¬ 
tremely obliging. The town, which 
stands on the crest of a hill, is mean 
and poverty-stricken, yet has 8860 
inhabitants, and swarms with priests 
and idlers. The Chiesa Mat rice is a 
double church with an apse at each 
end, 2 cupolas, and 2 pairs of tran¬ 
septs. Sta. Maria della Croce has a 
neat facade of 2 orders. On the height 
overhanging the town stands an old 
tower, and on the verge of the hill on 






230 


■ROUTE 7. —CENTORBI. 


the other hand a large monastery, 
both adding much picturesque cha¬ 
racter to the scenery. The origin and 
name of the town are Saracenic, the 
latter signifying the “ village of Bu- 
tah.” Regalbuto was granted by 
Count Roger in 1080 in fee to the 
Bishop of Messina. In 1261 it was en¬ 
tirely burnt by the people of Centorbi, 
when they rebelled against Manfred, 
but "was rebuilt by that king in the 
following year. 

Regalbuto has been supposed to 
stand on the site of the ancient Ame- 
selum, a town which stood in a position 
of great natural strength between 
Centuripse and Agyrium, and was de¬ 
stroyed about the year 270 n.c. by 
Hieron II. in his wars with the Ma- 
mertines; but there are no vestiges of 
ancient habitation on the site to con¬ 
firm this supposition. 

From this town a path runs into the 
valley of the Salso, and forks westward 
to Nicosia, and northward to Troina, 
each about 18 m. distant. 

The country beyond Regalbuto is 
monotonous and uninteresting, if this 
can be said of any district so near 
Etna, which is constantly before you, 
rising at every step in vastness and 
sublimity. The bare isolated height of 
Centorbi rises to the rt., and the deep 
vale of the Salso, dreary with corn, 
lies beneath you to the 1.; and it is a 
tedious descent of 10 m. to the ford 
where you cross the river. At 7 m. 
from Regalbuto is 

139 m. Sisto, marked in the maps as 
a village, though it is only a solitary 
farm-house. Immediately above it rises 
the lofty height on which stands the 
hardly accessible town of Centorbi, and 
a steep and rugged path of 3 m. leads 
up to it. 


Centorbi. —-(Pop. 6500.) Inns — 
“Locanda della Pace ; ” “L. Nuova,” 
kept by Ciccio Messina ; both wretched 
enough; but the latter is to be pre¬ 
ferred for the glorious view of Etna 
it commands. This town is as difficult 
of access as could well be desired in 
the most troubled times. A road, 5 m. 


in length, practicable for carriages, but 
formidably rugged, leads up by many 
windings from the banks of the Salso, 
where the high road to Catania fords 
it, 3 m. beyond Sisto. A still steeper 
but more direct path, deserving its 
name of “ Scalazza,” mounts the height 
from the same side, and ,is some 2 m. 
shorter. The lower slopes are bare or 
covered only with corn; the upper with 
vines, orchards, and plantations of cac¬ 
tus. For loftiness of site Centorbi may 
vie with Castrogiovanni and Monte San 
Giuliano; with the latter of which it 
was compared in ancient times— 

“ Necnon altus Eryx, necnon e vertice celso 
Centuripae ”—Sil. Ital.— 

though in the singularity of its posi¬ 
tion it finds no parallel. Tiie height 
on which it stands, instead of being a 
table-land, as it appears from below, 
is broken up by deep hollows and 
basins into a series of ridges, the town 
crowning the principal one, which is in 
the form of a double crescent, while 5 
others project from it in different direc¬ 
tions. The ridge on which Centorbi 
stands is extremely steep, often preci¬ 
pitous, and in no part wide enougli to 
allow room for more thon a single 
street. One spur stretches out to the 
N.E. towards Etna; a 2nd to the N. 
overhangs the vale of the Salso, and 
on this is a high cone of yellow rock 
called the Calvario; a 3rd, to the 
N.W., projects towards Regalbuto; a 
4th, to the S., is terminated by the 
Campo Santo; and the last, to the 
S.E., is crested by the Palazzo di Cor- 
rado, and points to Augusta, whose 
headland is distinctly visible beyond 
the wide plain of Catania. The crest 
of the mountain is composed of a yellow 
sandy tufa alternating with grey lime¬ 
stone in horizontal strata. Beneath 
this is a stratum of marine concretions 
of great beauty and variety. 

Centorbi occupies the site of the an¬ 
cient Centuripa, one of the chief for¬ 
tresses of the Siculi. It is first men¬ 
tioned in history in the year 414 n.c., 
when the Athenians marched their 
whole force against it, and induced 
it to enter into alliance with them 
against Syracuse. It may have been 






ROUTE 7.—CENTORBI. 


231 


a few years later that Gellias was sent 
hither on an embassy from Agrigentum, 
ancl that he made his well-known re¬ 
tort. On his entering the assembly of 
the Centuripans, his diminutive size 
and mean appearance, so discordant 
with his great reputation, provoked a 
general burst of laughter. He replied 
to the insult with this sarcasm : that 
their mirth was not to be wondered at, 
since it was the custom of the Agrigen- 
tines to send their finest and hand¬ 
somest men as ambassadors to the most 
illustrious cities, but to those that were 
mean and of little note they deputed 
such as himself. This taunt must be 
understood, however, with reference to 
the Greek colonies, not to the cities 
of the Siculi, of which Centuripa was 
one of the most important. Its pos¬ 
session or alliance was coveted by the 
tyrants of Syracuse, from Dionysius to 
Hieron II.; but it was never subject 
to that power save for a short time 
during the reign of Agatliocles. It 
was under the Romans that Centuripa 
attained its greatest importance, and 
became one of the largest and wealth¬ 
iest cities in all Sicily, numbering 
10,000 citizens, wdiose fidelity, honesty, 
and bravery were highly lauded by 
Cicero. They excelled in agriculture, 
and possessed land in almost every part 
of the island. They were miserably 
despoiled of their wealth by the praetor 
Verres. Centuripa v 7 as the birthplace 
of Celsus, the celebrated physician of 
antiquity. The town continued to 
exist till in 1233 it was rased to the 
ground by the Emperor Frederick II. in 
punishment for rebellion, and Augusta 
was built from its ruins. 

The modern town sprung up three 
centuries later on the ancient site; 
and still preserves some remains of 
the Roman city. Below the church 
of S. Nicolo di Bari, and facing the 
E., are considerable remains of the 
ancient walls, with small square towers 
projecting at intervals. Below the 
town to the N., at the entrance by the 
“ Scalazza,” is a vaulted building of 
Roman construction, vulgarly called 
the Dogma, or Custom-house; pro¬ 
bably from its position just outside the 
walls. As you enter the town by the 


little church of Santa Maddalena, you 
see a piece of mosaic pavement in the 
road itself. In this neighbourhood 
also are remains of a cistern and of 
suudry other structures. In front of the 
Chiesa Mcitrice are many fragments of 
columns of cippollino and marble. In 
the Sacristy of this church is a cinerary 
urn of marble of Roman date. In 
front of the Casa di Civilta, or town- 
hall, is a Corinthian column of white 
marble with a beautiful capital and 
buried base. Another fragment of a 
large edifice within the town has re¬ 
ceived the name of La Panneria. The 
convent of Sant' Agostino, the only 
one in Centorbi, stands on the remains 
of a mediaeval castle, of Saracenic or 
Norman construction. The tourist 
will always meet with a welcome from 
the monks, whose hospitality has been 
gratefully acknowledged by travellers 
for nearly a century past. At the ex¬ 
tremity of the spur of the hill beyond 
it, stands a ruin, vulgarly called Pa¬ 
lazzo di Corrado, and tradition states it 
to have been erected by that prince for 
his residence. It is a small oblong 
building on a high stylobate, with 
moulded base and cornice, and appears, 
to have been a Roman temple. The 
Church of the Crucifix stands on ancient 
substructions. Beneath a private house 
are some subterranean chambers of ma¬ 
sonry vaulted with brick, of Roman date. 

Though Centorbi was not a Greek site, 
excavations in the tombs around have 
yielded an abundance of painted vases 
of Greek art, together with ornaments 
in gold and silver, and numerous little 
statues in terracotta, besides articles 
in bronze. In the city and its vicinity 
have been brought to light many frag¬ 
ments of architecture and statues, while 
coins, silver and bronze, with gems and 
cameos, are found in greater abun¬ 
dance, and of more beauty, it is said, 
than on any other site in the island, 
Syracuse excepted. The Prince of 
Biscari greatly enriched his museum 
at Catania by his excavations at Cen¬ 
torbi. 

About a mile below the town to the 
N. are the remains of an ancient bath, 
with 5 large chambers, one of which 
still contains seats for the bathers. 




232 ROUTE 7. —PONTE I>’ ARAGONA—SALTO DEL TECOUARO. 


The ancient road from Centorbi to 
Catania appears to have run through 
Paterno, and at 0 m. below the former 
town, where it crossed the Simeto, 
are to be seen the ruins of a Roman 
bridge. It now lies almost buried in 
the earth on the 1. bank, the river 
having somewhat changed its bed in 
the course of ages. It appears to 
have had 7 arches, which were con¬ 
structed of brick on piers of lava ma¬ 
sonry. 


At 3 m. beyond Sisto the road fords 
the Flume Salso, which here flows 
between banks of yellow limestone, 
but below the ford it enters a deep 
bed worn through a mass of grey 
lava, on its way to join the Simeto 
below Aderno. Piers on both its 
banks mark the existence of a bridge 
at some recent period. Nothing here 
intervenes to shut out the view of 
Etna, which the eye now embraces in 
all its immensity, from base to summit. 
It here appears to rest on a high table¬ 
land, "which breaks off into steep cliffs, 
on whose verge hangs the town of 
Aderno. The road now crosses a 
corn-plain, leaving the hamlet of Car- 
caci, which gives its name to a duke, 
together with a casino of the Prince 
of Biscari, about a mile to the 1., and 
at the 144th m. reaches the Simeto, 
which it crosses by a bridge partly of 
stone and partly of wood, which has 
the singular appellation of Ponte di 
Maccaroni. 

Half a mile above this bridge the 
Simeto is crossed by a lofty aqueduct, 
which is also a bridge, and is known 
by the name of 

Ponte Cdrcaci, or Ponte d' Aragona. 
This aqueduct has 30 high narrow 
arches, and one large one in the 
centre, spanning the stream. It is 
constructed partly of masonry, but 
principally of brick and rubble, which 
gives it a red appearance, and it is 
evidently of mediaeval date. It is a 
lofty and imposing structure, stretch¬ 
ing completely across the corn-clad 
hollow, and for size and grandeur may 
compete with similar works of Roman 
times. The stream flows through a 


bed of lava, and a little above the 
Ponte issues from a gorge between 
cliffs of lava, which at the distance of 
1J m. above the aqueduct is so nar¬ 
row, that it takes the name of Salto 
del Pullcello, or the “ Flea’s Leap.” 
Half a mile further up, the gorge 
narrows still more, and at this spot is 
called Salto del Pecoraro, from a tra¬ 
dition that a shepherd once cleared it 
at a bound. The lava is the stream 
of 1610, and its appearance proves it 
to be of recent date. It not only 
filled up the channel of the river for 
some distance, but accumulated also 
on the opposite side of the valley. 
Through this lava, in the course ot 
21 centuries, the Simeto has worked 
itself a new bed, in parts 40 or 
50 ft. deep, and from 50 to several 
hundred feet in width. The narrowest 
part is where there are 2 small water¬ 
falls. “ The portion of lava cut through 
is in no part porous or scoriaceous, but 
consists of a compact homogeneous 
mass of hard blue rock, somewhat in¬ 
ferior in weight to ordinary basalt, 
and containing crystals of olivine and 
felspar. On entering the narrow 
ravine, where the water foams down 
the 2 cataracts, we are entirely shut 
out from all view of the surrounding- 
country, and a geologist, who is ac¬ 
customed to associate the characteris¬ 
tic features of the landscape with the 
relative age of certain rocks, can 
scarcely dissuade himself from the 
belief that he is contemplating a 
scene in some rocky gorge of a pri¬ 
mary district. The external forms of 
the hard blue lava are as massive as 
any of the trap-rocks of Scotland. 
The solid surface is in some parts 
smoothed and almost polished by 
attrition, and covered in others with a 
white lichen, which imparts to it an 
air of extreme antiquity, so as greatly 
to heighten the delusion. But the 
moment we reascend the cliff the 
spell is broken; for we scarcely recede 
a few paces before the ravine and 
river disappear, and we stand on the 
black and rugged surface of a vast 
current of lava, which seems unbroken, 
and which we can trace up nearly to 
the distant summit of that majestic 




ROUTE 7. -ADERNO-CASTLE. 


233 


oonc "which Pindar called ' the pillar 
of heaven.’ ”— Lyell. Some 2 or 3 m. 
higher up, an old Roman bridge of a 
single arch spans the stream; though 
of no great size, it goes by the name 
of Ponte Grancle. It is constructed of 
blocks of lava without cement. 

These wonders of nature and art 
are most accessible from the high road 
at this point. There is a fondaco at 
the Ponte di Maccaroni, where the 
traveller’s beasts may bait while he 
makes the excursion; as to his own 
comforts, he will be fortunate if he 
finds here drinkable wine, and the 
national dish which gives its name to 
the bridge and hostelry. 

In crossing the Simeto you step on the 
base of Etna. Lava lies by the roadside, 
and the river flows on beneath high 
cliffs of lava towards Paterae and the 
great plain of Catania. The ascent to 
Adorno is very steep and tedious, wind¬ 
ing up the corn-clad lava-strewn slope 
for 4 m. before it reaches the table¬ 
land on whose brow that town is built. 
Just outside the walls it passes a medi¬ 
aeval aqueduct of 11 arches, and the 
Gotliic ch. of La Consolazione , in 
ruins. The view from this spot, look¬ 
ing over the valley of the Simeto, and 
up that of the Salso, with Troina to 
the rt. and Centorbi to the 1., each on 
its lofty height, is one of the most 
splendid among the countless scenes 
of nature’s glory which encircle this 
monarch of volcanoes. 

148 m. Aderno. —Inns : “ Locanda 
dell’ Aquila d’ Oro,” in the Piazza del 
Castello, kept by D. Diego Velastro, 
the sindaco, or mayor of the town, is 
the best. It is very clean, and appears 
a paradise after the horrors of the lo- 
eande at Castrogiovanni, and most 
other sites in the interior. The charges 
are moderate. “ L. dell’ Etna,” in tlie 
main street; “ Albergo di Sicilia,” by 
Gaetano Chidvaro, at the end ot the 
town; clean and decent. 

Adernb is a dull town, with 12,222 
inhabitants, a large part of whom are 
ecclesiastics of both sexes. “ It is a 
perfect nest of convents and nunneries, 
originally founded by the Normans. 


Nothing is to be seen around but 
heavy walls, perforated by grated 
windows, at which the pale face and 
white head-dress of the nuns furtively 
peeped out; nothing to be heard but 
bells summoning them to their reli¬ 
gious exercises.”— Bartlett. The prin¬ 
cipal convent is that of Santa Lucia , 
on the public promenade, a structure 
of imposing size, and of 3 orders, but 
of flat architecture, built of lava and 
white stone, with an ugly portal 
flanked by lava columns. The ch. is 
elliptical, with a dome of that form. 
It assumed its present shape in 1775. 
The convent is the representative of 
one founded in 1157, for Benedictine 
nuns, by Adelasia, granddaughter of 
Count Boger. That stood at some dis¬ 
tance from the town, but falling into de¬ 
cay, the community was removed to this 
more convenient site in 1596. Of the 
original building not a trace remains. 

Collegiata, a neat ch., close to the 
Castle, has 16 Roman Doric columns 
of grey granite, which are said to have 
been taken from the celebrated Temple 
of Hadranus on this site. S. Pietro 
contains several pictures by Zoppo di 
Gcinci. None of the other churches are 
worthy of notice. 

Castle .—In the piazza stands the 
Castle, a fine square lofty tower of 
Norman times, now converted into a 
prison. It is constructed of rubble, 
and coigned with neat ashlar. It is 
surmounted by macliieolated battle¬ 
ments, and surrounded, at some height 
from the ground, by a rampart, at 
each angle of which rises a small cir¬ 
cular turret. The original doors and 
windows, now mostly blocked up, were 
round-headed. The entrance is by a 
modern gate, surmounted by a marble 
bust, vulgarly supposed to represent 
Count Roger, the founder of the castle ; 
and the staircase is flanked by quaint 
lions in lava, bearing the shields of 
the old barons of Adernb. The 
two lower floors contain dungeons; 
the upper part of the tower is now 
in ruins. On the second floor was 
the principal hall, with rounded win¬ 
dows opening in walls of immense 
thickness, and with a fireplace recessed 



234 


ROUTE 7.-ADERNO—BIANCA VILLA—LICODIA. 


in the same. Out of this hall opens a 
small chapel, with vaults pointed and 
groined, but with a circular arch in 
the apse. On the -walls are remains 
of quaint frescoes; one representing 
Adelasia relieving the poor at the gate 
of her nunnery of Santa Lucia. The 
original entrance, now blocked up, is 
pointed, and shows the dog-tooth 
moulding. 

Aderno occupies the site of Aclra- 
num or Hadranum, a small town 
founded by Dionysius of Syracuse, 
400 b.c., and taking its name from a 
temple which existed on the spot 
from very remote times, and was dedi¬ 
cated to Adranus, a deity highly 
venerated throughout ancient Sicily. 
In 345 b.c. Hicetas of Syracuse was 
defeated by Timoleon beneath the 
walls of this town. Some vestiges of 
that celebrated temple are supposed to 
exist on a spot a little to the S. of the 
castle, and now called Gastellemi. 
Here, in the garden of Signor Salvatore 
Palermo, are some substructions of 
regular and massive lava masonry, 
without cement, which may either have 
been the basement of the temple, or a 
portion of the city-walls ; and here are 
also scattered traces of other ancient 
edifices. Not far hence, outside the 
town, stands the church of Santa Maria 
della Scala, upon ancient foundations. 
At Foggiuta , 1 m. eastward of the 
town, are the ruins of a large and im¬ 
posing structure of Roman brick-work, 
which appears to have belonged to 
Thermae. At a short distance are the 
remains of a smaller edifice. Outside 
the town, near the Capuchin Convent, 
is a vaulted sepulchre of massive con¬ 
struction ; and many other tombs 
have been excavated in the neigh¬ 
bourhood of Aderno, in which vases, 
coins, &c. have been discovered. A 
collection of these antiquities may be 
seen in the house of Don Antonino 
Alcona. 

The environs of Aderno, though 
devastated at various periods by the 
lava of eruptions, especially in 1610, 
show luxuriant cultivation. The coun¬ 
try beyond the town to the E. is 
broken by lava streams in every stage 


of decomposition, some black and 
naked, others half veiled by heath, 
broom, or cactus, and others bearing 
rich crops of corn, flax, or oil, which 
stretch far up the slope of Etna, to¬ 
wards the many cones which stud 
this flank of the mountain. The road 
to Catania runs along the edge of the 
table-land on wliich Aderno is built, for 
3 m. to 

151 m. Biancavilla , a town of 10,700 
inhabitants, which contains nothing of 
interest, but produces the best cotton 
in Sicily. The road thence descends 
the shoulder of Etna towards Paterno, 
conspicuous on its isolated height at 
the base of the mountain. No inn. 
Around the town is some cultivation 
of vines and almonds; but, after skirt¬ 
ing a group of lava-cones, the road 
traverses wild tracts of lava or volcanic 
ash, where the com and olive have to 
struggle for existence, and descends, 
passing through the little town of 

154 m. Santa Maria di Licodia (pop. 
2200), a group of low, wretched hovels 
situated on the verge of the plateau, 
and among rugged beds of lava, which 
in parts takes prismatic forms. No inn, 
only a posthouse, where the corner a 
changes horses. The name of the town 
seems to indicate a Greek origin ; and 
it is supposed by the local antiquaries 
to occupy the site of the ancient city of 
JEtna, which stood at the base of the 
mountain, between Catana and Cen- 
turipa, though the distance, only 80 
stadia, at which Strabo places it from 
the former city, will not accord with 
the position of Licodia. At less than 
1 m. from Licodia, are the remains of 
an ancient reservoir, called Capo 
d’Acqua, as being the source of the 
springs by which Catana was of old 
supplied with water. It is a spacious 
vaulted chamber, and the water on 
leaving it flowed underground for 
some distance, and then was carried 
across a valley in an aqueduct of many 
arches, a great portion of which is stiil 
extant. At 2 m. from Licodia the 
road crosses a lava-torrent, now covered 
with cactus, and descends through 
orange and almond-groves, and a tract 



ROUTE 7 . -PATERNO-THE CASTLE. 


235 


of most luxuriant cultivation, to Pa- 
terno, leaving to the 1. Monte Scalilla, 
one of the many extinct cones on the 
slopes of Etna. 

159 m. Paterno. Inns: two—that 
called “ Locanda del Leon d’Oro,” in 
the piazza, is the better, but enjoys no 
good reputation for comfort or cleanli¬ 
ness. Paterno is a long straggling 
place of 14,464 inhabitants, and owes 
its origin to Count Roger, who built a 
fortress here in 1073, during the time 
he was laying siege to Catania. The 
town, which lies at the foot of this for¬ 
tress, consists of little more than one 
long street of unfinished houses, termi¬ 
nated by the domed church of La 
Badia, which stands in a piazza at the 
foot of the castle-liill, admass of black 
lava stained with orange-coloured lichen, 
and sprinkled with cactus. 

The Castle .—“ The keep is the only 
part of the castle which remains, and it 
stands on the brink of the precipice. It 
is a huge oblong pile, very lofty, and per¬ 
fect to the top. The walls are extremely 
thick, built of rubble with ashlar 
eoignes. The door, which seems to 
have been the original entrance, is small, 
on the second story, and was probably 
approached by a moveable staircase. 
In the next story is a row of small, 
double, round-headed windows, divided 
by a single pillar. In the fourth story, 
at a very considerable height from the 
ground, is a large, four-centred arch, 
containing within it two pointed arches 
divided by a column. 

“ Having entered the keep by a 
modern door, we climbed up a narrow 
staircase, and found that the lower 
row of small windows lighted a long 
hall with a stone pointed vault, with¬ 
out groinings. There are stone benches 
along the walls, small recesses between 
the windows, and, at the upper end, a 
large projecting fireplace. In the 
stone floor is an aperture through 
which prisoners were probably let 
down into the dungeons below. In 
this story are other vaulted rooms, 
one of which has some appearance of 
having been used as a eliapel. 

“Ascending to the fourth story we 


found a large and loftier vaulted hall, 
running transversely through the build¬ 
ing, from side to side, and lighted at 
each end by the windows contained 
in the pointed arches. Out of this 
hall open several small vaulted rooms, 
annexed to one of which is an oratory. 
All the doorways of these rooms are 
pointed. Ascending again, we went 
oi±t upon the roof, which is flat, and 
has a parapet, affording a space where 
the female inmates of the castle might 
enjoy the refreshment of the evening 
breeze. 

“ This keep, in its external shape 
and internal distribution, resembles the 
keeps of the North. It cannot have 
been part of the original fortress, 
which appears to have been hastily 
built for the reception of troops, but 
must have been subsequently con¬ 
structed for the habitation of the 
feudal lord. There is reason to believe 
that the more ancient parts of the 
keep were in existence before 1145, at 
which time the castle was in the pos¬ 
session of William, afterwards King of 
Sicily, to whom Paterno was granted, 
with other fiefs, in the lifetime of his 
father. When William succeeded to 
the throne, the castle and town of 
Paterno again became a part of the 
royal domains, and continued in the 
liands of the Crown till 1457, when 
both were sold by king Alfonso to 
William Moncada, Count of Adernb. 
The keep was occupied by persons of 
the first consequence down to the 16th 
century, and was, doubtless, remodelled 
by its noble proprietors at different 
periods, which would sufficiently ac¬ 
count for the varieties of its style. In 
so complete a state of preservation, it 
possesses great interest, as affording a 
specimen of the sort of habitation in 
which the grandees of the middle ages 
were wont to reside !’—Gaily Knight. 
The castle is now used as a prison. 

Hard by the Castle is the Chiesa Ma- 
trice, an ugly modern building. On the 
same hill is also the Capuchin Convent; 
and close to it that of the Franciscans, 
whose church is of pointed architec¬ 
ture, now much modernised, but its 
foundation is attributed to Count Roger 
in the year 1086, after his conquest 






236 


ROUTE 7.-PATERNO—ANCIENT REMAINS. 


of Catania and Castrogiovanni. The 
-church was raised to the dignity of a 
royal chapel by King Roger, conse¬ 
crated in 1114, and attached to the 
■convent of St. Francis in 1343. In 
the Sacristy is shown the mummy of 
a celebrated Countess or Princess of 
Paterno, who lived some centuries since. 
At the extremity of the hill to the 
S.W., by the little chapel of Our Lady 
of Consolation, are some ruins, called 
from the same countess, the Palazzo 
della Contessci. On the slope of the 
hill below the castle, stands the Bene¬ 
dictine Convent , whose church is of 
Norman foundation, though the door 
alone shows the architecture of that 
period. It was founded in 1070 by 
Adelasia, wife of Count Roger, under 
the title of “ St. Mary of the Valley 
of Jehosapliat,” the spot in which the 
Virgin was buried, and the supposed 
site of her assumption ; and it was 
consecrated in 1123. 

Paterno is considered by Cluver 
and other antiquaries to be the repre¬ 
sentative of Hijbla Major, one of the 
several Sicilian towns called Hybla, 
between which much confusion has 
arisen. At least Paterno claims to be 
the Hybla of the Siculi which lay 
between Catana and Centuripa, and 
whose territory was ravaged by the 
Athenians just before they laid siege 
to Syracuse in 415 b.c. This opinion 
is confirmed by the discovery, on the 
spot, of an altar bearing the inscrip¬ 
tion, “ Veneri Victrici Hyblensi,” 
now preserved in the Biscari museum 
at Catania. We hear little of this 
town in history. Of all the Siculan 
cities of the interior, it alone refused 
to join Ducetius in a league against 
the Greeks. In 211 b.c., during the 
Second Punic War, it revolted to the 
Carthaginians, but was speedily re¬ 
covered by the Romans. 

Within the town there are no remains 
of antiquity beyond some mosaic pave¬ 
ment on the spot called Lo Spedale, ex¬ 
tending under several houses. In vari¬ 
ous places in the neighbourhood, how¬ 
ever, are traces of classic days. Beneath 
the castle-hill, on the W., are some 
fragments of an aqueduct; and further 


portions are to be seen near the ferry 
over the Simeto, as well as ruins of 
other structures. Immediately below 
Paterno are the remains of a Roman 
bridge of 2 arches, which spanned the 
Simeto, and connected this town with 
Centuripa ; and on a hill beyond, called 
Castelluzzo, are numerous tombs exca¬ 
vated in the rock ; also 2 cisterns or 
reservoirs sunk in the level ground 
on its summit. About a mile from 
Paterno, on the Alessi estate, are the 
remains of an ancient bath; and on 
the spot called 17 Priolo is a fragment 
of massive walling of large irregular 
masonry. 

In the Contrada di Bella Cortina , 
about 3 miles distant, towards Licodia, 
are remains of Thermae, which appear 
to have been on an extensive and mag¬ 
nificent scale. In the same Contrada, 
and on the slope of Etna, not far from 
Paterno, is a curious cavern, partly 
natural, partly artificial, which, from 
the strange noises that issue from it, 
has received the name of Grotto, del 
Fracasso. These sounds are caused by 
a stream which, fed by the snows of 
Etna, precipitates itself into the cavern, 
and flows away in a subterranean pas¬ 
sage till it reappears in a small pool 
at some 100 yards’ distance. 

Beautiful alabaster, of green and 
brown hues, is found in the neigh¬ 
bourhood of Paterno, particularly in 
the Vallone di S. Blasi. In the lime¬ 
stone rocks near the town, some 30 
years since, was discovered the tusk 
of a mastodon, G or 7 feet in length, 
now preserved in the museum of the 
Accademia Gioenia at Catania. 

From Paterno the road ascends for 
a mile or two, crossing an old bed of 
lava, sufficiently pulverised to nourish 
an irregular cultivation of olives, al¬ 
monds, and prickly pears. To this 
succeeds a vast plain of corn, lying at 
the base of Etna, whose slopes rise 
streaked with streams of black naked 
lava, enclosing patches of luxuriant 
vegetation. In the plain, about 4 m. 
from Paterno, and just to the rt. of the 
road, one of those spectacles so rare 
out of Sicily meets the eye. The de¬ 
serted town of Belpasso Vecchio, now 



ROUTE 7 . -MOTTA SANTA ANASTASIA. 


237 


in utter ruin, forms a dark patch of 
gloom in the midst of the smiling corn. 
Just before reaching it, and near an 
aqueduct which spans a hollow, in a 
series of 13 arches, and is called Acqua 
Corriente , a road branches to the modern 
toAvn of Belpasso, which lies 3 m. to 
the 1. on the lower slopes of Etna, 
above an expanse of brown lava. The 
original town also stood on the slopes 
of the mountain, and from the abund¬ 
ance of honey in its neighbourhood 
bore the name of Mel Passo. The 
fertility of the country around it having 
been injured by an eruption, the name 
was changed to Mai Passo; and the 
town being utterly destroyed b} 7 the 
lava of 16G9, the inhabitants removed 
into this plain, designating their new 
town Bel Passo, from its happy secu¬ 
rity from the fiery torrents of Etna. 
After a time, however, they became 
dissatisfied with their situation, found 
that they suffered from malaria, sighed 
for the more fertile uplands of the 
volcano, and preferring the doubtful 
terrors of the mountain to the certain 
evils of the plain, re-settled on a site 
not far from that of the original town. 

Beyond Belpasso Vecchio the road 
ascends through a country luxuriantly 
cultivated witli vines, olives, and al¬ 
monds; and after some distance, a 
branch opens to the it. to the town of 
Motta, whose feudal castle crowns an 
isolated height, a mile from the high 
road. 

Motta Santa Anastasia, a small town 
of 2400 souls, which has sprung up 
around a fortress erected, it is said, by 
Count Roger. It commands a magni¬ 
ficent prospect over the wide plain of 
Catania, watered by the winding Si- 
meto, and hounded by the mountains 
of Lentini in the southern horizon. 
The castle stands on the verge of a 
steep volcanic cliff, and the village lies 
behind it on the ridge of rock which 
connects the cliff with the high ground 
to the N. With its battlemented tower 
cresting the steep, and a large ch. by 
its side, the castle is a striking feature 
in the sceneiy of this district. It 
has 3 stories, the lower one being con¬ 
structed of lava masonry, the upper 


of rubble, coigned with lava. The 
windows in the 2nd story are pointed; 
in the upper, square-headed. There 
is no architectural decoration, either 
within or without the tower. Yet the 
ruin is of great interest in Sicilian 
history, as the scene of the imprison¬ 
ment of D. Bernardo Cabrera, Count 
of Modica, the proud Spanish noble 
who, at the commencement of the 
loth century, long kept Sicily in a 
state of ferment by his aspirations to 
the crown, making at the same time 
fierce war against and fiercer love to 
the beautiful Queen Bianca. When 
at length Bernardo fell into the hands 
of his enemies, they confined him in 
this fortress, which was one of his own 
fiefs. Here he was at first placed in 
a subterranean dungeon, which had 
been the cistern of the castle. Soon 
after, heavy rain began to fall, and 
Sancho Ruiz, the Grand Admiral, to 
whose charge he was committed, ordered 
the water to be let into the cistern, to 
the gPeat dismay of Bernardo, who, 
when lie saw his bed afloat and the 
water still rising, began to shout lustily 
for assistance. He shouted long in 
vain, but at length, when the water 
had risen almost to his neck, some one 
answered his cries from the mouth of 
the cistern, and hastening to inform 
Sancho, the poor Count was at length 
drawn forth in a pitiable condition, 
to the great amusement of his enemies. 
He was then transferred to another 
dungeon, gloomier and fouler than the 
last, and in his despair he sought to 
bribe the gaoler by the promise of 1000 
pieces of gold if he would assist him to 
escape. The man gave information to 
Sancho, who advised him to listen to 
the Count’s proposals, but to insist on 
the money being counted into his hand 
before he could let him go. Bernardo 
communicated with his friends, who 
brought the money secretly to the 
castle, and handed it over to the 
gaoler. The next night being cloudy, 
and favourable to the project, Ber¬ 
nardo, in his breeches alone, without 
an upper garment, was let down from 
one of the windows by the gaoler; but 
half-way on his descent he encoun¬ 
tered a huge net, spread to receive 



238 


ROUTE 7 . 


■MISTERBIANCO. 


him, which being drawn up over his 
head left him suspended in mid air. 
Fierce but impotent was his rage at 
this disappointment. Ho called on 
his treacherous gaoler to draw him up 
again to his prison, or to let him drop 
■over the precipice beneath, but his 
cries were unheeded, anti he was kept 
for a whole day dangling, half-naked, 
from the window, a laughing-stock to 
his foes, who subjected him to the 
greatest indignities. 

The rock on which Motta stands 
is a mass of lava and volcanic breccia, 
breaking off to the S. in a perpendi¬ 
cular cliff, hung with cactus. At the 
base are some traces of grey basalt, in 
columns of no regular forms; but so 
small a portion of the whole mass is 
of this character, that a careful observer 
alone would distinguish the basalt from 
the lava above it. The site is supposed 
to have been inhabited in ancient days, 
from the Greek inscriptions and other 
remains that have been discovered in 
the neighbourhood. » 

From Motta a country path of m., 
through a narrow cultivated valley, 
leads to Misterbianco. But the ap¬ 
proach to that town by the high road 
is much more striking. The ground 
is picturesquely broken; vines and 
olive-trees clothe the undulations. Sud¬ 
denly, from a ridge called Monte Tir- 
rWi, the wide bare plain, with the' 
Simeto snaking through it, comes into 
view, lying at the base of the long 
rugged slope of Etna; the domes of 
Catania are seen in front, rising above 
dark groves of olives ; Lentini and 
Carlentini are distinguishable among 
the distant heights which bound the 
plain to the S.; Motta, with castle and 
church cresting its bold steep, forms 
a romantic termination of the scene 
to the rt., and Misterbianco, with 
its long-drawn street, opens through 
the olive-trees as you descend the 
slope. 

About 300 yds. to the 1. of the road 
before reaching this town, at a spot 
called Erbe Blanche, between 2 heights 
of lava, are the remains of a quadri¬ 
lateral edifice of Roman construction; 
and on the more northerly of the 


mounds are vestiges of another ancient 
building of huge blocks of lava, rudely 
squared. 

Some 100 yds. before reaching Mis¬ 
terbianco, on the 1. of the road, are 
the remains of ancient Tliermx, with 
many chambers, of which the cali- 
dariurn , with its pavement raised on 
low pillars of bricks, and 2 circular 
sudatoria surrounded by seats, are in 
tolerable preservation. These ruins 
are vulgarly known by the name of 
“ Damusi," or dungeons. 

On the height on the opposite side 
of the road, and just above the first 
houses in the town, is an ancient con¬ 
duit, constructed of opus incertum, witli 
a circular vault. The cross on the 
high ground just above it commands 
a panorama of wonderful extent and 
beauty. 

167 m. Misterbianco. The name of 
this town, which sounds strangely in 
English ears, is a corruption of Monas- 
terio Bianco, a convent which gave its 
name to the original town, and was 
destroyed with it by the eruption of 
1669. The hill on which the present 
town stands is a lava-stream of much 
earlier date, bearing a luxuriant culti¬ 
vation of vines, figs, olives, and cacti. 
Though a small town of mean houses, 
and of only 4700 souls, it gives its 
name to a duke of the Trigona family. 
There is nothing of interest in the 
churches. The view of Etna, how¬ 
ever, from this spot, is magnificent. 
High on its slope, and rising above a 
vast sea of olive- groves, which darken 
its base, are the twin craters of Monti 
Rossi, so called from the deep red 
scoriae about their lips, from which 
issued the lava that overwhelmed Ca¬ 
tania in 1669, and whose black rugged 
beds you traverse all the way from 
Misterbianco to that city. Other craters 
of less prominence, but telling similar 
tales of desolation, stud the mountain 
side, scattered over the Woody Region, 
and above them soars the crest shrouded 
in snow, ashes, smoke, or clouds. De¬ 
scending into a plain of corn and vines, 
you have on the 1. the hill of Santa 
Sofia, an extinct crater of whose forma¬ 
tion there is no record. On the other 



ROUTE 8.—PALERMO TO SCIACCA. 


239 


hand are vine-covered hills studded 
with villas and farms; one of them is 
Monte CardiUo, on whose summit are 
the remains of a triangular structure 
of large squared masonry, whose pur¬ 
pose it is not easy to determine. On 
the slope, some 80 yds. below the 
summit, are other ruins, and 2 reser¬ 
voirs of massive construction. To the 
E. of this height is a smaller eminence, 
called Monte Po, on which vestiges of 
a square edifice of large masonry are 
extant. 

The road here crosses the extremity 
of the broad lava stream which de¬ 
scended from the Monti Rossi in 1669, 
and stopped in the hollow to the rt., 
which is bounded by low hills of clay 
covered with vines, corn, and olives. 
The lava itself, though nearly 2 cen¬ 
turies have elapsed since it issued from 
the mountain, is not yet sufficiently 
pulverised to prove productive to more 
than broom, spurge, cactus, and orange- 
coloured lichen, though in the hollows 
a few fruit-trees are struggling for ex¬ 
istence. A long descent, ending in an 
avenue of acacias, leads you to Catania, 
which you enter by the imposing gate¬ 
way, now called “ Porta Fortino.” 

171 m. Catania. (See Rte. 26, 
p. 387.) 


ROUTE 8. 


PALERMO TO SCIACCA, BY CORLEONE. 


Palermo to Parco .. 

Miles. 

Parco to Piana de’ Greci 

. 9 

Piana to Ficuzza .. 

.11 

Ficuzza to Corleone 


Corleone to Bisacquino 

.12 

Bisacquino to Cliiusa ., 

2 

Cliiusa to Caltabellotta 

. 12 

Caltabellotta to Sciacca 

. 12 

- 

77 

Or, 

— 

Corleone to Contessa . 


Contessa to Sambuca . 


Sambuca to Sciacca 

. 14 

The cor Her a runs 

71 

from Palermo to 


Corleone every Tuesday, Thursday, 
and Saturday in 9 hours; fare, 1 ducat 
80 bajocchi, or 1J dollar; and returns 
every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 
at daybreak, reaching the capital at 
20 o’clock. This vehicle in fine weather 
continues beyond Corleone to Bisac- 
quino and Cliiusa, which it reaches in 11 
hrs., beyond which town the road is not 
carriageable. There is also a diligence 
which takes the road of Misilmeri and 
Marineo, and falls into the above line 
between Piana and Ficuzza. The road 
from Palermo, as far as the royal re¬ 
sidence of Ficuzza, was opened by 
Ferdinand I. during his forced exile 
in Sicily; it was continued to Corleone 
by his son Francis I. in 1828, and the 
remainder, as far as Cliiusa, has been 
rendered practicable for vehicles, only 
within the last few years. 

The road leaves Palermo by the 
Porta Nuova, crosses the Piana di 
Sta. Teresa, traverses the rich plain 
for 3 m., when it crosses the Oreto 
by a bridge of 4 arches, restored 
by Charles II. of Spain in 1673. It 
then ascends, and hedged with aloes 
and prickly pears, and bordered by 
neat villas embosomed in luxuriant 
orchards, it skirts the base of the 













240 


ROUTE 8.-PARCO—PI ANA DE GRECI. 


ragged steep mountains which hem 
in the vale of Palermo to the E. Just 
before reaching Parco it crosses the 
mouth of the deep wild gorge of Ite- 
buto, which separates Monte Falcone 
from Monte Alto, and whose hollow 
is filled with fruit-trees. 

7 m. Parco (pop. 3000) received its 
name from the royal preserves which 
existed here in the time of William II., 
and in which that monarch was wont 
to indulge his passion for the chase. 
Frederick II. in 1307 built a monastery 
for Cistercian monks on this spot, and 
a population sprung up around it as 
usual. There is nothing of interest 
in the town—no decent locanda, or 
house of refreshment, above a mere 
wine-shop. The men, on festas, dress 
in blue velveteen, with hessian boots; 
the women in gay-coloured gowns, 
with bright red or yellow shawls. 
Parco, like Monreale on the opposite 
side of the valley, stands on an emi¬ 
nence, and commands a splendid view 
of Palermo, its plain, Monte Pellegrino, 
and the blue Mediterranean, and a drive 
to it forms one of the most delightful 
excursions in the neighbourhood of 
the capital. Its vale is surprisingly 
rich, rivalling that of Monreale, from 
which it is separated by a range of 
low rocky heights partly cultivated 
with olives. Above Parco, on a bare, 
yellow, and very steep height, stands 
the chapel of Santa Maria Addolorata 
a shrine of great sanctity, a pilgrimage 
to which is a real penance. 

Beyond Parco the road, by a series 
of short zigzags, ascends the mountain 
which overhangs the town, and which 
is clothed with corn, olives, and fruit- 
trees. At every step it commands a 
more extensive view of Palermo and 
the Conca d’Oro, of Monreale and the 
vale of the Oreto, until at 2 m. above 
Parco it enters the gorge of Rebuto 
and runs along its southern side for 
2 m. further, at a great height above 
the hollow, the sides of which are of 
fearful steepness, and rugged with 
crags. But thoroughly to appreciate 
the scenery of this mountain-pass, 
the traveller should enter it from 
Piana de’-Greci, when, after winding 


along heights and among mountains* 
of most forbidding sterility and de¬ 
solation, he suddenly turns the point 
at the 11th milestone, and the glorious- 
vale of Monreale bursts upon his view, 
seen between the steep slopes at the 
mouth of the gorge. It is a scene such 
as few countries in the world can offer, 
and one that can never pass from the 
memory. 

It was by this road that Garibaldi, 
on approaching Palermo after his vic¬ 
tory of Calatafimi, made a feigned retreat 
upon Cor leone, pursued by the Neapo¬ 
litans, who were exulting in what they 
supposed his utter discomfiture, when, 
leaving this road at Piana de’ Greci, he 
struck across the mountains to Misil- 
meri, on the high-road to Catania; and 
two days after, to the astonishment of 
the royal troops, suddenly appeared at 
the gates of Palermo, which he carried 
bv a coup-de-main on 27th May, 1860. 

Between this and Piana de’ Greci 
the traveller winds round the verge of 
several rocky basins of great depth, 
and after passing a range of pic¬ 
turesque cliffs he comes suddenly 
upon the town lying on the slope be¬ 
neath him. 

16 m. Piana de’ Greci (pop. 7600) 
is remarkable as the principal of the 
colonies of Albanians who settled in 
Sicily in the 15th century, whither, 
on the death of Giorgio Castrista, or 
Scanderbeg, and the conquest of Al¬ 
bania in 1466, they took refuge from 
Turkish tyranny. No less than 23 
such colonies were established in Ca¬ 
labria, but 4 bands only crossed into 
Sicily, where King John II., father of 
Ferdinand the Catholic, granted them 
land, and guaranteed to them the free 
exercise of their religion. They settled 
at Piana in the year 1488. They still 
follow the Greek ritual, and adhere 
to the customs and observances of the 
Eastern Church, though acknowledging 
the supremacy of the Pope. The men 
have dropped the picturesque costume 
of their race, save that a few still wear 
the red fez with purple tassel, but the 
majority wear the black Phrygian cap 
worn by the Sicilian peasantry of the 
district. The women, however, pre- 




241 


ROUTE 8.-PI AX A DE’ eRECI-CHURCHES. 


serve the national dress in a coloured 
gown, generally dark blue, short 
enough to display the ankles, a bright 
apron, and a saucy little low-bodied 
jacket of scarlet, blue, or brown, laced 
together in front by a coloured cord, 
the bosom, which it would fail to 
conceal, being covered with a white 
handkerchief. Bright scarlet or cherry- 
coloured ribbon in a large bow on 
each side of the crown gives a cha¬ 
racteristic finish to this piquant cos¬ 
tume, which accords well with the 
arch looks and coquettish manners of 
many of the wearers. This colony 
has preserved its language, and ail 
speak Albanian, not Romaic, as has 
been erroneously supposed; many not 
even understanding Sicilian. The in¬ 
habitants are mostly husbandmen or 
shepherds, and the town is a collection 
of mean houses generally of a single 
story, with here and there a more 
decent habitation. Tfie better classes 
of both sexes are not to be dis¬ 
tinguished by their dress from Si¬ 
cilians. 

The Chiesa Matrice, which is dedi¬ 
cated to St. Demetrius, contains some 
frescoes by Novelli on the walls of the 
principal chapel. In the lowest row 
are the heads of St. Basil, St. Gregory 
the theologian, St. Athanasius, and 
St. John Chrysostom, now much in¬ 
jured by damp, but displaying a gran¬ 
deur and intellectual majesty befitting 
those fathers of the Eastern Church. 
In the centre is the Resurrection of 
Christ. “ His countenance beautiful 
and serious, yet at the same time 
sparkling with joy at having triumphed 
over the evils of mortality, and over 
death itself, displays all the character 
of a God, and impresses the beholder 
with profound veneration. " — Gallo. 
The contrast between him and the 
rude guardians of the sepulchre, who 
lie around in various attitudes of 
astonishment and alarm, is well ex¬ 
pressed. In the second row are repre¬ 
sented the 12 Apostles, inferior per¬ 
haps in majesty to the saints beneath 
them, but lifelike, and savouring of 
Caravaggio. In the upper tier the 
Almighty is seen iu the midst of his 
[Sicily.~\ 


angels; on one side stands Gabriel, 
the messenger of mercy, and on the 
other Michael, the minister of wrath, 
with sword and shield. In the span- 
drils of the arch are the Virgin Mary 
and St. John the Baptist. 

In the ch. of the Capuchin Convent 
is shown an Annunciation by Novelli, 
but so ruined by clumsy restorations 
as to retain few traces of the master’s 
hand. 

A couple of miles to the E. of Piana 
de’ Greci, on a bare mountain slope, 
lies the village of Santa Cristina, with 
nearly 1000 souls. Though often cited 
as one of the Albanian colonies, it is 
not strictly so, containing only a few 
families of that race who have re¬ 
moved from Piana de’ Greci. 

The valley in which these towns lie 
is a sort of basin, shut in by bare and 
lofty heights, the most prominent of 
which are La Pizzuta and La Cometa. 
The road mounts by a long winding 
ascent to the shoulder of the latter, 
which is particularly precipitous, and 
at the top of the ridge, 5 m. from Piana, 
a new view bursts on you, in which 
the long serrated mountain of Busam- 
rnara, with the royal preserves at its 
feet, and the royal farm of Ficuzza 
beneath its cliffs, at the distance of 
7 m., is the principal feature. This is 
to the S.; but to the W. opens a wide 
green vale intersected by a stream iu 
a rocky bed. Nothing can be more 
dreary or more Sicilian than this vale; 
ridge after ridge, swell after swell, as 
far as the eye can reach, and not one 
tree. The only foliage in sight is the dis¬ 
tant woods beneath Busammara. The 
road descends, winding along the slope 
of bare valleys, and after a few miles 
a view opens of Marineo on an abrupt 
height in the E., backed by the long 
serrated range of Chiarastillo, which 
you pass on the high road across 
the island from Palermo to Catania. 
While the heights to the rt still pre¬ 
serve a swelling downlike character, 
those on the other hand arc broken 
into glens dark with wood of varied 
hues, and their crests rise abruptly 

M 




242 


ROUTE 8.—FICUZZA—CORLEONE. 


into precipices. A little beyond tlic 
27th milestone the road from Palermo 
by Marineo falls into that from Piana 
de’ Greci; and a mile further, at a 
cross-road, stands a marble obelisk 
facing the points of the compass. The 
road to the W. beneath the beetling 
crags of Busammara is that of Cor- 
leone; the bridle-path to the E., 
through the deep glen of cork-trees, 
leads to Godrano and Villafrate, and 
the road before you runs but a mile 
further to the royal farm of Ficuzza, a 
large yellow pile of 3 stories sur¬ 
rounded by numerous outbuildings, 
having an air of neatness and com¬ 
fort about it not common in Sicily. 

This was a favourite retreat of Fer¬ 
dinand I. during his forced residence 
in the island. Its situation close be¬ 
neath the craggy precipices of Busam- 
lnara, and impending over dense groves 
of cork, ilex, and birch-trees, which are 
full of game, gives it attractions for the 
lover of the picturesque, as well as for 
the sportsman. 

The road now skirts the base of Bu¬ 
sammara for 4 m., traversing a narrow 
green valley, which lies beneath the 
long-drawn precipices of the moun¬ 
tain. At 32 m. the road enters a gap 
between bold cliffs and other heights 
of similar grey limestone which ex¬ 
tend further to the W.; then, crossing 
this saddle in the range, it skirts the 
southern base of Busammara for some 
distance, crosses a wide, green, tree¬ 
less valley, watered by a rocky stream, 
a tributary of the Belici. and ascends 
to a high ridge, its southern barrier. 
Busammara viewed from this side pre¬ 
sents a very similar appearance to 
what it offers on the opposite—a long 
range of stony heights of irregular out¬ 
line, utterly bare, and breaking below 
into deep cliffs, grey or red. On the 
summit of the mountain formerly stood 
a Saracenic fortress, named Calata- 
Busamar , vestiges of which are still 
to be traced. From the ridge afore¬ 
said another vale, less dreary than the 
last, and in parts darkened by foliage, 
opens to the view, and the town of 
Contessa, another of the Albanian 
colonies, is seen hanging on tire olive- 
clad slope opposite. Cor leone lies up 


the valley on the hither slope to the 
1., but does not come into sight until 
you are within a mile of it, when it is 
seen buried in a recess at the foot of 
a range of dark cliffs, on which stand 
the ruins of its castle. 

39 m. Corleone. Inns —several, all 
wretched, but the “Locanda Grande ”in 
the Piazza, kept by Antonino di Salvo, 
is the best, in spite of its uninviting 
entrance. Corleone, though the chief 
town of the district of that name, is a 
mean dirty town of 13,123 souls, with a 
few houses of the old nobility, which 
appear to share in their decayed for¬ 
tunes. The town lies in a nook among 
the mountains, entirely sheltered from 
the scirocco, which is very prevalent 
here, and in spring blows with great 
violence. 

The Chiesa Matrice is a spacious and 
domed church, without architectural 
beauty. The holy water basins are of 
quattrocento art, that in the 1. aisle 
bearing a small relief of the Baptism 
of Christ. There are no pictures 
worthy of notice. The woodwork in 
the choir is quaintly carved. 

In the Capuchin Con vent , which stands 
at the entrance of the town in a grove 
of pines and cypresses, is a large altar- 
piece in oil attributed to Novelli, but it 
is more probably by Giacomo to Verde, 
his pupil. It represents St. Francis 
surrounded by the heads of his order 
receiving from Jesus Christ his rule, 
in the shape of a scroll. The picture 
is so low-toned, and the cli. so gloomy, 
as to render it difficult to pronounce 
on its merits No other churches 
possess any interest for the traveller. 

Though Corleone can boast an ex¬ 
istence before the days of the Saracens, 
who took it in 840, and called it “ Kor- 
lion i," it contains few traces of antiqui ty. 
Just below the Cniesa Matrice, and 
opening on the Piazza, is an ancient 
gateway, with a sharply-pointed arch, 
and a groove for a portcullis, which 
probably dates from Norman times. 
The ruins also of two mediaeval cas¬ 
tles dominate the town. The upper one, 
called Gastello Soprano, stands at the 
verge of the high cliffs which over¬ 
hang the town on the E., and whose 




ROUTE 8.-CORLEONE TO SCIACCA. 


243 


horizontal stratification forms a sin¬ 
gular feature in the scene. A round 
keep in ruins, with fragments of the 
outer walls, are all that remain of this 
fortress. Just beneath it are the ruins 
of a chapel called Madonna del Malo 
Passo, and the spot, from the fury 
with which the wind at times sweeps 
the crest of the ridge, well deserves 
its name. The other fort, called Gas¬ 
tello de' Carcerati , from being now 
used as a prison, crowns an isolated 
rock of great steepness on the S.W. of 
the town, and is reached by a flight 
of steps cut out of the precipice. 
In 1237 the Emperor Frederick II. 
granted Corleone, whicli was a royal 
fief, to Otho de Camarana, a noble 
soldier of Lombardy, as a residence 
for certain of his countrymen, who, 
having suffered from the evils of war 
on the continent, sought a more peace¬ 
ful abode in the insular dominions of 
the emperor. This colony of Lom¬ 
bards entertained deadly hatred to the 
Guelphs and Angevins, and, eager to 
shake otf the burdens imposed on 
them by the near neighbourhood of 
the royal farms, were the first people 
in Sicily to support the citizens of 
Palermo on the outbreak of the Sicilian 
Vespers. They formed a league of 
mutual assistance and reciprocity of 
citizenship with the capital; and for 
their prompt boldness and effectual 
aid on this occasion Corleone was 
ever after honoured with the title of 
“ the Valiant.” During the war that 
followed the Vespers, Corleone well 
maintained her reputation for valour, 
and in 1302, when Charles of Valois 
advanced to assault it, the citizens 
boldly threw open one of their gates 
and cut to pieces all the Angevins 
who dared to enter. After a siege of 
18 days Charles retired from the walls 
with shame and loss. 

In Fazello’s time the citizens of 
•Corleone still spoke the Lombard dia¬ 
lect ; and though this is now merged 
in the Sicilian, their northern origin 
may yet be detected in the fairness of 
their complexions and the cast of their 
features, so different from that of the 
inhabitants of Palermo and the neigh¬ 
bouring coasts. Many of the women 


are pretty; those of the lower orders 
wear white woollen shawls over their 
heads. 

From Corleone there are 2 routes 
to Sciacca, the shorter being through 
Contessa and Sambuca, but the more 
convenient through Chiusa and Calta- 
bellotta; the road as far as the former 
place, or 13 m. from Corleone, being 
carriageable. This road crosses the 
ridge of Monte de' Cavalli, about 2 m. 
8. of the town, on whose summit are 
traces of ancient habitation; and a 
second ridge, called Monte Barmen , 
to Campofiorito, a village of 1000 inha¬ 
bitants. It then ascends to 

Bisacquino, or Busacchino , 12 m. 
from Corleone, a town of 8700 souls. 
2 m. beyond Bisacquino to the 8. is 
the small town of 

Cliiusa (pop. 6500), taking its name 
from its ground having been origin¬ 
ally enclosed as pasture - land for 
horses. The town was built in 
1320 by Matteo Sclafani, Count of 
Aderno, and lord of the fief. In the 
Capuchin Convent in this town is a 
picture of the Adoration of the Magi 
by Zoppo di Garni. On a lofty clirf- 
bound rock, 2 m. to the W. of Chiusa, 
stands the village of 

Giuliana , whose castle and fortifica¬ 
tions were constructed by Frederick II. 
of Aragon. The Chiesa Maggiore pre¬ 
sents a peculiar specimen of Sicilian 
Gotliic, with pointed arches resting on 
stunted columns. In this neighbour¬ 
hood are found many varieties of jasper 
and agate, and in certain spots the very 
road is paved with agates. Mines of 
gold, silver, and iron, with quarries of 
adamant and porphyry, are said to have 
been worked here in ancient times. 

About 10 m. to the E. of Chiusa, be¬ 
tween Corleone and Bivona, and on 
the summit of a hill, is the town of 
Palazzo Adriano , of 5582 inhabitants, 
the first of the sites colonised by the 
Albanian refugees in the 15th century. 
Plere 4 families, nearly related to 
Scanderbeg, established themselves in 
1467, and were followed by other re¬ 
fugees, who settled at Piana, Mezzo- 
juso, and Contessa. 

Between this town and the great 

M 2 



244 


ROUTE 8.-CALTABELLOTTA-CONTESSA. 


Monte di Cammarata, to the E., and 
near the little town of Santo Stefano, 
is the Monte Qnisquina, a spot cele¬ 
brated in the saintly annals of Sicily as 
the retreat of the Virgin Rosalia, when 
she fled from the Norman Court of 
Palermo to devote herself to God, and 
where she dwelt some years in a cave, 
until transported by angels to Monte 
Pellegrino. The cli. raised on the spot 
contains a marble statue of the saint 
by Leonardo Pennino, represented in 
the act of carving the inscription which 
is shown in the cavern adjoining as 
having been cut in the rock by her 
own hand :—“ Ego Rosalia, Sinibaldi 
Quisquinm et Rosarum Domini Alia, 
amore Domini mei Jesu Christi in hoc 
antro habitari decrevi.” 

Some miles S. of Chiusa, after pass¬ 
ing the hamlet of S. Carlo, you cross 
from the province of Palermo into that 
of Girgenti, and following the course 
of the Fiume di Caltabellotta, you 
reach the town of that name. 

65 m. Caltabellotta, a town with a 
Saracenic name derived from the cork¬ 
woods in the neighbourhood— KaVat- 
al-Bellut (Castellum Quercuum) — is 
of prior origin, since it was cap¬ 
tured by the Saracens in 840. It is 
most picturesquely situated around an 
ancient castle which crowns a steep 
rock overhanging the stream, and 
commanding a distant view of the 
sea. It now contains 5300 inhabitants. 
The Chiesa Matrice is a beautiful re¬ 
lic of the middle ages, resembling a 
mosque, with a single row of columns 
down the middle. The cli. of S. Gio¬ 
vanni is also of early arcliitecture. 
Caltabellotta gave its name to the 
treaty between Frederick II. of Sicily 
and Charles of Valois in 1302, by 
which an end was put to the War of 
the Vespers; the independence of 
Sicily was recognised by Anjou, and 
Frederick was acknowledged as the 
rightful sovereign. A mile distant, at 
the southern angle of the mountain, 
on the spot now occupied by the 
eliapel of Santa Maria a Monte Ver- 
rjine, stood the ancient city of 

Trioeala, which took its name from 


rpla ica\a, “three good things,” which 
Diodorus tells us were, an abundance of 
springs of excellent water, a territory 
richly cultivated with vines, olives, and 
fruit-trees, and a position on an im¬ 
pregnable rock. It stood at the height 
of 2316 ft. above the sea. The moun¬ 
tains of Caltabellota, however, rise to 
the height of 3690 ft. 

Five or 6 m. to the E. of Caltabel¬ 
lotta is the town of Burgio, with nearly 
6000 inhabitants. The Chiesa Mag- 
giore is of Norman origin, and retains 
portions in that style of architecture. 
In the Sacristy are a head by Bibera, 
and a half-length of the Virgin, 
painted on wood, of Byzantine art. 
In the church of the Capuchin Con¬ 
vent is a picture by Zoppo di Ganci , 
illustrating the words of Isaiah, “ I 
have trodden the wine-press alone.” 
In another church is a marble statue 
of St. Vitus, by Antonio Gagini, bearing 
his name, and the date 1522. 

Twelve miles more to the S., after 
skirting the base of Monte San Calo- 
gero, you reach Sciacca. 

77 m. Sciacca. (See Rte. 6, p. 187.) 

The short route to Sciacca from 
Corleone is in no part carriageable. 
At 9 or 10 miles’ distance you reach 

Contessa, or Contissa (pop. 3510), one 
of the Albanian colonies settled at 
the close of the 15th century. Near 
this, to the E., on the spur of a lofty 
height, are the remains of the Sara¬ 
cenic fortress of Cdlatamauro; and in 
the heart of a wood stands the noble 
monastery of Sta. Maria del Bosco, 
erected by the Olivetani, but now T in¬ 
habited by Augustine monks. The 
ch. is spacious and handsome. The 
altar-piece of the Virgin, St. Augustine, 
and other saints, is by Lo Forte; the 
other pictures chiefly by Mariano 
Bossi of Sciacca. 

2 m. W. of Contessa, crowning a 
lofty height, are the ruins of the Sara¬ 
cenic fort and town of Calatamar — 

“ Cal’at-al-alimar.” 3 m. further west¬ 
ward, overhanging the 1. bank of the 
Fiume Belici, is the 










ROUTE 8.-ENTELLA. 9.-PALERMO TO GIRGENTI. 


245 


Ttocca (V Entella, a lofty, isolated 
table-rock, some 4 m. in circuit, sur¬ 
rounded by precipices, so as to be 
accessible only from the S.E., from the 
spot called the Petraro. Foundations 
of buildings, fragments of columns, and 
other architectural remains which 
strew the surface of the plateau, show 
the site to have been inhabited in 
ancient times. Here stood Entella, a 
town of the Sicani; the origin of which 
is ascribed to Entellus, one of the com¬ 
panions of Acestes,— 

“ Tro'fa Crimiso conceptual flumine mater 
Quem genuit,”—• 

the founder of Segeste. In 403 e.c. a 
band of Campanian mercenaries, dis¬ 
missed by Dionysius of Syracuse, were 
hospitably received at Entella. Re¬ 
quiting this reception with treachery, 
they rose in the night, put all the male 
inhabitants to the sword, and, taking 
possession of the women, established 
themselves at Entella. The city was 
utterly destroyed in 1224 by the Em¬ 
peror Frederick II. for the rebellion of 
its Mussulman inhabitants, who, with 
those of the neighbouring Jeto, were 
removed to Nocera, near Naples, and 
gave that town its cognomen of “ de’ 
Pagani.” Entella was of old famed for 
its wine ; but corn now covers the site. 
At the base of the height, towards 
Calatrasi, is a quarry of alabaster ; 
here are also mineral springs. 

2 m. from Entella, higher up the 
Belici, is the Saracenic fortress of 
Calatrasi, crowning a lofty peak, which 
rises above the ruins of the town of the 
same name. 

On leaving Contessa you enter the 
province of Girgenti, and skirting the 
base of Monte Genuardo, after 8 m. you 
reach the town of 

Sambuca, situated on the rt. bank of 
the Fiume Cannitello, and containing 
nearly 8000 inhabitants. It is of Sara¬ 
cenic origin, its name being a corrup¬ 
tion of “ Rahal-Zabuth,” or the village 
of Zabuth, as shown by a diploma of 
King William II., dated 1185. Not far 
from this, in the Contracla del Folizello, 
is said to be an inscription in Greek 


characters carved on the rock. A ride 
of 14 m. over wild undulating country 
brings you to Sciacca, which you enter 
from the N. 

71 m. Sciacca. (See Rte. 0, p. 187.) 


ROUTE 9. 

PALERMO TO GIRGENTI, 1IY LERCAPA, 

Miles. Posts. 

Palermo to Abate .. 5 

Abate to Misilmeri . 4 1 

Misilmeri to Ogliastro. 7 

Ogliastro to Villafrate .. .. 5 1 £ 

Villafrate to Ponte di Vicari .. 9 1 

Porte di Vicari to Lercara .. Ill 1 1 

Lercara to Sotto Cammarata .. 13 It 

Sotto Cammarata to Castel Termini 13 li 

Castel Termini to Comitini .. 13^ It 

Comitini to Girgenti.13 It 

94 11 

For 36 m. this is the high road 
across the island to Catania (vide Rte. 
7), but just before Manganaro the 
road to Girgenti branches to the rt. 
and runs to the town of Lercara. 
Beyond this a carriage-road to con¬ 
nect Girgenti with the capital has 
recently been constructed. The cor¬ 
ner a leaves Palermo for Girgenti on 
Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays 
at 7 p.m., reaching Girgenti in 18 hours, 
A diligence runs from the capital to 
Girgenti every Monday, Wednesday, 
and Friday, at 7 a.m., stopping for the 







246 


ROUTE 9 . —LERCARA DE’ FREDDI. 


night at Lercara. The fare by either 
conveyance is 19 lire 75 centesimi. 

41 J m. Lercaea de’ Fkeddi, so 
called from its elevated position among 
the mountains, is a place whose import¬ 
ance has been much increased of late 
years by the sulphur-mines opened in 
its neighbourhood. It has 7500 or 
8000 inhabitants, but is a miserable 
town of mean hovels, and contains 
nothing of interest beyond its mines 
and its locande, the latter, as the dili¬ 
gence to Girgenti always halts here for 
the night, attracting the most visitors. 
All, however, are dirty and comfortless. 
The best is perhaps the “Locanda 
dell’ Italia,” kept by Luigi Ferrara, 
near the entrance of the town from 
Palermo. The sulphur dug up at 
Lercara is shipped at Palermo, and 
the road hence to that city is always 
well sprinkled with carts used in the 
conveyance of that valuable mineral. 
The mines are on the liill-slopes around 
the town, and their sites are marked 
by the heaps of red and yellow ore, 
or grey dross, around the mouths of 
the pits. 

It is not difficult to reach Lercara 
in one day, either by carriage or on 
mules, but it is not so easy to induce 
muleteers to do the remaining 52| m. 
to Girgenti at a stretch. They will 
say that it is impossible for them to 
get further the second day than Castel 
Termini, but as there is most miserable 
accommodation at that town, and none 
whatever at any other place between 
Lercara and Girgenti, it becomes an 
object of importance to the traveller 
to accomplish the whole in one day. 
This can be done by leaving Lercara 
at a very early hour, and making 
short cuts wherever practicable, espe¬ 
cially by keeping down the valley of 
the S. Pietro to the Passo Fonduto, 
and avoiding the long and tedious 
ascent to Castel Termini, by which a 
saving of many miles is effected. This 
can only be done on horseback. The 
52£ m. may thus be reduced to some¬ 
thing little above 40, which except in 
very heavy roads, is not too much to 
demand of a Sicilian mule for 2 days 
consecutively. 


Beyond Lercara the road winds- 
along an elevated ridge, commanding 
a view of the greater portion of the 
interior of Sicily. It is the same wild 
mountainous scenery that meets the 
eye in every part of the interior ; but 
here, from the elevated and central 
position, the view embraces a vast sea 
of mountains, more or less lofty, and 
more or less abrupt. In the S. rises 
the huge double-peaked mass of Monte 
Cammarata ; and more to the E., sepa¬ 
rated from it by the vale of the S. 
Pietro, a lower range, among which 
the singular conical heights of Mus- 
someli and Sutera arrest the eye. In 
the N. is the sharp peak of S. Calo- 
gero, overhanging Termini and the 
sea, and in the N.E. the long range of 
the Madonian mountains, their snowy 
crests sharp and defined against the 
blue sky, and towns and villages, like 
eagles’ eyries, at a great height cling¬ 
ing to their dark slopes. Embedded 
among these mountains, and stretching- 
far eastward, lies a valley of great 
depth and utter bareness, one un¬ 
broken sheet of green ; above which, 
in the E.S.E., and in the extreme 
horizon, soaring above all minor 
mountains, is the lonely snow-crest 
of Etna, not to be mistaken by him 
who has once seen it. The whole 
is as grand a piece of mountain scenery 
as Sicily can produce. 

The road descends the bare hill-side 
by many windings into a cultivated val¬ 
ley, which opens to the S. and appears 
to stretch up to the base of Monte Cam- 
marata. After a few miles the valley 
widens out to the rt. into a richly- 
wooded plain, enclosed by olive-clad 
slopes, and the town of Castronovo is 
seen on a liill-side above it, at the 
base of cliffs whose crest bristles 
with the scattered fragments of a 
feudal castle. The town contains 
4000 inhabitants, but has no interest 
beyond these ruins and its pictur¬ 
esque situation. The road leaves it a 
little to the rt. The equestrian may 
save time by taking a path which 
leads directly S. into the vale below 
the town. In the hollow he crosses 
the S. Pietro , a small stream which, 
takes its rise in the hills near Castro- 



247 


ROUTE 9 . -CAMMARATA-CASTEL TERMINI. 


novo, and flows southward, guiding 
him for many miles towards Girgeuti, 
till it turns to the W. and falls into 
the sea at the ruins of Hera cl ea, 
under the name of the Platani. It 
is the Halycus of antiquity, and long 
formed the boundary between the 
Greek and Carthaginian territories in 
Sicily. It flows in a rocky bed, 
through a valley hemmed in by brown 
swelling heights of pasture, to whose 
bareness the occasional olive and fruit- 
groves on its banks form an agreeable 
contrast. At some distance further, the 
hills on the rt. side of the valley sink 
down, and disclose the huge double¬ 
headed mass of Monte Cammarata, in 
winter capped with snow, with the 
town of that name high on its bare 
slope 3 m. from the road. 

Cammarata. — This is a place of 
5000 inhabitants. The cli. of St. 
Agostino contains a picture of the 
Madonna delle Grazie by Rosalia 
Novelli. Much further down, the vil¬ 
lage of Acquaviva is seen on the moun¬ 
tains which flank the valley to the E., 
and to the S. of it, on a lofty ridge 
stands the town of 

Mussomeli, of Arabic name, though 
the town claims to have been built by 
Manfred Chiaramonte in the 14th cen¬ 
tury. The castle, a mile further to the 
E., was erected by the same noble, and, 
being in an excellent state of preserva¬ 
tion, presents a fine specimen of me¬ 
dieval architecture. The Palazzo 
Trabia contains some pictures, and 
among them a St. Christopher, a large 
oil painting, reputed an original by 
Pietro Novelli, but probably only an 
excellent copy ; the Three Kings, in 
half-lengths, coined from Rubens by 
Novelli; the Presentation in the Temple, 
by Rosalia Novelli, his daughter; 
and Christ before Pilate, by Matthew 
Stommer. 

Sutera. —Three miles further S. 
from the same range of heights rises 
the still loftier and truncated cone 
of Sutera, with the town circling its 
base, and the chapel of S. Paolino, 
a shrine of great sanctity and reputed 
miraculous powers, crowning its highest 


point. The castle, which has fallen 
into ruin, was once the prison of Philip, 
Prince of Taranto, son of Charles the 
Lame, who was taken captive at the 
battle of Falconaria, and confined 
here as one of the strongest fortresses 
in the island, till he was released by 
the peace of Castronuovo in 1302. 

High among the mountains on the 
opposite side of the valley stands the 
town of Castel Termini, to which the 
road winds in many steep turns; but 
the equestrian, if bound to Girgenti, 
may here quit the high road, and 
leaving this town to the rt. continue 
straight down the valley towards Co- 
mitiui, meeting the road again at the 
Passo Fonduto. 

67J m. Castel Termini (pop. 6G14), 
a mean dirty town, lying on a plain 
high among the mountains, and com¬ 
manding superb views of the neigh¬ 
bouring country to the E. and S. The 
loeanda is intensely Sicilian, and de¬ 
voutly to be shunned by all who seek 
repose. The town is thriving rapidly, 
in consequence of numerous sulphur- 
mines recently opened around it; and 
a handsome equipage or two in its 
rugged streets will astonish the tra¬ 
veller. Castel Termini has 11 churches 
and a convent of Franciscans, but of 
these, two only possess any interest. 

The Chiesa Matrice, a neat domed 
building of simple architecture, contains 
2 pictures by Giuseppe Velasquez of 
Palermo—the Woman taken in Adul¬ 
tery, and Christ driving the Money 
changers out of the Temple; the former 
the better. San Giuseppe has an altar- 
piece of the Virgin and infant Saviour 
interceding for souls in purgatory, by 
Andrea Carreca of Trapani, a pupil of 
Novelli. In the treatment, colouring, 
and chiaroscuro, the style of the master 
is clearly traceable. 

On leaving Castel Termini the road 
winds down to a narrow pass between 
steep cliffs, those on the 1. showing many 
seams of alabaster. On emerging from 
this gorge a prospect of wild magnifi¬ 
cence opens to the S., through which 
the Platani winds in a wide green 
valley to the sea. Below the road, 




248 


ROUTE 9. -COMITINI-A RAG ON A. 


amid rocks which rise abruptly like 
castle walls, are sulphur-mines, but, 
save a few scattered dwellings on the 
slope around it, the eye seeks in vain, 
in the vast tract of country beneath, 
for signs of habitation, either among 
the billowy range on the other side of 
the valley, or among the tamer heights 
on this, and finds it only in the distant 
towns of Aragona and Comitini, on a 
low bare ridge, far on the way to Gir- 
genti. As you descend the slope, 
which for some distance is cultivated, 
you perceive here veins of alabaster, 
there strata of gypsum among the 
rocks by the wayside; and as you 
wind down to the valley of the S. 
Pietro your eye revels in the wild 
mountain scenery, in whicli an ancient 
Saracenic castle, with its square keep 
amid an outer circuit of walls, among 
the heights to the rt., forms a highly 
picturesque object. It is called “ Feudo 
di Santo Angelo." You ford the San 
Pietro at a spot called Passo Fonduto. 
On the rt. bank is a fountain called 
Fontana Fredda, of some celebrity 
in this thirsty land. Here a branch, 
a mere bridle-path, forks to the rt., 
crossing bare rounded downs to Ara¬ 
gona, while the high road follows the 
hollow to the 1. to Comitini. These 
two towns stand on a bare ridge some 
12 m. from Girgenti, and more than 
a mile apart, separated by a green 
hollow — Aragona conspicuous with 
the massive palace of its feudal princes ; 
Comitini with the grey and red heaps 
of ore and dross from the sulphur- 
mines immediately around it. The 
former is a baronial town of some an¬ 
tiquity ; the latter is of recent origin. 

78 in. Comitini is a miserable village 
of 1000 souls, and no locanda, but has 
a large modern eh. with a neat facade. 
It is remarkable only as the site of 
the most important sulphur-mines in 
the vicinity of Girgenti. There are 
2 of them, called “ La Crocella ” and 
“ Manderozzi,” belonging to Don Ig- 
nazio Genuardi of Girgenti; and, as 
the traveller, when in that city, if he 
expresses any curiosity to see a mine, 
is generally sent to Comitini, it may 
be well for him to halt here awhile 


and inspect one of them cn passant. 
The factor, who resides in the village, 
does the honours with true Sicilian 
courtesy. These 2 mines yield 140,000 
cantars, or 10,0374 tons a-year, worth 
about70,000Z.,and give constant employ¬ 
ment to 700 persons, at the daily cost 
of about G0Z. sterling. The ore, which 
is brought to the surface in baskets by 
boys, is melted in a kiln, and the pure 
mineral running off, flows into moulds, 
in which it cools and cakes, and be¬ 
comes the sulphur of commerce. Each 
cake or ballata weighs 70 rotoli, or 
1224 lbs. avoirdupois, and 2 ball ate 
are a sufficient load for an ass or 
mule. The sulphur produced here is 
shipped at the Molo of Girgenti, and 
the road to that port is thronged day 
and night at certain seasons with carts 
and beasts of burden laden with the 
mineral, or returning to fetch more. 
The labourers in these mines come 
chiefly from the opposite town of 
Aragona. 

Aragona (pop. 7213) is a wretched 
town of mean houses, and stands in 
the midst of bare green downs, to 
which the pines and cypresses, the 
olives, almonds, and carobs on the 
steep above the town, form a pleasing 
contrast. Beyond a Madonna, by 
Guido, in the palace of Barone llo- 
toli, there is nothing of interest 
here, not even a locanda; but the 
huge grey residence of the princes of 
Aragona is a conspicuous object, vi¬ 
sible at the distance of many miles. 
It is an imposing pile of Renaissance 
architecture, though the fresh marble 
escutcheon over the portal, and the 
dilapidation and desolation within, 
tell a melancholy tale of fallen for¬ 
tunes, too common in Sicily. 

The road to Girgenti crosses a bare 
undulating corn country, variegated 
with green and brown, according as 
the downs are cultivated or not. At 
2 m. beyond Comitini it passes other 
sulphur mines on the mountain-slope. 
From this spot the towers of Girgenti 
may be distinguished in the S., crest¬ 
ing the long straight ridge which was 
the Acropolis of the ancient city; and 



ROUTE 9 . -THE JIACOALUBE. 


in the S.W., at several miles’ distance, 
the mud-volcanoes of Maccaluba may 
be descried glittering in the sun. You 
now descend into a wide green valley, 
enclosed by rounded and flat-topped 
hills; and at 3 m. from Comitini the 
road branches to the rt. to Aragona, 
and to the 1. to Canigatti and Caltani- 
setta. At some distance from the 
road in this direction, a singular 
peaked rock, rising abruptly from the 
plain, and white as snow, arrests the 
eye. It is called “ La Bocca di 
Ciavole Where the road ascends a 
ridge, two other white rocks come 
into view at several miles’ distance in 
the other direction, or to the W., with 
the village of Giancascio on a height 
between them. Just before reaching 
the catena, or turnpike, 1 m. from 
Girgenti, a bridle-path turns over the 
downs to the rt., which is the short 
cut from that city to Aragona. About 
3 m. from the high road, and J m. oft* 
the bridle-path to the W., are the 
singular mud-volcanoes, called the 

Maccalube, which should be visited 
by all curious in natural phenomena. 

“ The Maccaluba, probably a cor¬ 
ruption of the Arabic word ‘ mak- 
loube,’ or upside-down, consists of 
numerous little hillocks with craters, 
on a kind of large truncated cone of 
argillaceous barren soil, with wide 
cracks in all directions, elevated 
nearly 200 ft. above the surrounding 
arid plain, and about £ m. in circuit. 
These craters are continually in action 
with a hollow rumbling noise, and by 
the exertion of a subterraneous force 
they throw up a fine cold mud mixed 
with water, a little petroleum and 
salt, and occasionally bubbles of air 
with a sulphureous taint. The erup¬ 
tions are more violent in hot than in 
rainy weather, owing perhaps to the 
outer crust acquiring a greater con¬ 
sistence. Sometimes reports, like the 
discharge of artillery, are heard, and 
slight local earthquakes are felt; 
until, at length, the whole is eased 
by an ebullition of mud and stones, 
sometimes ejected to the height ol 
from 30 to 60 feet, though the usual 
spouts reach only from a few inches 
to 2 or 3 feet, increasing in violence 


210 

at intervals. I was informed that a 
warm sulphuretted hydrogen gas oc¬ 
casionally escapes from the fissures, 
but I could not discover any agency 
of fire ; and Fahrenheit’s thermometer, 
when immersed, rose only to 58°. 
The adjacent country is composed 
of a calcareous basis, intermixed with 
a large proportion of quartzose breccia, 
argil, gypsum, pyrites, sulphur, and 
rock-sal t. ’ ’—Admiral Smyth. 

The above description requires to 
be qualified, inasmuch as these mini¬ 
ature volcanoes have not been known 
for many years past to throw up jets 
of mud or water, or to emit reports 
of any description. Beyond the con¬ 
tinual rising of the gas to the surface of 
the muddy water in the little craters, 
and the overflow of the mud, there 
has long ceased to be any action in 
the Maccalube. “ These * air-volca¬ 
noes,’ as they are sometimes termed, 
are known to have been in the same 
state of activity for the last 15 centu¬ 
ries, and Dr. Daubeny imagines that 
the gases which escape may be gene¬ 
rated by the slow combustion of beds 
of sulphur, which is actually in pro¬ 
gress in the blue clay out of which 
the springs rise. But as the gases 
are similar to those disengaged in 
volcanic eruptions, and as they have 
continued to stream out for so long a 
period, they may perhaps be derived 
from a more deep-seated source.”— 
Lyell. These singular volcanoes may 
be made the object of an excursion 
from Girgenti, from which they are 
between 6 and 7 m. distance; but 
after heavy rains the path over the 
downs is scarcely practicable. They 
will hardly be found without a guide. 

As you approach Girgenti the road 
winds round an almond-sprinkled 
height, on which are the sulphur- 
mines of Verhiccia. The still loftier 
height immediately to the S. is that 
of Girgenti; the cliffs which crest the 
high steep slope are those of the 
Rupe Atenca, the citadel of the an¬ 
cient Agrigentum; and the towers of 
the castle and cathedral at the west¬ 
ern extremity of the ridge mark the 
site of the modern town, which hangs 
on the southern and gentler slope of 

M 3 







250 


ROUTE 10.-PALERMO TO MESSIXA. 


the ridge. In the hollow a road 
branches to the 1. down the valley to 
Fa vara : and another to the rt., round 
the base of the height to Molo. A 
long winding ascent leads to the Porta 
BibeiTa, the northern and upper en¬ 
trance to Girgenti. 

Girgenti. —See Ete. 6, p. 191. 


EOUTE 10. 

PALERMO TO MESSINA, BY THE COAST. 

Milos. Posts. 


Palermo to Ficarazzi ,. 


6 

Ficarazzi to Santa Flavia .. 


4 

Santa Flavia to Solunto 


l 

Sdlunto to Altavilla . 


*> 

Altavilla to Trabia 


7 

Trabxa to Termini " ., 


4 

Termini to Buonfornello .. 


!) 

Buonfomello to Roccella 


3 

Roccella to Cefalii 


12 

Cefalii to Finale. 


12 

Finale to Castello di Tusa .. 


6 

Castello di Tusa to Santo Stefano 

6 

S into Stefano to Caronfa ... 


6 

Caronfa to Torre Lanro 


(j 

Torre Lauro to A cqua Dolce 


6 

Acqua Dolce to Santa Agata 


3 

Santa Agata to Torrenova 


3 

Torrenova to Capo Orlando 


9 

Capo Orlando to Brolo 


6 

Brolo to Giojosa .. .. .. 


6 

Giojosa to Patti .. .. .. 


8 

Patti to Ttndaro. 


G 

Tindaro to Falcone 


3 

Falcone to Barcellona .. 


9 

Barcellona to Spadafora 


12 

Spadafora to Bavuso .. 


3 

Bavuso to Divieto 


1 

Divieto to Gesso. 


O 

a 

Gesso to Messina. 

* * 

10 

173 


From Palermo to Messina by the 
northern coast there is no coach-road. 
There is indeed a carriageable road 
as far as Cefalii, 49 m., and again 


between Patti and Messina, 47 m. ; 
but a great part of this direct route 
between the two great cities of Sicily 
has of necessity to be accomplished on 
horseback; and as there is a doubt¬ 
ful chance of procuring beasts at 
Patti or Cefalii, the tourist should 
make up his mind to do the whole 
coast in the saddle. The corriercc 
runs to Termini and Cefalii every Mon¬ 
day and Friday; it carries only 3 pas¬ 
sengers, and the fare is 1 ducat and 
60 bajocchi. There are also 5 bajocchi 
to be paid as buonamano to the posti¬ 
lion for each post, of which there are 
6, viz.— 

Palermo to Santa Fla via .. .. li 

Santa Flavia to Termini .. .. if 

Termini to Kocella .if 

Roccella to Cefalii . if 

6 posts. 

Besides this, there arc vetture running 
to Termini daily, at noon, in 4 hours, 
each carriage holding 4 inside and 1 
out. The fare is 6, 8, or 10 tan, ac¬ 
cording to the seat. 

This road, as far as the 1st post, or 
Santa Flavia, has already been de¬ 
scribed at p. 140, in “ Excursion 
from Palermo to Bagaria and So- 
lunto.” A mile beyond Sta. Fla¬ 
via the road reaches the shore of the 
beautiful bay of Termini, at the Villa 
cli Solunto, or Talazzo Fruccioli, and 
then turns to the rt. between hedges 
of aloes and cacti, skirting the bay, at 
the foot of hills dark with vineyards 
and olive-groves. At the 12th mile¬ 
stone a road opens to the rt. to Cas- 
tellazzo, 2 m. Traversing the sandy 
beach, beneath the grand craggy 
range of San Michele, and crossing 
the Flume Milicia , which has its 
source in the Saracenic baths of Ce- 
fala (vide p. 217', and is spanned by 
a fine bridge of 3 arches, completed 
by Charles III. in 1736, you reach 

14 rn. Altavilla, a hamlet on tin- 
shore. On the height above it, a 
mile to the rt., is a village of 2400 
souls, more appropriately bearing the 
same designation. The river is also 
called Flume cli S. Michele ill Campo 
Grosso, from an ancient cli. of that 















ROUTE 10. -TRABIA. 


name, whose ruins still crest an olive- 
clad height near Altavilla. It is one 
of the earliest Norman structures in 
Sicily, having been founded by Ro¬ 
bert Guiscard, in 1077; and in plan 
nearly resembles S. Giovanni degli 
Eremiti in Palermo ; and exactly 
corresponds with a little Romanesque 
ch. in Istria, dedicated to St. Cathe¬ 
rine, which is of still earlier date. In 
plan it is a Latin cross with a single 
aisle and 3 apses, the side ones being 
recessed from the transepts. It was 
originally attached to a Basilian mo¬ 
nastery founded by the same prince, 
of which traces may be seen in the 
ruins around, and in a neighbouring- 
cistern. The ch. is now commonly 
known by the name of La Chiesazza. 

At this part of the road the slopes 
are planted largely with sumach, one 
of the most important products of 
Sicily, which is grown extensively on 
this northern coast. At 16 m. you 
pass the Tonre Scipi, a square martello 
tower, of which there are many on the 
coast of Sicily, built some ages since 
to guard against surprises from Bar- 
barv corsairs. They served rather as 
beacon-towers than forts, being too 
small to hold more than a handful of 
men, and were constructed without 
doors, the only entrance being a 
window on the upper floor; the guard 
drawing up the ladder after entering. 
The coast here begins to assume a 
different character; bold rocks of 
yellow limestone, feathered over with 
the dwarf-palm, spurge and cactus, 
skirt the shore, and are particularly 
wild and picturesque about the Torre 
delle Mandre, a beacon-tower of the 
16th cent., till lately used for the tele¬ 
graph, which crests the cliffs of Capo 
Rosso. Halt a moment on this head¬ 
land to enjoy the view eastward, of 
Trabia on the bright tower-studded, 
olive-fringed shore; of Termini be¬ 
yond, with its castle overhanging the 
town and blue bay; of the grand bare 
mass of Monte San Caldgero, with its 
Alpine crest of snow; and of the 
varied coast beyond, terminating in 
the bluff headland of Cefalii. The 
road continues along the shore be¬ 
neath olive-slopes to San Nicola (V 


251 

Arena , a large round keep of the loth 
century, with machicolated battle¬ 
ments, at 18| m. from Palermo. Here 
is a tonnara, or station for the capture 
of the tunny-fish which abound on 
this coast in the summer season. A 
little beyond, a road opens to the rt. 
leading to the Casino of the Marchese 
Artale, on the slope of Monte Sant 
Onofrio, 7 m. distant. 

2 L m. Trabia, a town of 3000 souls, 
with one long street, lying at the foot 
of a lofty cliff, hung with cactus, 
spurge, and purple stocks, which in 
Sicily are wild flowers. It used to 
be a fief of the princes who took their 
name from the town; and their ba¬ 
ronial castle still stands on the shore, 
built in the latter half of the 16tli 
century, its stern features softened 
down by the requirements of modem 
times. Here is another tonnara. The 
country abounds in corn, vines, olives, 
and sumach, but you look in vain for 
the plantations of sugar-canes, which 
Fazello tells us were extensively culti¬ 
vated here in his day, some 3 centu¬ 
ries since. In a church called La 
Madonna della Trabia, near the Ca¬ 
sino of the Baron Palmeri, is an oil- 
painting ascribed to Novelli, repre¬ 
senting the Almighty directing an 
angel to paint the portrait of the 
Virgin Mary. 

The road continues beneath cliffs of 
grey schistose limestone, and as it 
approaches Termini, that city on its 
rocky plateau, beneath the towering- 
heights of S. Caldgero, and washed 
by the blue Mediterranean, forms a 
commanding feature in the scene, 
well meriting, as thus seen, the proud 
title, bestowed on it by the Emperor 
Frederick II., of “ La Splendidissima.” 
At 2 m. from it the road crosses the 
Flume di Termini by a very lofty and 
steep, yet substantial bridge of a 
single arch, erected more than a cen¬ 
tury since by Charles III. Bridges 
being rarities in Sicily, this is looked 
on as a great triumph of art—the 
only bridge in the island worthy the 
name, say the Terminesi, who main¬ 
tain that it exemplifies one portion 
of the proverb which states that 





252 


ROUTE 10 . —TERMINI—CHURCHES. 


Sicily has blit “ one mountain, one 
fountain, and one bridge ”—un 
monte, un fonte, ed un ponte .” The 
torrent that flows beneath it is sub¬ 
ject in winter to such sudden in¬ 
creases of volume, and such paroxysms 
of fury, that it swept away no less 
than 6 bridges before this was erected. 
It rises some 50 miles inland, near 
the town of Prizzi; then takes the 
title of Maragano, from the castle of 
that name, which it washes; then, 
after receiving several tributaries, 
flows below Yicari, where it is crossed 
on the high road to Catania; next 
washing the base of Monte Santa Ca- 
terina, it takes the name of S. Giu¬ 
seppe ; still lower, where it flows 
beneath Caccamo, it is known as the 
.liver of S. Leonardo ; and it falls into 
the sea as the Flume di Termini. 
From this bridge the road ascends 
through olive-groves to Termini, com¬ 
manding on its way fine views inland 
of the grand ravine of S. Leonardo, 
separating Monte Cane on the rt. from 
the loftier mass of Monte S. Calogero. 

25 m. Termini. Inns: “ Nobile 
Locanda d’ Imera,” called also “ Lo- 
canda di San Domenico,” because it 
is a portion of an old Dominican Con¬ 
vent, whose cloisters may be traced 
in the stables. It is kept by Giuseppe 
Piraino, who offers the traveller clean 
beds and much civility. This is in the 
Piazza in the upper part of the town. 
In the lower part, in the Piano de’ 
Caricatori, just within the Porta di 
Cefalit, is the “Locanda dello Stesi- 
coro,” kept by Giuseppe Mascari, and 
of attractive neatness and cleanliness, 
but the charges are said to be less rea¬ 
sonable than in the other locanda. 
There is also an inn attached to the 
Bagni, which is well spoken of. 

Termini is a town of consider¬ 
able size and importance, containing 
23,193 inliab., who are employed 
chiefly in fishing for tunny and 
anchovies, and in the cultivation of 
corn, wine, oil, sumach, and rice. It 
is built partly on the plateau on which 
stands the castle, and partly on the 
slope and in the hollow below it; and 
is surrounded by a mediaeval wall now 


rapidly falling to decay. In the 
upper town are some wide streets and 
respectable buildings, with a few 
palaces of the old nobility; the lower 
town is less aristocratic, with mean 
houses, and streets narrow, dirty, and 
inconveniently steep. The women 
wear a black silk veil on their heads, 
but of smaller size than that worn at 
Catania and Syracuse. 

In the upper town is a large piano 
or square, which has tlie Castle to the 
N., the Chiesa Matrice to the E., the 
Casa Comunale on the S., and the old 
ch. of Santa Caterina on the W., and 
commands a magnificent view of the 
bay, the town, and the mountainous 
coast, which are best seen from the 
little Flora behind the Chiesa Matrice. 

The Castle, a fine pile of mediaeval 
times, on the brow of a lofty cliff, en¬ 
tirely commands the town and coast. 
It contains some curious Arabic in¬ 
scriptions, but being now used as a 
prison, it is not easy to obtain ad¬ 
mission. 

The Chiesa Matrice is externally a 
mean building in the Renaissance 
style, with an unfinished fi^ade, 
though bearing the date of 1524. It 
is spacious, and is divided into 3 aisles, 
by Ionic columns of grey marble. In 
the rt. transept hangs an old crucifix, 
painted in the Byzantine style, on a 
gilt ground, said to date only from 
the 16th century. There are no other 
works of art in this ch. worthy of 
attention; but embedded in its outer 
wall is the fragment of a Corinthian 
cornice of Roman times. 

Santa Caterina is a small and mean 
ch., interesting only for its antiquity, 
and for its curious frescoes and inscrip¬ 
tions. Its pointed doorway, with a 
single fiat order, dates from the 13th 
century. Over it is a bas-relief of the 
saint in a small temple, supported by 
2 angels. The interior has no archi¬ 
tectural beauty, but the walls are 
covered with frescoes illustrative of 
the life of St. Catherine; very curious, 
though of mediocre art. There is no 
attempt at perspective save in the 





ROUTE 1 0.—TERMINI-CHURCHES. 


253 


architectural backgrounds ; no chiaro¬ 
scuro ; and the outlines have all the 
dryness of an early age, yet there is no 
lack of expression. The frescoes in 
the upper hand are evidently prior to 
those below them, and may be of the 
end of the 15th century, though in 
parts they have been subjected to re¬ 
pairs. In one place the date of 1540 
is legible. But the most singular 
feature about these frescoes is the in¬ 
scriptions descriptive of them, which 
not being in Italian, might be sup¬ 
posed by the tourist to be in Sicilian, 
were he not assured that they differ so 
widely from the modern dialect of tlie 
island as greatly to puzzle the natives. 
No one, however, acquainted with the 
Italian will be at a loss to understand 
them. We give a few specimens. 
“ Comu Lumperaturi, comandciu chi la 
heata Sta. Caterina li fussiru strazzati 
li carni cum liranpini.” “ Comu lo in- 
peraturi fichi moriri la imperatrichi cf 
tuti lisoi donni li quali eranu dati a 
Cristu .” “ S. Caterina standu prixuni 

la notti apparsi un vanrjilu disi chi non 
havia paura 

San Domenico contains a marble 
painted statue of the Virgin, of the 
15th century, and a marble sarcopha¬ 
gus of Pietro Ossorio, with his statue 
in armour, reclining on the lid (dated 
1555)—some arabesques of the same 
period attributed to the school of Ga- 
gini—a picture of S. Cosmo healing a 
wounded youth, by Vincenzo La Bar- 
hera, a native artist of Termini, bear¬ 
ing liis name and the date of 1612— 
and a Conception in oil, attributed to 
Pietro Novelli, and resembling the 
treatment of that master, though 
hardly displaying his excellence. 

In Santa Maria di Gcsii is a curious 
biota in marble, with the Virgin sup¬ 
porting her dead son in her lap, bear¬ 
ing date 1480. Behind the altar a tine 
marble monument to Giambattista Ro- 
mano e Ventimiglia, who died 1552, 
and who reclines grandly in effigy on 
the lid of his sarcophagus, is worthy 
of notice. The pictures of St. Francis 
and of the Virgin are ascribed to 
Novelli. In the square in front of 


the ch. is a marble cross with quattro¬ 
cento reliefs. 

La Nunziata contains a singular 
Presepio in marble. The picture of 
the Annunciation is by Barhera , and 
another is by Giacomo Ijo Verde. 

S. Francesco is an early ch. in the 
pointed style, with the dog-tooth pro¬ 
minent in the labels. 

Santa Maria della Misericorclia once 
contained some frescoes by Novelli. 

San Giovanni di Dio, now used as 
a hospital, has a Norman gateway, 
and the windows on the upper floor 
have double lights, separated by slender 
marble columns, and prominent labels 
with foliated corbels. 

San Giuseppe has a picture of the 
Virgin by Mondcolo of Racalmuto. 

San Jacopo, below the Matrice to 
the S., has an early campanile, with 
double lights. 

Termini is a corruption of Thermae, 
for the city occupies the site of the 
Thermx Himerenses, where, on the de¬ 
struction of the ancient Himera by Han¬ 
nibal, son of Gisco, in the year 408 n.c., 
the few surviving inhabitants esta¬ 
blished themselves; though another 
account represents it as founded by the 
Carthaginians in the year 407 n.c. 
Thermae received its name from the hot 
springs which rise here — the 0ep,ua 
wufpav Xovrpa of Pindar—in whose 
waters Hercules is said to have been 
refreshed by the nymphs, when, wearied 
with driving the cattle of Geryon, lie 
halted awhile on this spot. Near this 
city, in the First Punic War, Hamilcar 
gained a great victory over the Ro¬ 
mans, nearly destroying their entire 
army; but at a later date, in the same 
war, the city, after a desperate and 
protracted defence, fell into the hands 
of the Romans, who ever after treated 
it with peculiar favour. Many of the 
statues which the Carthaginians had 
taken from Himera at the time of its 
capture were restored to this, its re¬ 
presentative city, by Scipio Africanus, 
on his conquest of Carthage. Among 
them was one of bronze, of marvellous 
lieautv, representing Himera as a 
draped female, and another of the 





254 


ROUTE 10.-TERMINI—ANTIQUITIES. 


poet Stesieliorus, who was a native of 
that city, but renowned throughout 
Greece for his genius. Thermae was 
also the birthplace of Sthenius, whom 
Cicero celebrates as having done what 
not only no other Sicilian could do, 
but what even all Sicily could not 
do—namely, that he prevented the 
praetor Verres from robbing the city 
of these beautiful statues, and many 
other rich and rare public monuments 
which he eagerly coveted. 

Of the ancient city many traces are 
extant. In the Piano di San Gio¬ 
vanni, in the upper town, near the 
entrance from Palermo, are vestiges 
of an Amphitheatre of elliptical form, 
in five shapeless piers and one arch, all 
of opus incertum. From the curve of 
the ellipsis it is evident that the build¬ 
ing was of small size—about 285 ft. in 
its greatest diameter, and 190 in its less. 
Of such a building, and of a Roman 
theatre, mention had been made by 
writers on Sicily some centuries since, 
but it remained for Signor Baldassare 
Romano to make the site known to 
the world. Another building which 
has been traced on this site is sup¬ 
posed to have been a Curia or a Ba¬ 
silica. The campanile of S. Giacomo 
is built on a Roman foundation; that 
of Sant ’ Orsola is of the same con¬ 
struction, enclosed by modern masonry. 

The Hot Springs, which were so 
celebrated in ancient times, whose 
waters restored the wayworn Her¬ 
cules, and are immortalised in Pin¬ 
dar’s verse, arc now enclosed in a 
modern building in the lower part of 
the city. It is a red brick structure 
of 2 stories, with portraits in relief, 
over the portal, of Ferdinand I. and 
Francis I., who restored the building 
some 50 year's since, when it had 
fallen greatly to decay. A small por¬ 
tion of ancient masonry exposed in 
the modern wall is the only vestige of 
the Roman structure. The water, 
which is chalybeate and sulphureous, 
is transparent, scentless, and colour- 
less, but strongly impregnated with 
salt, with smaller portions of muriate 
of magnesia, sulphate and carbonate of 
lime, &c. Its temperature was formerly 
only 33° Reaumur, but since the earth¬ 


quake of 5th March, 1823, it has risen 
to 35°. It is of great efficacy in rheu¬ 
matic, nervous, and cutaneous dis¬ 
orders, and is still of high repute, the 
baths being much frequented by people 
from all parts of Sicily. Another por¬ 
tion of the ancient Thermae, nearer 
the sea, is now appropriated to women, 
and called Bagno delle Femmine. 

In the Casa Comunale or Palazzo 
Pubblico, are collected most of the 
portable remains of Thermae which 
have escaped destruction. A semi- 
colossal draped figure of white marble, 
minus head, hands, and feet, and of 
Imperial times, is called, but on no 
authority, Sthenius. A veiled female 
head of good style, found in 1G12 
among the ruins of an old house 
formerly adjoining the cathedral, and 
vulgarly called “ Casa di Stenio,” is 
supposed to represent the wife of that 
old Sicilian. The foot of a colossal 
statue with decorated sandal, other 
fragments of statues, of columns and 
friezes, pipes of lead and terra-cotta, 
altars, amphora), and numerous in¬ 
scriptions, chiefly sepulchral, in Latin 
or Greek, are among the relics of 
Thermic here preserved. Here arc 
also 2 Arabic inscriptions in the Niskhi 
character, and a bilingual fragment of 
King Roger’s time in Greek and Latin. 
The walls are decorated with frescoes 
illustrative of the history of Himera 
and Termini, painted in 1G10 by Vin¬ 
cenzo La Barber a, a native artist. 

In several private hands, namely 
those of the Signori Gandolfo, Gar- 
gotta, Lamanna, Levante, and Castro 
Ceclotti, are preserved collections of 
the antiquities of Thermae. 

The local antiquary, from whom the 
traveller may learn full particulars of 
the relics of ancient days extant in 
this neighbourhood, is Don Baldassare 
Romano, who lias published a work 
on the subject, entitled Antichita Ter- 
mitane, Palermo, 1838, and whose 
courtesy equals his erudition. 

Immediately around the walls of 
Termini many Roman tombs have 
at various times been opened, but 
few now remain to satisfy the tra¬ 
veller’s curiosity. They have been 




255 


110UTE 10.—TERMINI— 

found chiefly outside the Gate of Gir- 
genti, in the Piano cli Sant Antonio , 
and outside the Gate of Palermo, on a 
.spot called Giancaniglia, where one 
large rectangular sepulchre of solid 
masonry with a vaulted roof is still 
standing. At a spot called Belvedere 
to the W. are traces also of an ancient 
cemetery. Inscribed tablets, vases, 
coins, &c., have been found in these 
tombs. On the hill of Santa Lucia to 
the E. of the city mosaic pavements 
have been discovered among some 
ruins, probably of Roman villas. 

The Aqueduct which supplied 
Thermae with water is in great part 
extant. The spring, anciently the 
Aqua Cornelia , rises in the hills 4 m. 
to the S.E. of Termini, at a spot called 
Brucato. A town of this name once 
stood here, but it was utterly de¬ 
stroyed in the 14th century by Peter 
II. of Sicily, because it had espoused 
the cause of the Angevins. Its re¬ 
mains were still to be distinguished 
in Fazello’s time on the spot called 
Curia Vet ere, or Castellazzo. The Aqua 
Cornelia rose in a reservoir of solid 
masonry, fell into another of larger 
size, and there depositing its sediment, 
pursued its way in a covered channel, 
sometimes above, sometimes below 
ground, till at a spot called Sotto- 
tenaglia it was carried across a valley 
on an aqueduct, whose arches, having 
been repaired in mediaeval times, are 
pointed. It next crossed a ravine 
called Borrone di tre pietre, on lofty 
Roman arches, and at the valley called 
La Barratina fell into a vaulted hexa¬ 
gonal reservoir of great size, vulgarly 
called 11 Gastello, whence it was con¬ 
veyed in leaden pipes to the city'. 
Many fragments of the leaden or 
earthenware pipes by which the water 
was anciently distributed among the 
public and private fountains have been 
brought to light by excavation. In 
the Contrada della Figurella are the 
remains of another Roman aqueduct 
of a double tier of arches, which 
brought to the city the water from 
another spring, called La Eavara. 

About IV m. from the city on the 
eastern slope of Monte Puleri arc the 


•AQUEDUCI—CaCCAMO. 

cold mineral springs called Bivuto di 
Termini, which rise in a well and flow' 
out into a basin. The water is per- 
fectly transparent, without colour or 
odour, but slightly nauseous to the 
taste. It is composed principally of 
sulphate and muriate of magnesia, and 
sulphate of lime, and, in lesser pro¬ 
portions, of muriate of soda, carbonate 
of magnesia, and lime. 


It is a pleasant excursion from Ter- 
mini to Caccamo, which lies in the 
mountains to the S.W. up the valley 
of S. Leonardo. There is a road, but 
it is in a primitive state of ruggedness 
for the greater part of the way r , and 
the equestrian will find it just as easy 
to take the “ corza ,” which is much 
shorter, being hardly 5 m., w'hich 
distance is almost doubled by the 
road. You leave Termini by the 
Porta di Girgenti, pass the Franciscan 
convent, a portion of the Cornelian 
Aqueduct, and a large Roman tomb, 
and ascend by a long-drawn ridge to 
the gates of Caccamo, wdiich lies at a 
considerable height above the sea. 
On the rt. is the wild deep valley of 
S. Leonardo, with the Fiume di Ter¬ 
mini winding in a roc-ky r bed through 
it, spanned near its mouth l>y the 
steep bridge you crossed on the road 
from Palermo, and backed on the W. 
by bare peaked heights with strata out- 
cropping at sharp angles, the loftiest 
peak being distinguished by the name 
of Monte di Cane. On the 1. is another 
deep but luxuriantly wooded hollow, 
bey'ond which rise the bare slopes, 
seamed and furrowed, of Monte San 
Calogero, whose crest rises to the 
height of 2671 ft. above the sea. 

Caccamo, a town of nearly 7000 
inhab., is situated at a considerable 
elevation on the slope of a mountain. 
As usual with out of the way' towns in 
Sicily', this is mean and dirty; a col¬ 
lection of yellow-roofed hovels, with 
steep streets and rugged pavements; 
yet tire picturesque character of its 
ancient castle, and the magnificent 
view it commands up the deep valley' 



250 


ROUTE 10 . —TERMINI TO CEFAlO. 


of the S. Leonardo to Yicari and 
Ciminna inland, and of Monte S. 
Caldgero, the Mediterranean, Monte 
Catalfano, and the island of Ustica on 
the dim horizon, make amends for the 
want of interest in the town itself. 
The Castle stands on a precipitous 
rock to the W. of the town, overhang¬ 
ing the valley of S. Leonardo. It is 
of Norman times, and its antiquity 
may he seen in its crumbling battle¬ 
ments, and in its windows with double 
lights, divided by marble shafts. It 
was the feudal castle of the Dukes of 
Caccamo or Princes Galati; and it 
boasts of having in 1302, during the 
War of the Vespers, repulsed from its 
gates Charles of Valois and Eobert of 
Anjou, which fact is commemorated 
in a marble tablet over the portal, 
bearing date 1665—“arcem quam 
Gallus invictam olim expalluit.” 
Like most buildings of such antiquity 
in Sicily, it is fast falling into decay; 
and serves for little more than a prison, 
a reminiscence of feudal times, and a 
tempting subject for the portfolio. 

The Cliiesa Matrice, which stands at 
the foot of the castle-rock, is a spa¬ 
cious modern church of Eoman Doric 
architecture. The five pictures repre¬ 
senting the senses are of the Flemish 
school. The Annunziata is also modern, 
but the bell-towers which flank its 
facade are of earlier date. The Casa 
Ceccola, just below it, has an ancient 
pointed door of two orders, enriched 
with the triple chevron and the dog¬ 
tooth moulding. The Bacliola is a 
tiny church, also of Norman archi¬ 
tecture. 

The mountains around Caccamo arc 
said to yield jasper, agate, and por¬ 
phyry. 


From Termini to Cefalu the road has 
been very recently completed. It lies 
along the shore, much of the way over 
the beach itself, and fords the mouths 
of two large streams, the Fiume Torto 
and Fiume Grande, which after heavy 
rains are so increased in volume as often 
to put a stop to travelling for days to¬ 
gether. Termini from the E. is highly 


picturesque, the grey town climbing the 
slope, and cresting the ridge of a long- 
straight hill, which rises at its ex¬ 
tremity into a high bluff cliff, on 
which, in defiant grandeur, sits the 
venerable fortress looking seaward. 
Behind it, stretching into the sea on 
the far western horizon, are the bold 
abrupt forms of Monte Catalfano and 
Monte Pellegrino, the latter dimly 
seen beyond the former. At 3 m. 
from Termini an olive-crowned cliff 
of schistose rock overhangs the sea, 
and here some have placed the site 
of the ancient Himera; but that 
renowned city lay on the extremity 
of the bare green downs which stretch 
downwards to the sea, apparently from 
the base of the mountain of Gratteri, 
wliich rise in lofty hog-backed masses 
in the E. Before reaching it, how¬ 
ever, you have, at 5 m. from Termini, 
to ford the Fiume Torto , which flows 
through a wide corn-clad valley into 
the sea. It rises in the mountains 
below Lercara de’ Freddi, is crossed 
by the high road to Catania, in the 
hollow between Eoccapalumba and 
Alia, flows northward beneath Monte- 
maggiore, and washes the eastern 
base of Monte S. Caldgero. Its course 
is short but rapid, and a single heavy 
shower will often render it unford- 
able. A path here turns inland on its 
it. bank to Sclafani, Caltavuturo, and 
Polizzi. 

The road continues, over and under 
green downs, for 4 m. further, to the 
Masseria di Buonfornello , a farm-house 
on the 1. bank and near the mouth of 
the Fiume Grande. Before reaching 
it, however, you pass beneath a lofty 
green slope, which continues in an un¬ 
broken line for some \ mile along the 
shore. This was the site of Himera, 
“ the far-ruling city ” of Pindar. This 
olive-sprinkled steep was once crowned 
with the walls which bade defiance 
to Hamilcar, and fell before his grand¬ 
son Hannibal. As you pass beneath 
it, you may perceive by the wayside 
traces of ancient sepulture at the foot 
of the steep, in fragments of earthen 
sarcophagi; and of habitation in after 
times in the substructions of a Eoman 
villa half-way up the slope. 




257 


ROUTE 10.- 

Himera stood on a broad flat pla¬ 
teau, rising some 200 ft. above the 
plain, and about £ m. from the sea, 
having its eastern base washed by the 
Fiume Grande. The plateau sinks in 
a’steep slope towards the sea, but on 
the side which overhangs the river 
the declivity is topped by a line of 
cliffs. The height is a mass of white 
calcareous rock, with a stratum of 
breccia above and below it. Just 
above the Masseria a break in the 
hill marks the site of the Sea-Gate. 
The level of the plateau is covered 
with corn, sprinkled with olives; but 
not a fragment of the Greek city now 
rises above the surface, and not a 
block of the ancient walls is left in 
situ; nothing but broken pottery, 
that ineffaceable evidence of former 
habitation, remains to attest to the 
eye the existence of the renowned 
Himera. The town is said to have 
taken its name from the river which 
flowed beneath its walls, but there 
is nothing now so attractive in that 
stream as to entitle it to the appella¬ 
tion of ‘ l/xepa —“lovely, charming”— 
though it may be applicable to the 
site of the city itself, which commands 
a glorious panorama. Westward, Ter¬ 
mini is seen rising from the blue bay, 
at the foot of the bold S. Calogcro ; 
beyond is Monte Catalfano, with 
Solunto, and the sugar-loaf rock at 
its base; still further, the familiar 
forms of Monte Pellegrino, Monte 
Gallo, and Monte Cuccio, dimly peep¬ 
ing over the isthmus of Bagaria. The 
coast to the E. is of tamer character, 
Cefalu being concealed by a low head¬ 
land ; but the village of Koccella on its 
height, and its tower on the shore, are 
picturesque features; and the Mado- 
nian mountains in the S.E., in a broad 
mass seamed with gulleys, and for the 
greater part of the year capped with 
snow, form a magnificent background. 
Southward you look over the green 
downs of Himera, and far up the wide 
valley of the Fiume Grande to a wild 
range of mountains, with the towns 
of Sclafani and Caltavuturo nestling 
among their loftiest recesses. 

Himera owes its origin to some 
Olialcidean emigrants from Zancle or 


—HIMERA. 

Messina, together with some exiles 
from Syracuse, who founded it about 
the year 648 b.c. It is said by Thucy¬ 
dides to have been the only Greek 
colony on this northern coast of Sicily, 
but that statement is not strictly cor¬ 
rect, as Mylae was also of Greek and 
of earlier origin. About 481 b.c., 
Himera, being then governed by a 
tyrant named Terillus, was conquered 
by Theron King of Agrigentum, who 
drove out the oppressor and trans¬ 
ferred the government to his own son 
Thrasydseus. Terillus sought assist¬ 
ance from Carthage; and that ambi¬ 
tious state, which was only seeking 
a pretext to invade Sicily, according 
to a compact it had made with Xerxes, 
when he was about to attack Greece, 
to create by this means a diversion in 
his favour, despatched Hamilcar, with 
a force of 300,000 men, to the island. 
Hamilcar landed at Panormus in 480 
b.c., and marched at once to Himera, 
where he drew his ships ashore and 
entrenched them with a rampart. The 
citizens, reinforced by a body of Agri- 
gentines under Theron, walled up their 
gates and prepared for an obstinate 
defence. They were speedily succoured 
by Gelon of Syracuse, who brought his 
entire force, amounting to 50,000 foot 
and 5000 horse, to their relief. “ His 
arrival restored the courage of the in¬ 
habitants ; and after some partial 
fighting, which turned out to the ad¬ 
vantage of the Greeks, a general battle 
ensued. It was obstinate and bloody, 
lasting from sunrise until late in the 

o 

afternoon; and its success was mainly 
determined by an intercepted letter 
which fell into the hands of Gelo—a 
communication from the Selinuntines 
to Hamilcar, promising to send a body 
of horse to his aid, and intimating the 
time at which they would arrive. A 
party of Gelo’s horse, instructed to 
personate this reinforcement from 
Selinus, were received into the camp 
of Hamilcar, where they spread con¬ 
sternation and disorder, and are even 
said to have slain the general, and set 
fire to the ships; while the Greek 
army, brought to action at this oppor¬ 
tune moment, at length succeeded in 
triumphing over both superior num- 




258 


ROUTE 10 . —HIMERA. 


hers and a determined resistance. If 
we are to believe Diodorus, 150,000 
men were slain on the side of the Car¬ 
thaginians ; the rest fled, partly to 
the Sicanian mountains, where they 
became prisoners of the Agrigentines 
—partly to a hilly ground, where from 
want of water they were obliged to 
surrender at discretion. Twenty ships 
alone escaped with a few fugitives, 
and these twenty were destroyed by a 
storm on the passage, so that only 
one small boat arrived at Carthage 
with the disastrous tidings.”— Grote. 
The numbers given by Diodorus are 
evidently exaggerated, but there can 
be no doubt that this was one of the 
most sanguinary battles, and among 
the most decisive victories, of ancient 
times, which established the superiority 
of the Sicilian Greeks over the Car¬ 
thaginians at the very time that their 
brethren in the mother country were 
triumphing over the Persians; for by 
a strange coincidence the battle of 
Himera was fought on the very day 
of the famous victory of Salamis, and 
was productive of similar results. As 
Mr. Grote remarks, “ the defeat of 
the Persians at Salamis, and of the 
Carthaginians at Himera, cleared 
away suddenly and unexpectedly the 
terrific cloud from Greece as well as 
from Sicily, and left a sky com¬ 
paratively brilliant with prosperous 
hopes.” The victory of Himera was 
indeed a landmark in the ancient 
history of Sicily, for it procured for 
the Greek cities in that island a long 
immunity from foreign war, and so 
vast an influx of wealth, in the shape 
of plunder and of captives, that they 
were enabled to construct great public 
works, and to testify their gratitude 
to the gods by the erection of the 
magnificent temples whose mere ruins 
are still a wonder and a mystery. 

Himera, grateful for the services 
rendered her by Gelon, gave ready 
and efficient aid to Syracuse in her 
celebrated contest with Athens. But 
her own hour was at hand. In the 
year 409 r».c. Hannibal, the Carthagi¬ 
nian general, having destroyed Selinus, 
and burning to avenge the disastrous 
defeat of liis countrymen, and the 


death of his grandfather Hamilcar, 
before the Avails of Himera, marched 
his vast host against that city. He 
established a camp of 40,000 men on 
the heights at some little distance, and 
with the rest of his force attacked the 
city, endeavouring to effect a breach by 
mines and battering-rams. The citizens, 
having recei ved a reinforcement of 4000 
Syracusans under Diodes, made a sally 
which Avas attended with great success, 
till Hannibal, bringing up his reserve, 
turned the fortune of the day, and 
drove back the Himerseans with heavy 
loss to their gates. A friendly fleet 
arriving at this moment in their port 
should have revived the spirits of the 
besieged, but Diodes, acting on a false 
rumour, determined to return at once 
to Syracuse, and the citizens being 
unable to stay him, and having the fate 
of the Selinuntines before their eyes, 
resolved to abandon the city they could 
no longer hope to defend. It Avas 
agreed that as many as could bo put 
on board should be carried by the fleet 
to Messana, and that the rest should 
defend the city as Avell as they could 
until its return. “ Immediately the 
feebler part of the population, crowding 
on board until the triremes could hold 
no more, sailed away along the northern 
coast to Messene. On the same night 
Diodes marched out of the city with 
his Syracusan soldiers: many of the 
Himerseans, with their AviA r es and chil¬ 
dren, took their departure Avitli him. 
as their only chance of escape. The 
bravest and most devoted portion of the 
Himeraean warriors still remained to 
defend their city, until the triremes 
came back. They AA r ere again assailed 
on the next morning by the Cartha¬ 
ginians, yet the resistance w r as still 
successfully maintained; so that night 
found Himera still a Grecian city. On 
the next day the triremes came back ; 
and if the defenders could have main¬ 
tained their walls until another sunset, 
many of them might yet have escaped. 
But the gods AA r ere quitting Himera, as 
they had before quitted Selinus. At 
the moment Avhen the triremes Avere 
seen coining near to the port, the 
Iberian assailants broke down a wide 
space of the fortification Avitli their 



ROUTE 10.-HIMERA—ItOCCELLA. 


battering-rams, poured in through the 
breach, and overcame all opposition. 
The city now became one scene of 
'wholesale slaughter and plunder. A 
few among the wretched population 
may have contrived to reach the ap¬ 
proaching triremes; all the rest either 
perished or fell into the hands of the 
victor. It was a proud day for the 
Carthaginian general when lie stood as 
master on the ground of Himera, en¬ 
abled to fulfil the duty of revenge for 
his slain grandfather. Not merely the 
walls and temples, but all the houses 
in Himera, were razed to the ground. 
Its temples, having been first stripped 
of their ornaments and valuables, were 
burnt. The women and children taken 
captive were distributed as prizes among 
the soldiers. But all the male captives, 
3000 in number, were conveyed to the 
precise spot where Hamilcar had been 
slain, and were there put to death with 
indignity, as an expiatory satisfaction 
to his lost honour .”—Abridged from 
Grote. 

As there is no bridge, it is necessary 
to ford the river in its wide sandy bed. 
The Fiume Grande takes its rise in 
the Nebrodes mountains, near Polizzi. 
After passing a village with the Sara¬ 
cenic name of Scillati, it receives a 
large tributary flowing through the 
hollow between the towns of Sclafani 
and Caltavuturo, whose waters are 
slightly impregnated with salt; and it 
tails into the sea just below the site of 
Himera. Anciently it bore the same 
name as the city, and also as another 
large and important river of Sicily, 
now the Fiume Salso, with which it 
has frequently been confounded. This 
mistake was made by the ancients, 
who, as the two streams took their rise 
in the same range of mountains, the 
one flowing to the N., the other to the 
S., regarded them as one and the same 
river, dividing Sicily into two parts :— 

—“ Qua mergitur Himera ponto 
Aolio. Nam dividuas se scindit in oras; 

Nec minus occasus petit inciia, quam petit 
ortus; 

Nebrodes gemini nutrit divortia fontis 
Quo mons Sicania non surgit ditior umbra.” 

—Sin. Ital. 


The classic traveller will recognise 
in these frequently-occurring streams 
the truth of Pindar’s description, when 
lie speaks of this as a “ well-watered 
shore ”— ran evvfipov amra-v. The road 
runs beneath low heights of white 
marl, clothed with broom, lentiscus, and 
dwarf-palms, and after 3 miles reaches 
the Castle of EocceJla, a square feudal 
tower, now converted to a farm-house, 
standing on the shore amid pastures 
and rice-fields. On a hill a little to 
the rt. stands the village of Campofelice, 
a name which, Smyth observes, must 
have been given in irony, as the in¬ 
habitants are poor and sallow, being 
sufferers from the malaria arising from 
the neighbouring rice-grounds. Yet he 
who looks only at the external features 
of nature would think the name ap¬ 
plicable enough to tliis rich and pictu¬ 
resque shore. 

37 m. Boccella is half-way be¬ 
tween Termini and Cefalii —12 m. 
from each. The stream of the same 
name, which Fazello takes to be a 
corruption of Auricella, has its source 
in the Madonian mountains, near Col- 
lesano, some 8 miles inland. These 
mountains, which rise in majestic con¬ 
trast with the corn-plain, and olive-clad 
slopes along the shore, are the Nebrodes 
of the ancients, the loftiest in Sicily 
after iEtna, and they received their 
name from ,tlie multitude of deer 
(Ve/3 pbs) which once inhabited them, 
but which Fazello tells us had been 
almost exterminated in his day by in¬ 
considerate and promiscuous hunting. 
They are capped with snow during the 
greater part of the year. 

Among the Madonian chain the 

o 

serrated crest of the mountain of Grat- 
teri, which takes its name from the 
town upon its slope; and the long 
swelling peak of Gibelmanna, are par¬ 
ticularly prominent. The latter derives 
its appellation— Gibel-man —“ Moun¬ 
tain of Manna,” from the quantity of 
that ash which has been cultivated, 
even from Saracenic times, upon its 
slopes. On its summit is a convent of 
Capuchin monks, called La Madonna 
di Gibelmanna, 



260 


ROUTE 10. — CEFALLT. 


Collesano is a town of 3G00 inliab., 
and gives its name to a count. A 
tower of its ancient castle, now used as 
a campanile to the principal church, 
hears the date of 1060. In the vicinity 
jasper and porphyry are found. On a 
height to the W. are some remains of 
an ancient town, from whose ruins 
Collesano is said to have been con¬ 
structed. 

At 16 m. from Termini you cross 
the small Flume cli Lascari, flowing 
from a cultivated valley in which the 
village of that name is situated, a mile 
from the road. The mountains here 
approach more closely to the sea, and 
the way lies across their lower slojies 
through vineyards, or plantations of 
almonds, olives, or manna-trees. This, 
a species of ash— fraxinus ornus —is a 
very pretty cultivation, especially in 
spring, when its brilliant green foliage 
and white feathery flowers make it 
highly ornamental to the landscape. 
In summer the bark is scored to obtain 
the manna, which exudes from it in 
the form of gum. The tree grows 
chiefly on hill-slopes; and this moun¬ 
tainous district between Termini and 
Mistretta yields the best manna in 
Europe, which takes the name of Ge- 
raci, a town in the mountains S. of 
Cefalu, where the cultivation is chiefly 
carried on. At 19 m. the bold square 
headland of Cefalu comes into sight, 
with a ruined castle on its crest, and 
the town girdling its base; the cathedral 
with its twin towers standing out pro¬ 
minently on the shore. Here the road 
becomes highly picturesque, running 
over slopes which, carpeted with varied 
foliage and strewed with huge rocks, 
rise gently from the sea into finely 
broken cliffs hung with ivy and cactus, 
and crested with white casinos or villas, 
shaded by tall cypresses or date-palms 
—the country-seats of the nobles of 
Cefalu. Where the road crosses a low 
rocky ridge, the Madonna del Carmelo 
invokes in quaint couplets the devotion 
of the traveller. 

A long avenue leads in a gentle 
descent to 


Cefalu. 

49 in. Inns: Two, both outside 
the Porta Reale. The “ Locanda della 
Prussia con cuciniere,” on the right 
hand of the street as you approach 
the gate, is the larger and more im¬ 
posing; but most travellers give the 
preference to the opposite house, the 
“ Locanda Nuova della Fortuna,” on 
account of the greater cleanliness, and 
of the obliging disposition of the land¬ 
lord, Stefano Scibilia, who acts also as 
cicerone for the wonders of Cefalix. 

Cefalu is the representative of Cepha- 
loedium, whose name, evidently derived 
from the bold headland (icecpaXi]) on 
which it stood, suggests a Greek origin. 
It can have been but a small town in 
ancient times, perhaps only a castle, 
as indeed it is called by Diodorus, and 
it was probably a dependency of Hi- 
mera. It stood originally on the sum¬ 
mit of the headland, where vestiges 
of it are still visible. It is not men¬ 
tioned in history before the year 396 
b.c., when it allied itself with Imileon 
the Carthaginian against Dionysius of 
Syracuse, into whose hands it fell by 
treachery. In the year 307 b.c. it was 
taken by Agathocles. In the First 
Punic War, the Romans, though they 
led a fleet of 250 ships and a large 
force against it, could not prevail by 
force of arms, but had to resort to 
treachery to obtain possession of the 
town. Cefalu was taken by the Sara¬ 
cens in 858, but made no noise in 
history till the autumn of a.d. 1129, 
when King Roger, on his return 
from Naples to Sicily, encountered 
so violent a tempest off Salerno, that 
lie was in imminent peril of perish¬ 
ing, whereon he vowed to erect a 
church to Christ and his Apostles on 
whatever spot he might be permitted 
to land. He set foot ashore beneath 
the western cliffs of Cefalu, and im¬ 
mediately founded a church on the 
spot in honour of St. George, which, 
afterwards falling into decay, was 
rebuilt by the citizens under the name 
of S. Leonardo. Two years afterwards, 
to fulfil his vow, he laid the founda¬ 
tions of the present cathedral, by far 
the largest and most magnificent 




ROUTE 10 . —CEFAlO-THE CATHEDRAL. 


261 


temple in Sicily at that day. It is 
singular however that the diploma in 
which King Roger endowed his new 
church, dated 1145, makes no mention 
of such a vow, merely assigning as his 
reason for founding so grand a temple, 
his gratitude to the Saviour for the 
worldly honours and the regal title 
which he had acquired. Another 
diploma, of 1132, speaks of the temple 
as already built—showing that it must 
have been completed within the space 
of a single year. On the erection of 
this structure the inhabitants forsook 
the old town on the heights for the 
more convenient residence on the 
beach. Cefalii is therefore entirely a 
town of the middle ages. It stands at 
the base of the precipitous cliffs, on a 
narrow strip of land shelving down to 
the sea. 

The wall which encloses it might 
in former days have served to keep 
out the crew of a Barbary corsair, but 
would be powerless against artillery. 
In this wall are 4 gates—Porta Reale 
at the S., and Porta Giudecca at the 
N. end of the town ; and Porta del 
Mare, and Porta d’Arena, opening on 
the shore to the W. Below the Porta 
Reale are some remains of very ancient 
walling, probably of a liue of fortifica¬ 
tion which connected the port with 
the town on the height. The ma¬ 
sonry is massive, composed of blocks 
about 8 ft. long by nearly 3 in height, 
which are arranged in horizontal 
courses, but with a certain irregularity 
that suggests a remote antiquity. 
The Porta Giudecca is of Norman 
times, with a circular arch. 

Cefalii, which rejoices in the title 
of “ La Piacentissima,” contains a popu¬ 
lation of about 11,183, most of them 
engaged in agriculture, and a portion 
in fishing. In ancient times its waters 
were famous for whales— 

“ Qmeque procelloso Ceplialcedias ora profnndo 
Civruleis horrent campis pascentia cet:.e ” 

—Sil. Ital. xiv.— 

and tunny still abound in summer¬ 
time on this coast. The women of Ce- 
fiilii wear black veils over their heads, 
but not shrouding the entire figure as 
at Trapani and Catania. The streets 


arc tolerably regular, but those in the 
upper and lower parts of the town are 
very narrow and filthy, and generally 
there is a depressing air of poverty 
and misery about the place, that is 
not surpassed in all Sicily. There are 
few good houses, but some curious 
remains of mediaeval domestic archi¬ 
tecture, with pointed windows divided 
by slender pillars, and archivolts or¬ 
namented with patterns in black and 
white stone. In the principal street 
is a picturesque building called Casa 
di Rogero, from the popular tradition 
that it was built by King Roger as a 
residence. It is certainly of Norman 
times, and displays the dog-tooth, 
chevron, and nail-head mouldings 
among its decorations. Opposite it is 
another structure of equal antiquity, 
called the Palazzo del Marchese Ge- 
raci , which shows the prominent Sa¬ 
racenic billet-moulding, as on the ear¬ 
liest Norman buildings of Palermo. 
Adjoining is the campanile of the 
church of Santa Annunziata, also of 
early architecture. In a private house 
in the lower part of the town are 
shown the remains of a bath with 
Arabic inscriptions on the marble co¬ 
lumns. 

The Cathedral. 

II Duomo stands in a large square, 
in the highest part of the town, imme¬ 
diately at the foot of the cliffs, which 
tower up behind it in red and grey 
walls, perfectly precipitous, to a vast 
height. Along the very verge of the 
precipice is a low crenated wall, in 
which hangs a bell, formerly used to 
alarm the citizens on the approach of 
corsairs. On one side of the Cathedral 
stands the Bishop’s Palace, and on the 
other the Clerical Seminary. In the 
midst of the Piazza plays a fountain, 
and immediately in front of the Cathe¬ 
dral stand the colossal statues of 4 
bishops, of bad art, but imposing from 
their position. 

The Cathedral is of considerable size, 
in the shape of a Latin cross, and in 
plan and arrangements very nearly 
resembles the Duomo of Monreale. It 
is perfect and intact in all its principal 




262 


ROUTE 10 . —CEFALU—THE CATHEDRAL. 


parts. The west front, which faces the 
Piazza, has a portico flanked by two 
square projecting towers of yellow 
masonry. The portico has 3 arches, 
the central one round, the others 
pointed, all quite plain, resting on 
granite columns with capitals adorned 
with figures and foliage. This portico 
is a restoration effected in 1480 by 
Monsignore Giovanni Gatto, whose 
arms may be seen on the two central 
capitals. The roof of the portico is 
pointed and groined, with enriched 
keystones. Its walls, now plain, were 
formerly covered with paintings per¬ 
haps in mosaic, representing King 
Roger offering his new temple to the 
Saviour; his successors, William the 
Rad and William the Good, confirming 
his concessions and adding fresh dona¬ 
tions ; the Empress Costanza endowing 
the Cathedral with a fief; and the Em¬ 
peror Frederick II. on his throne, de¬ 
spatching Giovanni Cicala, the Bishop 
of Cefalu, on a special mission to the 
Sultan of Damascus. These decora¬ 
tions are described in an old manu¬ 
script of the year 1329 as then exist¬ 
ing, though greatly injured by the 
effects of age, so that they can hardly 
have been less than a century earlier. 

The W. door, which is coeval with 
the building, is remarkably curious. 
It has a semicircular arch within a 
pediment, and is the only instance of 
a Norman portal of this form to be 
found in all Sicily. It has 5 enriched 
fasciae or orders. On the inner is the 
Norman chevron, tripled ; on the next, 
narrow interlacing foliage, a Norman 
version of the Greek lotus and an- 
themion; on the 3rd, beasts and birds 
in recessed medallions, with flowers 
and foliage; the 4th shows the Greek 
clement in dentils, the egg and tongue, 
and astragal mouldings; and the out¬ 
side order is an enriched scroll ter¬ 
minating in lizards. The pediment 
or label, which is of ugly form, is 
moulded in imitation of the acanthus. 
All the enrichments of the portal are 
of white marble. The arch does not 
rest, as usual in Norman doorways, on 
slender columns, but on plain pilasters 
with continuous capitals and abaci, 
enriched with foliage. 


Over the portico is a large pointed 
window, decorated with the chevron 
and billet, and forming the centre of 
a series of similar arches, interlacing 
and resting on columns with foliated 
capitals. In an upper order is a series 
of 13 smaller arches, not interlacing, 
but in other respects similar to those 
below them. 

The towers which flank the portico 
are massive but void of elegance or 
beauty. They have 4 stories; the 
lowest reaching to the roof of the 
portico, the upper 3 having a pointed 
window in each face. Each tower is 
surmounted by one of smaller size, 
capped by a pyramid. In that to the 
rt. alone the upper part retains its 
original form. 

The exterior of the church is plain, 
save that small interlacing arches, 
with chevron mouldings, are carried 
round the upper part of the transepts, 
marking the triforium of the tribune, 
and that the apses externally arc 
much enriched in the usual Siculo- 
Norman style, as exhibited in the 
cathedrals of Palermo and Monreale. 
The central apse is very lofty, as high 
as the transepts, and is adorned with a 
scries of tall slender coupled shafts with 
foliated capitals and projecting abaci, 
supporting a cornice of small pointed 
arches. The side apses, which are very 
low in comparison, have also similar 
coupled columns, supporting inter¬ 
lacing arches sharply pointed, above 
which is a cornice or stringcourse of 
small circular arches resting on cor¬ 
bels of grotesque heads, as in the 
Norman of northern Europe. The 
decorations of the apses can only Ido 
seen to advantage from the garden of 
the Canonico Messina, which is en¬ 
tered by a gate on the S. side of the 
cathedral. 

The interior of the church is divided 
into 3 aisles, separated by columns 
of grey granite, with Corintliian-like 
capitals and bases of white marble, 
supporting arches pointed and stilted. 
The eastern end of the church is raised 
some steps above the western, and 
terminates in 3 apses corresponding 



ROUTE 10 . —CEFALU—THE CATHEDRAL. 


263 


with the aisles. All these features 
combine to form a strong resemblance 
between this Cathedral and that of 
Monreale. But the choir is here of 
much smaller size, and the apsidal 
chapels of far greater depth; the 
transepts project considerably beyond 
the walls of the outer aisles; and the 
storied mosaics, which give a golden 
glory to every part of the Monreale 
church, are here confined to the tri¬ 
bune and central apse. 

This cathedral is internally 230 ft. 
long by 90 wide. The nave is twice 
the width of the side-aisles. The 16 
columns which separate them are of 
grey granite, save one of cipollino, 
and are said to have been taken from 
an ancient temple. The capitals are 
of the time of the foundation, and are 
generally imitations of the Corinthian, 
but some are without volutes, and de¬ 
corated with quaint faces and figures. 
The windows of the clerestory are small, 
pointed, plain, and splayed. The nave 
is roofed with wood, and the beams are, 
or rather were, curiously painted and 
gilt, bearing inscriptions in Gothic 
characters, among which you may 
perceive the name of Manfred and 
the date 1263; but the greater part 
of the roof is a restoration effected in 
1559. The side-aisles are vaulted and 
stuccoed in the modern style. The 
choir and N. transept have been roofed 
in later times with wood, but the ori¬ 
ginal groined vaults are seen in the S. 
transept and tiie tribune. In both 
transepts, above the clerestory, is a tri- 
forium, with arches obtusely pointed, 
and resting on massive columns, much 
heavier than in Sicilian buildings of 
the period, and more resembling the 
Norman architecture of the North. 
The part at the intersection of the 
nave and transepts, or, properly speak¬ 
ing, the choir, was used as such till 
the bishop, Francesco Gonzaga, removed 
tiie seats to the tribune in the year 
1588. At the entrance of the Tribune 
on either hand is a white marble 
throne, ornamented with mosaics; 
that on the rt. being tiie “Bishops 
Seat; ” that on the 1. the “ Royal 
Throne.” Above these thrones, and 
just within the tribune, the walls are 


covered to the height of 15 ft. with 
beautiful Alexandrine mosaics. The 
tribune has been spoilt by the intro¬ 
duction in its lower and front half of 
much badigeou ornament—vile stuccoes, 
ugly strap and scroll work, wretched 
statues on brackets, alternating with 
as wretched frescoes, introduced at the 
close of the 16th century. In the 
pavement arc some slabs of white 
marble witli Alexandrine mosaics. 

Mosaics. —The inner half of the tri¬ 
bune, as well as the walls of the apse, 
are covered with mosaic pictures on a gold 
ground, similar to those of Monreale. An 
inscription in quaint Latin verse records 
that this work was completed by King 
Roger, in the year 1148, and the 18tli 
of his reign. It is probable that that 
pious and munificent prince intended 
that the entire walls of the church 
should be covered with these decora¬ 
tions, but no traces of mosaics remain 
in any other part, and the length of 
time, 16 years, that it took to complete 
this small portion, and his death in 
1154, will explain why such an inten¬ 
tion, if entertained, was not carried into 
effect. 

In the semidome of the apse is a 
colossal half-figure of our Saviour 
raising his right hand in the act of 
benediction, and holding an open book 
in the other, just as he is represented 
in the apses of Monreale Cathedral 
and the Cappella Palatina. On the 
archivolt encircling the figure is this 
distich— 

“ Factus homo, factor hominis, factique re- 
demptor, 

Judico corporeus corpora corda Deus.” 

Below this are 3 bands of figures: in 
the upper, the Virgin is standing be¬ 
tween the 4 archangels; in the two 
lower, stand the 12 Apostles, all with 
epigraphs in Greek. Between them, 
a long Latin inscription in rhyming 
hexameters records the date of the 
completion of the mosaics. On the 
walls of the tribune, in the arch oil 
the 1. is the head of Melcliisedek in a 
medallion, with figures of Moses and 
Hosea below. On the opposite wall 
is tiie head of Abraham, with figures 
of David and Solomon. In the next 




264 


ROUTE 10 . —CEFALLT—THE CATHEDRAL. 


band are the prophets Joel, Amos, 
Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, and Nahum. 
The lowest two bands contain saints 
— Peter, Vincent, Lawrence, Stephen, 
Gregory, Augustine, Silvester, and 
Denis * on the 1.; and Theodore, 
George, Demetrius, Nestor, Nicholas, 
Basil, Chrysostom, and Gregory the 
theologian on the rt.—all with books 
or scrolls in their hands, and in 
ecclesiastical robes, denoting their 
respective rank in the hierarchy. On 
the vault of the tribune is represented 
the heavenly host. Though so few in 
number, these mosaic pictures are not 
inferior in beauty to those at Monreale, 
the Martorana, or the Cappella Palatina. 
The drapery is easy and broad, the 
figures well drawn, and some full of 
dignity and grandeur. There are few 
of those crude restorations which de¬ 
tract so much from the original har¬ 
mony of the mosaics at Palermo and 
Monreale. Serradifalco, indeed, does 
not hesitate to pronounce these mosaics 
to be more precious as works of art 
than any others of that period wrought 
in Sicily. 

The High Altar is of various 
marbles, fronted by a balustrade of 
red and white marble. 

Both the side-apses, whatever they 
may originally have been, are now 
spoilt by modern stuccoes; in that to 
the 1. the roof preserves its groining. 

This cathedral contains numerous 
monuments, principally to bishops of 
the diocess, from the 16th century 
downwards; many are mere sarco¬ 
phagi, others are more pretentious, 
but few are of much interest, historic¬ 
ally or artistically. Nor are any of 
the pictures it contains of much merit. 
In the 2nd arch to the rt. as you enter 
the ch. is a circular font of black 
marble, adorned with 4 lions in relief 
of very quaint art. The bowl is 6 ft. 
in diameter, and rests on the shaft of 
a fluted column. On each side of the 
nave is a pulpit of white marble, rest¬ 
ing on 4 granite columns. Over the 
2nd altar in the rt. aisle is a picture of 
St. Francis Xavier and St. Ignatius 
Loyola in adoration of the Virgin and 
Child—evidently of the school of 


Novelli, and attributed to his daughter 
Rosalia, In the 3rd to the rt. is a St. 
Joseph with the youthful Saviour, by 
Vito d'Anna. Over the next altar is 
a picture of St. Peter and St. Paul in 
prison, with their feet in the stocks, 
ascribed to Matthew Stommer. In this 
aisle is a monument by Leonardo 
Pennino, to Bishop Joachim Castello 
(ob. 1788), who is represented giving 
a shirt to a cripple ; and a sarcophagus 
containing the remains of the Marquis 
of Geraci, who died in the year 1200. 
Below this is the tomb of Euphemia, 
sister of King Frederick of Aragon. 
In the transept on this side is a 
monument to Bishop Vanni (ob. 
1803), who repaired and adorned the 
cathedral, and conferred sundry 
benefits on the Sicilian public; the 
most important of which was the con¬ 
struction of a road for 2 m.! It is by 
Federico Siracusa of Palermo. On 
the pier of this transept is a curious 
fresco of the Virgin and Child at¬ 
tended by angels, of very rude but 
early art, certainly not later than the 
13th century. 

In the N. transept and apse are 
several monuments to Bishops of 
Cefalii of the 16th and 17th centuries, 
among which that of Giovanni Sergio, 
kneeling in prayer, by Leonardo 
Pennino, is the most remarkable. On 
the last column in this 1. aisle is 
painted a figure life-size, holding an 
urn on which are represented two 
small heads. It is vulgarly called 
“ King Roger,” and is in a very earl) 7 
style of art, but now almost obliterated. 
Over the 3rd altar to the 1. is a picture 
of the Angelo Custode, attributed to 
Novelli, but of his school. Over the 
1st to the 1. is a St. John the Baptist 
preaching, of the Messinese school. 

In the transepts once stood the two 
porphyry sarcophagi which King 
Roger caused to be carved, one for 
his own interment, the other for the 
symmetrical adornment of the ch., and 
which were removed to Palermo by 
the Emperor Frederick II., and now 
enshrine his own remains and those 
of his father, the Emperor Henry VI., 
in the Chapel of the Kings in the 
cathedral. So highly prized were 




265 


EOUTE 10.—CEE ALU-CLOISTERS—THE CASTELLO. 


these sarcophagi hy the Cefaleditani, 
that in order to elicet their removal, 
at the commencement of the 13th cen¬ 
tury, the Emperor Frederick was first 
obliged to despatch the bishop Gio¬ 
vanni Cicala on a special mission to 
the Sultan of Damascus, and then to 
present a rich fief to the Cathedral in 
compensation. 

In the Sacristy, among other relics, 
is shown a portion of King Roger's 
robe of cloth of gold. 

The Cloisters. —Adjoining the ca¬ 
thedral on the N. side arc the cloisters 
belonging to the monastery which 
Roger, on the foundation of his church, 
established for the Augustine monks, 
whom he had brought expressly from 
Bagnara in Calabria. It is a large 
quadrangle surrounded by an arcade 
of coupled columns, with a group of 4 
at each angle, originally closely re¬ 
sembling the cloister of Monreale, 
but it lias been much disfigured by 
alterations. The N. and S. sides still 
retain each 20 pointed arches, and on 
the other sides there were originally 
15; but on the E. these have been 
supplied by 5 large circular arches. 
The columns are of white marble, and 
mostly plain, save a few which are 
chevroned, one twisted, and one 
adorned with beautiful foliage, mixed 
with animals, in relief. The capitals, 
no two of which are alike, are in some 
cases imitations of the Corinthian, but 
in general are adorned with foliage 
delicately cut, and mingled with gro¬ 
tesque figures of men, animals, and 
monsters, such as the wild imagina¬ 
tion of the Norman architects de¬ 
lighted to create and combine. A 
few, as at Monreale, bear Scriptural 
subjects, such as the Fall of Man, and 
Noali entering tine Ark; but most are 
cither merely decorative, or display 
figures of a symbolical or emblemat¬ 
ical character. This cloister in truth 
is a most interesting and instructive 
specimen of Siculo-Norman architec¬ 
ture, and is inferior in extent and 
beauty to that of Monreale alone. 

V 

Palazzo Vescovile. —■ Adjoining the 
Cathedral on the N. is the Bishop’s 

[Sicily.'] 


Palace, a modern building, which con¬ 
tains little of interest; on the stairs is 
a marble statue of our Saviour, with an 
inscription, whose style savours of pagan 
Rome. 

In the Areldvio of the palace is a 
fragmentary Greek inscription, alluding 
apparently to the worship of Hercules. 
Embedded in the wall of a house on 
the opposite side of the Piazza, close 
to the S. tower of the cathedral, is a 
Greek sepulchral inscription. 

The church of I Conventual! has a 
picture of the Virgin and her Mother, 
by Antonio Catalano of Messina, dated 
1598. 

The Barone Mandralisca has a small 
collection of antiquities found on this 
site; and the Barone Bordonaro has 
also a few ; both have some pictures in 
addition. 

Gastello .— On the mountain above 
the town are remains both of ancient 
Cephaloedium, and of the Saracenic 
town which succeeded it, as well as 
of mediaeval structures of more recent 
times, for the fortifications were kept 
up long after the inhabitants had re¬ 
moved to the base of the mount. They 
may be seen in battlemented lines 
completely encircling the headland, 
at the very verge of the inaccessible 
precipices; and so superfluous were 
they in such a position as to suggest 
a doubt whether they were not raised 
rather to prevent the inhabitants from 
rolling over the precipice than to pre¬ 
serve them against attacks from below. 
The summit of the headland is crowned 
by a Saracenic castle in picturesque 
decay, but of difficult access. The moun¬ 
tain is composed of a sort of greyish 
marble called lumacheUa, which takes 
a high polish, and is used for decora¬ 
tive purposes. It is girt by lofty cliffs, 
so as to be accessible only on its W. 
face, immediately above the Porta 
Reale, where a depression in the pre¬ 
cipice leaves room for a path of great 
steepness, which winds up to a pointed 
gateway in the outer wall, and through 
two courts enclosed by defences of me¬ 
diaeval masonry, where are several cis¬ 
terns or reservoirs sunk in the rock. 
Above these courts you enter on the 

N 





266 ROUTE 10. —CEFALU.-RUINS OF THE ANCIENT CITY. 


site of the ancient city, which was 
about 1 m. round, and occupied the 
steep and rugged slope of the moun¬ 
tain. Here a little to the N. stands 
a ruin of very early date and peculiar 
structure. It is a detached building 
about 50 ft. in length, and now about 
15 ft. high, witli a door in the front 
wall, leading into a passage, on which 
open 2 similar doorways. The whole 
is of polygonal masonry, very neatly 
cut and fitted together, and of that 
character known in Greece and Italy 
under the name of Pelasgic; and it is 
remarkable as the only specimen of that 
peculiar construction extant in Sicily. 
The style of masonry alone, though 
sometimes adopted by the Romans, is 
in general suggestive of a high an¬ 
tiquity, which in this case is evidenced 
by the Doric character of the doorways, 
shown both in their form and decora¬ 
tions. The entrance door is flanked 
by pilasters with imposts of great sim¬ 
plicity, and spanned by an entablature 
cl a single huge block, from which the 
cornice and frieze project in slight relief. 
The mouldings are rude approximations 
to the Doric. The doors within the 
passage are of similar character; that 
to the 1. opens into a chamber of 
polygonal masonry, now open to the 
sky; that on the other hand leads into 
a vault of Roman brick-work based on 
opus incertum, which retaius traces of 
stucco, painting, and inscriptions, and 
must have been a sepulchre. Over 
this rise the ruins of a small chapel 
with a single apse, the west front rest¬ 
ing on the polygonal walling, and rising 
some 15 ft. above it. In this edifice 
then we see exliibited three distinct 
periods : first, the days of early Ce- 
phnloediiun, as shown in the polygonal 
structure, which was. probably a palace, 
and not a temple, as old Fazello sur¬ 
mised ; secondly, the times of Impe¬ 
rial Rome, seen in the construction of 
the vaulted chamber; and thirdly, the 
early ages of Christianity manifested 
in the simple apsidal church. The 
ruin is interesting not merely to the an¬ 
tiquary ; for, as a bit of the picturesque, 
it deserves a place in every portfolio. 

There is little beyond the superb 
panorama to repay the traveller for 


the fatiguing ascent to the Saracenic 
keep; and the view may be enjoyed 
to scarcely inferior advantage from the 
telegraph station on the shoulder of 
the mountain. It commands the whole 
northern coast from the bluff head¬ 
land of Capo di Gallo in the W. to the 
low point of Capo Orlando in the far 
E. 

In this castle of Cefalu, Charles the 
Lame, when Prince of Salerno, was 
for some time confined, after his cap¬ 
ture by Roger Loria, in his great 
naval victory in the bay of Naples in 
1284; and the fortress was selected 
for its great strength as ensuring his 
safety from the people of Sicily, who 
clamoured for Ins blood in revenge 
for that of Conradin, whom his father, 
Charles of Anjou, had put to death 
after the victory of Tagliacozzo ill 
1268. Here he was visited by two 
English monks sent by Edward I. to 
comfort him in his captivity; and 
hence he was allowed to depart only 
on swearing most solemn oaths to re¬ 
nounce all claim to the crown of 
Sicily—oaths not more readily made 
than forgotten. In this same castle, 
15 years later, was confined Charles’s 
son Philip, Prince of Taranto, when 
captured by Frederick II. of Sicily at 
the battle of Falconaria. 

The road to Messina traverses the 
town of Cefalu, and skirts the base of 
the headland, at whose foot, to the E., 
is a little bay for xebecs and feluccas, 
shut in by a low rocky point, on 
which stands, in picturesque decay, 
a mediaeval tower called Torre delta 
Caldura, with rocks which rise ab¬ 
ruptly like other ruins around it. 
The road continues along the shore 
at the foot of slopes covered with the 
olive, chesnut, or manna-asli. At 2£ 
m. from Cefalu, a new bridge of 3 
arches spans the Flume di Cincraone, 
or Isnello. You then climb the steep 
rugged ridge which overhangs the 
headland of Sant’ Ambrogio, too pre¬ 
cipitously to admit of a passage at its 
foot, and descend to the Vallone di 
Malpertugio, a deep hollow in the 
mountains which has received its 
name of “ Evil Gap ” from the vio- 




267 


ROUTE 10.-FINALE.-POLLINA.-TUSA.—AL2ESA. 


lent gusts of wind which at times 
sweep through it from the mountains, 
to the great peril of vessels off the 
coast. This is 5 m. from Cefalu. 
Crossing the stream, rosy with ole¬ 
anders, you proceed across fragrant 
heaths sprinkled with broom, len- 
tiscus, myrtle, cistus, and other aro¬ 
matic shrubs, to the long red cliffs of 
the Capo Basigelbi. This headland, 
one of the most prominent on the 
northern coast, is said by Fazello to 
derive its name from an arch-pirate in 
Moslem times, who made it the sta¬ 
tion whence lie sallied forth on his 
expeditions; but the present appella¬ 
tion is but a corruption of Basi-calbo, 
or Capo del Cane. The ruined tower 
on its cliffs, like the many others 
which stud tliis coast, was built since 
Saracenic times as a protection against 
the corsairs of that nation. On 
crossing the headland a new view 
opens of the coast to the E., with 
Finale in the foreground, and Etna’s 
crest of snow peering above the nearer 
mountains. 

61 m. Finale is a mere farm on the 
shore, though it figures in the maps 
as a village. 3 m. inland, romantically 
situated on a lofty and cistus-clad 
height, is the castle of Pollina, with a 
village of some 1800 souls around it. 
It is supposed, from the resemblance 
of its name, to occupy the site of the 
ancient Apollonia, a town on this 
coast which Timoleon, in 312 b.c., 
delivered from its tyrant Leptines, 
and which, in 307 b.c., was captured 
by Agathocles on his return from 
Africa, who put the inhabitants to 
the sword, and gave up the town to 
pillage. In the Chiesa Maggiore are 
two statues of the Virgin and St. 
Joseph, regarded as among the best 
works of Gagini. The coast is here 
cultivated with olives and manna-ash. 

At the Fiume cli Pollina, 2 m. be¬ 
yond Finale, you quit the province of 
Palermo and enter that of Messina. 
This stream, supposed to be the Mo- 
nalus of Ptolemy, rises in the Mado- 
nian mountains below the town of 
Gangi, washes the heights which are 


crested by the villages of Geraci and 
San Mauro, and flows through a cul¬ 
tivated valley to the sea, receiving 
first a large tributary from the W. in 
the Fiume di Castelbuono. Hence to 
Tusa you pursue a path over mountain- 
slopes, rocky and broken, but highly 
picturesque, and fragrant with wild 
herbs and flowers which mantle the 
grey crags, or mingling with the cork, 
myrtle, and wild olive-trees, give out 
then* sweets at every step of your 
mule. The track is so narrow and 
broken, and often runs so near the 
verge of a precipice, as to distract the 
attention from the beauties of the 
scene. After 6 m. from the river of 
Pollina you reach the 

67 m. Costello di Tusa on the coast, 
a yellow building of no great antiquity, 
yet in ruins, -with a hamlet around it, the 
Marina of Tusa. Tusa itself stands on 
an olive-sprinkled height, 3 m. inland, 
and is a small town of 3800 souls, 
without a locanda. In the piazza is a 
marble statue of a Roman consul, found 
among the neighbouring ruins of 

Alsesa, or Halsesa. — This ancient 
city stood on a grassy height which 
rises from the shore a little to the E, 
of Tusa; and it appears, from the 
vestiges of its walls, to have been 
about 2 m. in circuit. On the sum¬ 
mit are traces of its arx or citadel. 
Here sundry statues, coins, and in¬ 
scriptions in Greek and Latin, have 
been brought to light; and one marble 
tablet found in Fazello’s day, referring 
to the river Alsesus, leaves no doubt 
that this is the real site of Alaesa, 
about which some uncertainty had 
existed. It -was a city of the Siculi, 
founded 403 b.c., by Archonides, ruler 
of Herbita, who chose a hill, says 
Diodorus, one mile from the sea. In 
after years, Alsesa, on account of its 
maritime commerce, and the immu¬ 
nities granted it by Rome, so greatly 
increased in importance and wealth 
as to become one of the first cities in 
Sicily, when it repudiated its con¬ 
nexion with Herbita, being ashamed 
to acknowledge itself a colony of a 

N 2 



268 


ROUTE 10. -S. STEFANO.-MISTRETTA. 


town so much its inferior. In Cicero’s 
time it was a splendid and noble city, 
surpassed in wealth and influence by 
none in Sicily. It contained temples 
to Apollo, Hadranus, and Bacchus; 
and on the shore below it were baths, 
traces of which may be seen in a 
building beneath the Gastello di Tusa, 
called Casa di Gravina. The period 
and circumstances of its destruction 
are unknown. In the chapel of Santa 
Maria delle Palate, which stands 
within the line of walls at the back 
of the height, are preserved some relics 
of the ancient city, and a fragmentary 
Greek inscription. 

Just beyond Castello di Tusa you 
cross the Fiume di Pettineo, the an¬ 
cient Ilalesus, famed of old for its 
flowers— 

“ Et quse Sicanii flores legistis Halesi.” 

Columella, Re Rust .— 

and flowing through a wide and well- 
wooded valley to the sea. 

The road now runs along the shore 
over a heavy shingly beach at the foot 
of slopes dark with olive-groves, and 
girt with corn-fields and orchards. 
At intervals, all along this coast, some 
weather-stained machicolated watch- 
tower of the 15tli or 16th century 
stands in lonely ruin, recalling the 
days when the pirates of Barbary were 
the terror of the Mediterranean. At 
the foot of the headland, which is 
capped by the town of Santo Stefano, 
you cross the Fiume Reitano , which 
takes its name from a village on the 
left bank; while further up the valley, 
cresting a peak on the opposite side, 
is the Castle with the important town 
of Mistretta. A steep ascent leads to 

73 m. Santo Stefano di Camastra 
(pop. 3200), a small, but neat, well- 
paved, and thriving town, which stands 
on an eminence, hardly as lofty as that 
of Termini, overhanging the sea, and 
commanding beautiful views of the 
coast and the Lipari Islands. There 
are two inns . One to the 1. at the 
entrance of the town is decent, but 
inferior to the “ Nuova Locanda ” 
further down the street, kept by 
Giambattista Leoni, whose attention ! 


and endeavours to please his guests 
are as gratifying as the cleanliness of 
his house. 


9 m. inland from Santo Stefano, 
high among the mountains, stands 
Mistretta , the ancient Amestratus, 
supposed by some antiquaries to be 
identical with Mytistratus, a fortress 
of such extraordinary natural strength 
that in the First Punic War it resisted 
a siege of 7 months by the Komans, 
who only on then third attempt suc¬ 
ceeded in capturing it, when they 
razed it to the ground and sold the 
inhabitants as slaves. In the 12th 
century Mistretta was given by William 
the Bad in fee to Matteo Bonelli, and 
at a later period it conferred the title 
of count on Blasco Alagona, a Catalan 
chief in the service of King Frederickll. 
Mistretta is now a place of some im¬ 
portance, being the chief town of one 
of the districts into which the province 
of Messina is divided, and containing 
a population of 11,500 souls. It has but 
a miserable locanda. In the Chiesa Ma- 
trice is a relief of the school of Gagini. 
The ch. of the Collegio di Maria con¬ 
tains a picture by Velasquez of Palermo. 
On the summit of the height stands the 
Castle, whose basement is cut out of the 
rock. 


The heights around Santo Stefano 
are covered with vineyards and olive- 
groves. A few miles beyond, this 
cultivation ceases, and the downs show 
nothing but broom and underwood ; 
the coast is tame, the most prominent 
feature being the long low promontory 
of Cape Orlando. The path runs along 
the shingly beach, or across the green 
plain between it and the heights, and 
crosses the mouths of several rivers, 
one of them being the Setravalle, on 
whose rt. bank lie the ruins of a small 
town of that name, which was razed 
to the ground in the 14th century by 
Frederick III., on account of the re¬ 
bellion of Francesco Yentimiglia, who 
held it in fee. Beyond this, and 6 m. 
from Santo Stefano, is the Fiume di 










ROUTE 10. —CARONIA.—CALACTE.—GROTTA S. TEODORO. 269 


Caronia , flowing out through a wide 
and cultivated valley, and spanned by 
a bridge of 3 arches, now in ruins. 
The village of Caronta, with its castle, 
crowns a height to the 1. of the valley, 
a little inland. It has but one good 
street, and a population of 2100 souls, 
who are chiefly employed in felling 
the timber in the adjacent forest and 
in the manufacture of charcoal; for 
though hardly a tree is visible from 
the road, the hills inland for many 
miles parallel to the coast are covered 
with wood—oak, elm, cork, pine, and 
ash; and the forest takes its name 
from the village, and is called Bosco 
di Caronta. It is the property of the 
crown, and the officers in charge of it 
reside in the castle. It is the largest 
forest in Sicily, being about II m. in 
length by 6 in width, and contains 
an abundance of timber of excellent 
quality; but the government does not 
reap the full benefit, as the transport 
to the coast, from the want of good 
roads, is very difficult and expensive; 
the sale of the timber is attended 
with various abuses; and great num¬ 
bers of the finest trees are felled for no 
other purpose than to be converted 
into charcoal. These woods abound in 
game, both four-footed and feathered. 
The mountains inland, which are 
clothed with this forest, are those of 
which Diodorus speaks under the 
name of the Heraean mountains, and 
whose delights he celebrates in glowing 
terms. You now proceed through 
shady lines for a mile beyond the river 
to the 

79 m. Marina di Caronta , a hamlet 
on the coast, at the foot of the green hill 
on which stands the town. Beyond 
this are downs of myrtle, cistus, and 
lentiscus, rising in gentle swellings 
from the shore. Here, even at the foot 
of the slopes, abundant fragments of 
pottery strewing the ground for some 
distance proclaim the site of ancient 
habitation. “ The surpassing delight 
and beauty of this shore,” says Cluver, 
“ manifestly proclaim that Calacte 
stood on this spot.” 

Calacte. — The town derived its 


name from its situation on this “ beau¬ 
tiful coast”— na At? a/cri]—which about 
5 centuries before Christ attracted 
the attention of the Zanclseans, who 
sent to Ionia for colonists to found a 
city here, but on tlieh arrival in 
Sicily they were induced to take pos¬ 
session of Zancle instead. In 416 
b.c. Ducetius, the Sicilian prince who 
had been exiled to Corinth by the 
Syracusans, pretending to have been 
commanded by an oracle to people 
the “ Fair Shore,” left Greece with a 
crowd of adventurers, and being joined 
by some of the Siculi, in the year 
440 b.c., carried his intention into 
effect, and founded the city of Cale 
Acte, or Calacte. Of its subsequent 
history we have few notices, and we 
know little more than that it was in 
existence at a late period of the Em¬ 
pire. The coast here, as of old, still 
abounds in fish, and the fishermen’s 
nets drying on the beach, recall the 
“ littus piscosa Calacte ” of Silius I fa¬ 
llen,s. 

For some miles beyond Caronia the 
whole face of the country is one 
thicket of myrtle and cistus. At 6 m. 
from Caronia you pass the Torre del 
Lauro, and 2 m. beyond that the 
Fiume Furiano, the ancient Chydas, 
whose wide bed is sprinkled with 
oleander and tamarisk. Here a path 
to the rt. leads up to San Fmtello, a 
town of 6000 inhab. on the heights 
5 m. from the sea. It takes its name 
from 3 brothers, Philadelphia!, A.1- 
phius, and Cirinus, who were born in 
the neighbouring city of Aluntium, 
and suffered martyrdom under the 
Emperor Valerian. It was afterwards 
inhabited by a colony of Lombards, 
whose peculiar dialect was still pre¬ 
served on the spot in Fazello’s time. 
In the cli. of San Basilio is a Greek 
dedicatory inscription. 

Grotta San Teodoro. —At the base 
of Monte S. Fratello, and at the height 
of 214 ft. above the sea, a remarkable 
bone-cavern, like that of Santo Ciro, 
near Palermo (p. 100), was in 1859 
discovered by Baron Anca di Man- 
galaviti. It contains prodigious quan¬ 
tities of fossil bones of various animals, 




270 ROUTE 10. -ACQUA DOLCE. 

cliicfly of carnivora —the dog, wolf, 
hyaena, bear, and cat tribe—together 
with some of the elephant, hippopo¬ 
tamus, wild boar, ox, horse, deer, hare, 
porcupine, &c.; in fact, it may be said 
that “ we have recovered in this cave 
an entire fossil Sicilian fauna.” Mixed 
with these remains are numerous im¬ 
plements of flint made by man. 

On tinning the point beyond Furi- 
ano a rich country opens to the view, 
with a wide range of coast sprinkled 
with towns; a square table-height in 
the foreground, soft cultivated slopes 
in the middle distance, and Capo Or¬ 
lando stretching out to meet the Li- 
pari Islands on the horizon. The first 
place you reach is 

91 m. Acqua Dolce , a neat little 
village, with an old tower embo¬ 
somed in orange, olive, and mul¬ 
berry-groves. The square table-height 
before mentioned, which rises above it 
inland, is the site of an ancient city, 
supposed to be 

Aluntium, which, like many other 
cities of Sicily, boasted a Trojan origin, 
claiming one of the followers of ./Eneas as 
its founder. The site is described by Cicero 
as near the sea, with a very difficult and 
steep ascent. The isolated height, 
now called Monte S. Fratello, answers 
to this description, for beneath its bare 
green crest it breaks into cliffs, which 
mark the outline of the ancient city, 
and render it almost inaccessible. Few 
vestiges of Aluntium remain in situ, 
but squared blocks of masonry and 
other fragments strew the ground, and 
several cisterns of ancient construction 
are hollowed beneath the surface. On 
the liill is a sanctuary to the 3 brother- 
martyrs, and embedded in its wall is a 
Greek inscription. Of the history of 
Aluntium we know little more than 
■what we learn from Cicero. The 
luxurious Verres, when he wished to 
plunder the town, cared not himself to 
go up, for the ascent was too steep and 
difficult; but remaining in his litter on 
the beach, he sent for Archagatlius, one 
of the chief citizens, and commanded 
him to collect every article of chased 
gold and silver in the town, and bring 
them immediately to him. Then 


—ALUNTIUM.-STA. AGATA. 

wrencliing oft’ all the embossed or 
relieved ornaments, he sent back the 
plain silver as worthless. 

On leaving Acqua Dolce, the patli 
continues along the shore, and crossing 
the Fiume Inganno, whose stony bed is 
rosy with oleanders, you arrive After 3 
m. at Sant' Agata, a little village on 
the beach at the edge of a corn-plain,, 
backed by richly cultivated hills. 

94 m. St a. Agata. — Inn — “ Locanda 
di Santo Console,” small and very in¬ 
different; yet as this is the only spot 
which offers accommodation to the 
traveller in the long journey between 
Santo Stefano and Brolo, from the 
former of which it is 21, and from the 
latter 18 m. distant, it is not to be 
passed by without due consideration. 
In summer the place is said to be 
afflicted with malaria, but in the cool 
season there is no danger. On the 
heights some few miles inland, over¬ 
hanging the Rosa marina stream, is 
Santa Agata di Militello, a town of 
3800 inliab. Two paths run hence 
to the S. across the mountains, one to 
Troina, the other to Bronte. 

About 1^- m. beyond Sant’ Agata, 
you cross the broad fiumara of liosa 
Marina, its bed and banks sprinkled 
with oleanders, from whose roseate 
bloom in summer it has derived its 
name. It flows out from a wild gorge, 
at whose mouth are the ruins of a 
massive Roman bridge of 7 arches, 
one only of which is now standing. 

97 m. Torrenuova, a hamlet m. 
beyond the F. Rosamarina, lying in a 
plain of mulberries and corn. Here 
a road turns inland to San Marco , 
which stands on a bare, lofty, and 
steep hill 3 m. from the sea. It is 
but a small place of 1600 souls, yet it 
exercises jurisdiction over the neigh¬ 
bouring villages as far as Capo Orlando, 
and is the residence of several respect¬ 
able, though not wealthy, nobles, to 
one of whom it gives the title of Count. 
It takes its name from an early ch. 
dedicated to St. Mark. At S. Marco 
are sundry remains of higher antiquity. 
In the castle which crests the hill above 
the town is a Latin inscription of' 




ROUTE 10. -AGATHYRNUM.-PIANO DI NASO.—CAro ORLANDO. 271 


Imperial times; and there are vestiges 
of an aqueduct of brick, which brought 
water from a spring called Favarotta, 
2 m. distant. The site thus proved 
to be ancient is supposed to be that of 

Agathyrnum or Agatliyrna, whose 
heros eponymos was the son of riEolus, 
and lived in the tune of the Trojan 
War. But though of very early and 
probably Sicilian origin, it made no 
figure in history until in the Second 
Punic War it became the den of a body 
of freebooters, who were not to be put 
down by less than a Roman army, the 
Consul Lsevinus in 210 b.c. transport¬ 
ing 4000 of them to Bruttium. The 
environs are a succession of orchards 
and market-gardens, and the plain 
between it and the sea yields corn, 
wine, oil, silk, and fruit, in abundance, 
yet it is cursed with malaria, especially 
on the banks of the Zappulla torrent. 

About 1 m. beyond Torrenuova is 
a mediaeval palace in ruins by the 
road-side, with a long aqueduct lead¬ 
ing to it across the plain. The Zap¬ 
pulla, which you cross by a bridge of 
two arches, flows out from a rich and 
beautiful vale, from whose wooded 
slopes gleam out the villages of Capri 
and Mirto. The plain between the 
road and the sea is here densely 
covered with mulberry-trees, the great 
silk-district of Sicily commencing about 
this spot. It was just off the mouth 
of the Zappulla that was fought the 
famous sea-fight, known as the battle 
of Capo Orlando, in which, on the 
4th July 1299, James King of Aragon, 
with 5G galleys, defeated his brother 
Frederick lung of Sicily, who had 
only 40 galleys. The attack was made 
by' the latter, rendered confident by 
an uninterrupted course of success at 
sea for 17 years; but the Sicilians 
forgot that the chief, Roger Loria, 
who had so often led them to glory, 
now commanded the hostile squadrons, 
and though they long maintained the 
struggle with desperate valour, their 
inferiority to the allied Catalan and 
Angevin fleet lost them the victory. 
Eighteen of their galleys were cap¬ 
tured, 6000 Sicilians perished in the 
conflict, and Frederick himself escaped 
with difficulty to Messina, 


You now enter on the Piano di 
Naso, which is densely covered with 
mulberry and orange-groves, yielding 
more silk than any other plain in 
Sicily. The road is shaded by mul¬ 
berry-trees, and flanked by long low 
buildings with closed or half-opened 
windows, for storing the worms; it 
does not run out to the extremity of 
Cape Orlando, but crosses the heights 
at the back of the headland, by a steep 
ascent, the summit of which commands 
a beautiful view of the mountainous 
coast to the E., with the towns of Brolo 
and Giojosa on the shore — a coast 
which recalls some of the most charming 
portions of the Riviera di Ponente, 
between Nice and Genoa, but has the 
advantage of the proximity of the 
Lipari Islands, whose volcanic masses 
and smoke-tufted peaks studding the 
horizon add variety and sublimity to 
the scene. 

106 m. Capo Orlando is of moderate 
height, but very steep, and is crowned 
by a ruined castle anil a modern church, 
in whose yard are interred those who 
happen to be wrecked on this coast. 
The sudden squalls and heavy swells 
off the point make such a catastrophe 
but too frequent. The headland pro¬ 
jects so far into the sea, that in spite 
of its want of height, it is visible on a 
clear day from Palermo itself, more 
than 100 m. distant. There was for¬ 
merly a village on the cape, bearing 
the same name, but it now stands on 
the shore to the W. Here Fazello 
places the ancient Agathyrnum, but 
S. Marco is more probably the true 
site. 

A little beyond the Cape a road 
turns inland to Naso, a mediaeval town 
of some G500 inhab., on a Hill a few 
m. from the sea, picturesquely rising 
from the midst of groves. It contains 
some respectable buildings, and enjoys 
a salubrious position. In the neigh¬ 
bourhood are some ferruginous springs, 
of efficacy in nervous and chronic 
disorders, together with a well, whose 
water is said to dye black everything 
thrown into it. 

At Capo Orlando you enter on the 
carriageable road, which continues to 



272 


ROUTE 10. -BROLO.-GIOJOSA NUOVA. 


Messina. Proceeding along tlie beach, 
beneath olive-clad slopes and head¬ 
lands of limestone, and crossing the 
turbid stream which takes its name 
from Naso, and flows out from a 
richly wooded valley, at 6 m. beyond 
Cape Orlando you reach the castle 
and village of Brolo, at tlie foot of 
well-cultivated hills, from which issue 
streams of the purest water. 

112 m. Brolo is very small, with not 
more than 1061 inhab., but it has a lo- 
cancla kept by Giuseppe Maniace, which, 
though wretched enough in appear¬ 
ance, will furnish wine and macca- 
roni, and admit of repose. In accom¬ 
modation it is perhaps inferior to the 
locande of Santa Agata and Giojosa, 
but its position renders it a more 
desirable sleeping-place than either, 
as the one is too distant from, the 
other too near to, Santo Stefano for a 
day’s journey. The castle, which stands 
on a low rock overhanging the sea, is 
of the 15th or 16th century, and now 
presents a ruinous mass of wall round 
a battlemented keep. There is a tunny- 
fishery at this spot. 

Tlie road beyond Brolo continues 
along the coast, at the foot of steep 
heights covered with corn and olives, 
between which and the sea lies a 
broad strip carpeted luxuriantly with 
fruit-trees, principally mulberries. At 
the distance only of a mile it crosses 
the Flume di Piraino, which flows out 
from a charming valley, and washes the 
town of that name, which stands on a 
height on the rt. bank about a mile 
from its mouth. A bridle-path runs 
hence across the mountains to Patti 
(11 m.), which is considerably shorter 
than the high road round Cape Ca- 
lavii. By the latter, about 2 m. be¬ 
yond the fiumara, you reach the little 
headland called Capo Brolo, rocky 
and picturesque, with a ruined tower 
on the point. The rock is grey lime¬ 
stone, seamed with white marble. Tlie 
road is cut in the face of the cliffs 
overhanging the sandy beach which 
stretches up to Giojosa, and just below 
that town it crosses the fiumara, at the 
entrance to a well-wooded valley. On 
the highest peak on the rt. bank some 


ruins mark the site of the old town of 
Giojosa, which was abandoned on ac¬ 
count of its inconvenient altitude and 
its exposure to earthquakes and light¬ 
ning, the inhabitants removing to the 
shore beneath, which among its ad¬ 
vantages cannot reckon that of salu¬ 
brity. 

118 m. Giojosa Nuovct, vulgarly called 
“Aguisa,” stands on the E. side of 
the little bay formed by the points of 
Brolo and Alescino. It contains about 
4000 souls, and has 2 locande, both at 
the bottom of the town; that kept by 
Nicolo Scaffili is the better. The 
town is famous for its dried figs. 
Punta Alescino is a mass of purple 
schist, in the face of which the road 
has been cut. From this spot you 
first get a clear view of Stromboli, 
which has hitherto been more or less 
concealed behind Lipari or Vulcano. 
A sandy bay, overhung by steep olive- 
clad slopes, intervenes between this 
point and Capo Calavd, which is a 
bluff promontory of grey granite 200 
or 300 ft. high. The road pierces it 
by a short tunnel of recent construc¬ 
tion, on emerging from which a new 
view opens of the Bay of Paid, bounded 
by the picturesque headland of Capo 
Tindaro, with the long low peninsula 
of Milazzo on the eastern horizon. The 
road winds along the face of tlie steep 
bare declivities of grey limestone and 
black schist high above the sea, and 
descends gradually to the beach, pass¬ 
ing beneath the ruined tower of S. 
Giorgio, and at the foot of the bare and 
lofty peak, where the abandoned town 
of Giojosa in melancholy decay pro¬ 
claims its misnomer to the world. 
Among the sea of mountains in the in¬ 
terior the lofty peak of Novara, of that 
sharp sugarloaf shape which betrays a 
primitive formation, and is so rare in 
Italy or Sicily, forcibly arrests the eye. 
After some miles the sandy beach leads 
you to the fishing village called 

Marina di Patti, where a few feluccas 
are generally at anchor loading with 
coarse pottery, large quantities of which 
are manufactured here. The bay affords 
safe anchorage, as it is deep, with re¬ 
gular soundings and a good bottom of 



IlOUTE 10. —PATTI. * 


sand and clay; but in the centre is a 
large rock above water, with 2 smaller 
ones near it. Those who do Sicily in 
yachts, and would land to visit the re¬ 
mains of the ancient Tyndaris, would 
do well to drop anchor in this bay, 
for though that of Olivieri, on the 
eastern side of the headland, is not 
less safe and convenient, conveyances 
to the summit of the steep are more 
easily obtained at Patti than at the 
little villages of Olivieri or Falcone. 

From the Marina di Patti, the di¬ 
rect road to Messina continues to skirt 
the Bay, but few will pass the fiumara 
without turning aside up the long 
avenue to Patti, which, on its double- 
peaked height, only m. inland, 
makes an imposing appearance from 
the shore. 

126 m. Patti. —Inns : “ Locanda 

Nuova,” kept by Onofrio di Caldo, and 
“ L. dell’ Aquila,” kept by Ocera, both 
in the Piazza, and both dirty; the former 
perhaps the less objectionable. 

Patti “La Magnanima,” though 
with only 6930 inhabitants, is the 
see of a bishop, and the capital of 
one of the districts of the province 
of Messina. It stands on a double- 
coned hill, at the entrance of a kind 
of mountainous amphitheatre, in the 
midst of a picturesque and well cul¬ 
tivated country. It is surrounded by 
a wall now greatly dilapidated, and 
had a Norman castle, which, having- 
been greatly altered in the course of 
ages, is now hardly to be recognised 
in the abode of the bishop. The city 
contains some decent buildings, and 
possesses a general air of comfort, but 
the streets are mostly very steep, narrow, 
ill-paved, and dirty. The potteries at 
the Marina and the tunny fisheries on 
this coast are the chief sources of the 
comparative affluence which Patti en¬ 
joys. The town is entirely of mediaeval 
times, and the first mention of it occurs 
in a diploma of 1094, which states that 
Count Roger founded a Benedictine 
monastery on this spot. The ch. at¬ 
tached to this monastery, and dedi¬ 
cated to St. Bartholomew, was raised 
by Boniface VIII. about the year 1300, 
into a cathedral, and from that period 


the city dates its commencement, the 
spot then first attracting population, 
and being enclosed with a wall. 

The Cathedral crowns one of the peaks 
in the midst of the town. It was almost 
rebuilt in 1758, and is now quite 
modernised, but possesses some monu¬ 
ments of interest. Chief of these is 
a rudely cut sarcophagus in the rt. 
transept, which contains the remains 
of the proud Adelasia, the widow of 
Count Roger, who, after her unfor¬ 
tunate marriage with Baldwin King 
of Jerusalem, retired to Patti to hide 
her mortification from the world, and 
died here in 1118. Her figure re¬ 
clines on the lid, and her epitaph 
states that “ Here lies the body 
of the noble lady Queen Andilasia, 
mother of the most serene lord Roger, 
first King of Sicily: may her soul 
through God’s mercy rest in peace! 
1118.” The panorama from this height 
is rich and beautiful; on one hand is 
broken ground, with vineyards and 
olive-groves, and wild mountains, one 
of the nearest being the lofty peak 
crested with the deserted town of 
Giojosa; on the other the blue Medi¬ 
terranean with the bold headland of 
Tindaro, and the volcanic Isles of Li- 
pari on the horizon. 

From Patti there is a bridle-path 
across the Hersean mountains to Ran- 
dazzo, 36 m. There are 2 paths ; one 
through Librizzi, Raccuja, and Flo- 
resta (the longer and more difficult, 
being hardly practicable for the eques¬ 
trian) ; the other, more to the E., by 
the Fiume di Patti and the Colie di 
Librizzi to the Fondaco della Nucilla 
and S. Domenico, can be done on 
horseback in a single day. The track 
at first is tolerable, but as it ascends 
the mountains it becomes very rugged, 
and in wet weather is extremely heavy. 
Yet the scenery well compensates for 
the fatigue, for the route commands 
magnificent views of the northern 
coast and the Lipari Islands on the 
one hand, and of Etna on the other. 
The Fondaco is a lonely inn, affording 
miserable accommodation. After cross¬ 
ing the crest, of the range you descend, 



274 


ROUTE 10 . —TYNDARIS. 


over slopes covered with superb fo¬ 
rest-trees, to the village of S. Dome¬ 
nico, and thence to the valley of the 
Alcantara, the boundary of ./Etna to 
the N.; then, fording the stream, you 
mount the ,rt. hank to the plain on 
which stands Eandazzo (vide Rte. 13, 
p. 292). 

From Patti to Messina the road is 
carriageable, and the corriera runs 
each way twice a-w'eek, accomplishing 
the distance in 10 hours. It leaves 
Patti on Wednesdays and Saturdays 
at 8 o’clock (Sicilian time). It has ac¬ 
commodation for 3 passengers only, 
and the fare is 18 tan. 

From Patti to Barcellona .. .. 2 posts. 

Barcellona to Spadafora .. 2 „ 

Spadafora to Messina .. 2 „ 

6 posts. 

Tne road skirts the little hay, crossing 
downs, crimson with clover or pink 
with mallows, to the Flume di Patti, a 
rocky stream, 3 miles from the town. 
It then ascends a pass among hills 
whose lower slopes are richly culti¬ 
vated, and whose rocky crests are 
studded with noble oaks, and winds 
up towards 2 steep bare heights, 
which break into precipices towards 
the sea. The first is the Pizzo di Mon¬ 
gib, or Monte Giove, which tradition 
marks as the site of a temple of Ju¬ 
piter; the other, larger and loftier, 
was once crowned by the Greek city 
of Tyndaris. At G miles from Patti 
you reach the summit of the pass, 
called the Scala di Tindari, where 
stands a small but decent locanda, 
kept by Antonino Orlando. The ac¬ 
commodation it affords being in no 
way inferior to what he can obtain at 
Patti or Falcone, the traveller should 
make it his resting-place for the night, 
that he may lionise more at lei¬ 
sure the ancient remains, and enjoy, 
both at sunset and sunrise, the unpa¬ 
ralleled magnificence of the panorama 
it commands. Gaetano Sedotti is the 
authorised cicerone to the ruined city. 


Tyndaris. 

Tyndaris was a purely Greek city, 
and one of the most recent in all 
Sicily that could claim such an origin. 
It was founded by some Messenians, 
who, driven from Greece by the Spar¬ 
tans, had been first settled at Messana 
by Dionysius the Elder in 396 B.C., 
but were afterwards transferred by 
him to this site, then in the territory 
of the Abacseni. They called their 
new city Tyndaris, from Tyndarus, the 
grandfather of the Dioscuri, whom 
they worshipped, and whose effigies 
they bore as their standards. 

“ gemiuoque Lacone 
Tyndaris attollens sese affluit.” 

Sil. Ital. xiv. 207. 

The city so rapidly increased in po¬ 
pulation and importance that it soon 
was enabled to make hostile excur¬ 
sions against the Siculi, and to extend 
its dominions at their expense. On 
the arrival of Timoleon in Sicily, Tyn¬ 
daris was one of the first cities that es¬ 
poused his cause. In 269 b.c. it joined 
Akesa and Abacamum, in support¬ 
ing Hieron II. against the Mamertines. 
No record exists of its capture by Car¬ 
thage ; but at the opening of the First 
Punic War we find it subject to that 
power, which secured its fidelity, how¬ 
ever, only by force; and after the fall 
of Panormus (251 b.c.) the citizens ex¬ 
pelled the Carthaginian garrison and 
declared for Rome. Tyndaris ever 
after remained true to that power; 
and, in recompense for its fidelity, 
Scipio Africanus restored to it a cele¬ 
brated statue of Mercury, which had 
been carried off to Carthage. Cicero 
speaks of it as “ a most noble city,” in 
his time, and as one which suffered 
most severely from the exactions of 
Verres. The strength of its position and 
proximity to the sea caused it to play a 
conspicuous part in the naval war be¬ 
tween Sextus Pompeius and Octavi- 
anus, 36 b.c. ; and it was chosen, first 
by the former and then by his oppo¬ 
nent Agrippa, as one of the princi¬ 
pal points for conducting operations. 
Tyndaris continued to be an important 





275 


ROUTE 10. -RUINS OF TYNDARIS. 


city down to tlio times of tlie Sara¬ 
cens, who took it in 83G, but we have 
no record of the period or of the agents 
of its destruction. 

The height on which the city stood 
is a bold headland, breaking, wherever 
it overhangs the sea, into bluff cliffs. 
It is a mass of granite, covered by 
gneiss, on which rests a stratum of ar¬ 
gillaceous schist, dipping to the sea. 
Its highest point, 651 ft. above the 
waves, is crested by' the monastery of 
Santa Maria , which is conspicuous from 
a great distance, and serves as a land¬ 
mark to sailors. 

Sufficient remains are extant of this 
ancient city to reward the traveller 
who visits it : fragments of its walls 
and towers, a theatre in a fair state of 
preservation, some picturesque ruins 
called a gymnasium, and sundry other 
relics are left to attest the size and 
magnificence of Tyndaris. The walls 
may be traced almost round the city, 
following the windings of the cliffs 
which bound the plateau, and are 
studded with square projecting towers 
at irregular intervals. They were of 
very solid construction, composed of 
square blocks of sandstone put toge¬ 
ther without cement, and they show 
the city to have been about 3 m. in 
circuit. Pliny records that, at some 
period which he does not specify, half 
the city was destroyed by the cliff giv¬ 
ing way and precipitating it into the 
sea. Fazello delares that in his day 
this landslip was quite evident; and 
the nature of the ground seems to 
point out the cliff to the E., near the 
ch. of Santa Maria, as the site of tins 
catastrophe. The eminence on which 
this ch. stands appears to have been 
the Acropolis of ancient Tyndaris. 
Traces of 2 gates, by which it was ap¬ 
proached from the W., are still clearly 
distinguishable. Entering one of these 
you are led up by a sort of winding 
covered way to the platform of the 
city, and presently reach a ruin whose 
bold arches and noble masonry con¬ 
trast grandly with the few squalid 
hovels around. It is a rectangular 
structure, divided into 3 long aisles, 
the central one being much the widest. 
These aisles are flanked at intervals 


by pilasters, once supporting a series 
of circular arches of bold span and mas¬ 
sive construction, 4 only of which are 
now standing. This picturesque ruin 
has been taken for a propylaeum, and 
for a temple, but it is more generally 
supposed to have been a Gymnasium , 
and is manifestly a Roman structure. 
Among the ruins have been discovered 
several statues of Roman date—a Ju¬ 
piter, a Nerva, and an Empress of co¬ 
lossal size, with a Ceres, and a Marcus 
Aurelius, now preserved in the Mu¬ 
seum of the University of Palermo. 

A little to the N. of these remains 
are vestiges of mosaic pavements in 2 
large chambers, whose walls formerly 
retained traces of frescoes. W. of these 
again, and just within the southern 
line of walls, lies 

The Theatre, situated, as usual with 
such structures, on the slope of the hill, 
and commanding a glorious view sea¬ 
ward of the Lipari Islands on the north¬ 
ern horizon. The plan of the theatre is 
a semicircle—a Roman feature ; and 
the masonry throughout indicates that 
origin. It is of no great size, the exter¬ 
nal diameter being about 213 ft.; that 
of the orchestra 83 ft. The cavea 
was divided into 9 cunei, and had 27 
tiers of seats, formed of masonry. Of 
the scena and post seen him the sub¬ 
structions alone remain. The prosce¬ 
nium, which was of brickwork, was of 
very large size—another Roman fea¬ 
ture. There can be little doubt that 
a theatre existed on this spot in the 
Greek days of Tyndaris, but the ex¬ 
tant remains indicate that the Romans 
altered and perhaps enlarged the 
structure to suit their own views. 

However little the tourist may care for 
antiquities, let him not omit to ascend 
the slope aljove the theatre to enjoy one 
of the most magnificent scenes in all 
Sicily, which may even compete with 
that more renowned prospect from above 
the theatre of Taormina, “To your 
1. are the iEolian Islands ; to the rt. the 
entire gulf of Olivieri; then the penin¬ 
sula of Milazzo, and, beyond its isth¬ 
mus, the sinuous shore of Spadafora 
as far as Cape Rasicolmo, overhung by 




27 G 


ROUTE 10. -TYNDARIS.-BARCELLONA. 


the Neptunian chain. A yet more 
delightful prospect presents itself in 
the opposite direction. To the S.E. 
rises a mountain of pyramidal form, 
half way up which is Tripi, the ancient 
Abacsenum, and on its summit the 
modern town of Novara. Above this 
tower the Hereean mountains, and be¬ 
hind them soars the lofty peak of Etna. 
The swelling declivities of the olive- 
clad hills, which extend from the terri¬ 
tory of Tyndaris to that of Ahacsenum, 
increase i the beauty of that delicious 
country.”— Serradifalco. 

There are other vestiges of ancient 
times within the walls—cisterns sunk 
in the earth, drums of columns, and 
fragments of architecture scattered over 
the fields. He who would know more 
of ancient Tyndaris must visit the 
casino of the Baron Sciacca in the 
green valley to the south of the head¬ 
land, where he will see a collection of 
relics from the site—coins, medals, and 
gems found within the walls, with vases 
and jewellery of rare workmanship, 
and chaplets of golden leaves from the 
tombs around the city. 

The coins of Tyndaris bear out the 
tradition respecting the origin of its 
name, showing generally on the reverse 
the Dioscuri on foot or on horseback, 
with the legend TTNAAPITAN. 

On the slope of the hill towards the 
sea is a large natural cavern of several 
chambers, hung with stalactites, and 
highly picturesque, but rather difficult 
of access. It is known by the name of 
Donnavillci. There is another fine ca¬ 
vern, called Grotta di Minichello, at 
the base of the cliff, which can only be 
reached in a boat. 

The ancient port of Tyndaris, now 
called Porto Madonna, is to the E. of 
the headland, and is so choked with 
sand as to be only half a mile in cir¬ 
cumference. 

The road to Messina winds down steep 
slopes clad with oaks and sumach, into 
the plain, leaving the village of Olivieri, 
with its tunny-fishery, to the 1. at the 
foot of the headland. Here on an 
eminence stands a large square mediaeval 


castle, belonging to the Principe de 
Patti, and supposed to mark tire site of 
an ancient villa, which Admiral Smyth 
conjectures may be “ that of Pompeius 
Philo, from whose dish Verres plucked 
the fine cameos.” The mountains along 
tins coast rise a few miles inland, 
leaving a strip of well-cultivated land 
between them and the sea. From 
Olivieri, 2 miles across this rich plain 
lead you to Falcone, a small village on 
the sandy shore, with a decent locanda, 
kept by Francisco Feranda, and com¬ 
manding a fine view of the precipices 
of Capo Tindaro. Between Falcone 
and Barcellona the road skirts the 
shore, traversing a plain of olives, vines, 
and fruit-trees, and crossing the mouths 
of several wide stony torrents which 
flow from the-wild mountains inland. 
At 2 m. from Falcone you pass the 
square tower del Forte, on the shore; 
at the same distance beyond you cross 
the Fiume Grancotta; then the Salica; 
and 2 m. before Barcellona, the F. di Ter¬ 
mini, alias deejli A ran cl, from the dense 
orange-groves in the broad plain; and 
1 m. further the F. Cartone, with a 
hamlet of the same name on its bank. 
Between the Salica and the Degli 
Aranci, a few miles off the road inland, 
are the baths of Termini di Castro, 
which are much resorted to for the sake 
of the thermal mineral waters. 

144 m. Barcellona and Pozzo di Gotio, 
divided only by a small stream, form 
together a respectable town of 19,828 
souls. The stream, now called Fiume 
di Castro Beale, from the town of that 
name near its source, is supposed by 
Cluverius to be the Longanus of anti¬ 
quity, on whose banks young Hiero of 
Syracuse defeated the Mamertines of 
Messana, 270 b.c. Inns: “ Locanda del 
Barone Longo,” kept by Manuele Parra- 
tore, tolerable; “ L’ Aquila d' Oro,” 
kept by the Canonigo Perrona, large 
and of decent appearance; “La For¬ 
tune, ” in the same piazza. The town 
lias one long street of mean houses of a 
single stoiy, to which a few decent 
shops and the new palace of the Barone 
Longo form the exceptions. Barcellona 
is distant 29 m. from Messina. The 
broad plain in which it lies, between 





ROUTE 10. -MILAZZO. 


277 


the mountains and the sea, teems with 
corn, wine, and fruit. 

A road runs inland 4 m. to Castro 
Reale, the principal town of the dis¬ 
trict, though containing barely 6000 
souls, with an indifferent locanda. An¬ 
cient sepulchres have been discovered 
in its neighbourhood; but the town has 
no antiquity to boast, having been built 
by Frederick II. in 1330 on the site of 
a village named Cristina. 

3 m. from Pozzo cli Gotto, on the 
road to Messina, is the hamlet of Le 
Mir'i, memorable as the head-quarters 
of the Garibaldians in their operations 
against Milazzo in July, 1860, which 
resulted in the defeat of the Neapolitan 
troops under Bosco, the capture of the 
town, and the surrender of the fortress. 
At the Fiumara di Santa Lucia, just 
beyond, the road branches to the 1. to 
Milazzo (5 m.), following the course 
of the stream, through olive-groves and 
orchards, passing the villages of San 
Pietro and II Barone, and then along 
the sandy isthmus to the gates of 

152 m. Milazzo. Inns: “Locanda 
della Villa Nuova,” in the Piazza, kept 
by Stefano d’ Angelo, is spacious and 
apparently clean ; but trust not to ap¬ 
pearances. A diligence runs between 
Milazzo and Messina (24 m.) every day 
in the week, save Thursday, and does it 
in 6 hours ; fare 10 tail. Every other 
Tuesday evening a steamer arrives at 
Milazzo on its way from Palermo to 
Lipari and Messina, leaving again at 
7 the next morning. And every other 
Sunday evening a boat reaches Milazzo 
on its return to Palermo, sailing again 
at 2 a.m. on Monday. Milazzo is a 
point, however, rarely visited by foreign 
tourists. Yet it has a population of 
12,044 souls, and is a place of con¬ 
siderable commerce, exporting oil, wine, 
fruit, silk, tunny-fish, and the essence 
of oranges and lemons. Fruit is abun¬ 
dant, and the wines of Milazzo, parti¬ 
cularly those grown on the rocky 
peninsula, are of good repute. The 
inhabitants are active and industrious, 
and nowhere in Sicily is a more careful 
cultivation to be seen than around this 
town. 


Milazzo is the representative of the 
ancient Mylse, an early Greek colony, 
and the first of the very few settlements 
of that people on this northern coast. 
It owes its origin to the Zanclseans; 
but the precise date of its foundation is 
unknown, though it must have been at 
least 6J centuries before Christ, as it 
was in 648 b. c. that the Zaneheans left 
Mylse to found Himera. The town of 
Mylse continued dependent on Zancle 
till 427 b.c., when it was taken by the 
Athenians under Laches, who left it to 
their allies the Rhegians, in whose 
possession it remained till 394 b.c., 
when it was recaptured by the Mes- 
sanians. In 315 b.c., Mylse was be¬ 
sieged and taken by Agathoclcs, but 
soon restored to Messana. In the neigh¬ 
bourhood of Mylse, on the banks of the 
river Longanus, a great battle was 
fought in the year 270 b.c., between 
the Mamertines and Syracusans under 
Hieron, in which the latter were vic¬ 
torious. It was in the bay of Mylse 
that the Romans under the Consul 
Duilius, in the First Punic War, b.c. 
260, gained, by the invention of the 
corvus, a great victory over the Car¬ 
thaginians, the first ever achieved by 
Roman arms at sea—a victory com¬ 
memorated by the erection of a rostral 
column in the Forum, which is pre¬ 
served in the Museum of the Vatican. 
In this bay also, the fleet of Sextus Pom- 
peius, who had made Mylse his head¬ 
quarters, suffered a signal defeat from 
Agrippa, the general of Octavianus, 
36 b.c. In later tunes the port had no 
good reputation. 

“Et justi quondam portus, nunc litorc solo 
Subsidium inlidum fuglentibus agquora, Mylae. ” 

Sil. Ital. 

But though small, it is well sheltered 
from the northerly and westerly winds. 

The antiquities of Milazzo are now 
merely historical records. Not a vestige 
of Greek or Roman days is preserved in 
situ, and the earliest local remains are 
of Norman times. 

Capo di Milazzo .—This headland, 
anciently called the Chersonesus of 
Sicily, is a narrow peninsula stretching 
far into the sea, and breaking all round 




278 


ROUTE 10. -MILAZZO—CASTLE. 


into steep cliffs of considerable height, 
accessible only by a few narrow paths. 

“ The peninsula of Milazzo consists 
of an irregularly shaped and somewhat 
elliptically formed tongue of land, whose 
greatest width scarcely measures l|m., 
but which extends nearly 6 m. into the 
sea at right angles from the shore, 
Its geological constitution is veiy re¬ 
markable ; for the coast from which it 
seems to take its origin consists of 
sandstone for a considerable distance in 
all directions; but, as soon as we pass 
beyond the isthmus, we find that the 
rocks are composed of gneiss and mica 
schists, both of which are of more an¬ 
cient origin. These rocks extend over 
the greater portion of the territory, and 
form in the centre of the peninsula a 
small mountain, known as the Monte 
Venereo. Beyond this we find strata of 
the same nature for a short distance; 
but these rocks soon disappear under 
beds of round pebbles, and sand trans¬ 
formed into sandstone rock. Beyond 
this again, on the borders of a steep 
clifi', there is a thin stratum filled with 
fossils belonging to the Palermo lime¬ 
stone, while the extremity of the cape 
consists of compact calcareous rock, 
which penetrates to some depth. This 
locality, therefore, presents in their 
order of natural superposition, speci¬ 
mens, as it were, of almost all the prin¬ 
cipal strata, which, either isolated or 
combined into large masses, compose 
more than two-thirds of Sicily.”— -A. de 
Quatrefages. 

There is reason to believe that ancient 
My he occupied this peninsula, as did 
certainly the mediaeval town, which 
stood on the cliffs where they rise above 
the sandy isthmus; but with the in¬ 
crease of commerce and security, the 
houses have gradually crept down to 
the shores of the port, and little beyond 
the castle and cathedral now remains 
on the height. 

In the town of Milazzo there 
is little worthy of notice. The 
fountain of Mylas in the Piazza is 
much renowned for the excellence of 
its water, and for its abundance in 
summer; but its adornments show the 
wretched taste of the last century. 
The streets near the harbour are wide 


and tolerably well built; but they 
change into winding lanes as they as¬ 
cend the steep. The churches and con¬ 
vents have few attractions. The best is 
the ChiesctMculre, which stands on the 
height within the fortifications. It is 
of Corinthian architecture, of the cinque- 
cento period. In a chapel to rt. is a 
curious fresco of 2 Capuchin monks, 
carrying the Virgin and Child on an 
ark. In the chapel of the Crocifisso 
are 2 pictures of St. Peter and St. Paul 
by Anioniello Desaliba of Messina, 
bearing his name, and the date of 1531. 

The Castle. —The object most worthy 
of notice in Milazzo is the castle, whicli 
occupies the highest point of the pro¬ 
montory above the town, rising some 320 
ft. above the sea, and commanding the 
town, the port, the peninsula, and a 
most delightful panorama of the Lipari 
Islands, and the mountainous coasts 
of Sicily and Calabria. The castle is 
composed of a keep, surrounded by a 
wall with square towers, enclosed by 
another with round towers, and the 
whole is shut in by an old bastioned 
line. Vestiges of Norman times may be 
seen in the pointed gateways, in certain 
of the towers—particularly in one called 
“ Torre Moresca ”—and in an old chapel 
within the walls ; but the principal 
part of the fortifications is the w r ork of 
the Emperor Charles V. A century 
later they Avere repaired by Pietro No- 
velli, the great painter, who, as “ archi¬ 
tect of Sicily,” spent tAvo years, 1643-5, 
in strengthening these lines. He con¬ 
structed the bastions of S. Papino and 
S. Gennaro, with the connecting curtain 
and the Military Quarter. The natural 
and artificial strength of its position has 
in all ages given importance to Milazzo 
as a military post, and enabled it on 
various occasions to oppose a successful 
resistance to an enemy—particularly to 
the Hue de Vivonne in 1675; and 
again to the Duke de Leda in the War 
of Succession. The English, during 
their occupation of Sicily in the present 
century, made this one of their chief 
places d' armes. An attempt Avas made 
by Frederick II. of Sicily to isolate the 
peninsula and strengthen the position 
by cutting a canal across the isthmus; 



279 


ROUTE 10. -MILAZZO— 

blit lie abandoned the undertaking as 
too costly. Vestiges of this work, how¬ 
ever, are still visible. Among the 
videncla of MUazzo is a spring of water 
in the Carmelite convent, which though 
several feet below the sea, and separated 
from the surf only by a wall, is per¬ 
fectly fresh. In the cliff below the 
castle is a spacious grotto of natural 
formation, marked by local tradi¬ 
tion as the stable of the oxeu of the 
Sun, or the Cave of Polyphemus; but 
the spot is divested of all romance by 
the presence of four dungeons, said to 
have been constructed by the English 
for military offenders. 

“Milazzo was for several years the 
residence of Louis Philippe, then Duke 
of Orleans, who, having been banished 
from France on account of his name, 
and not permitted to remain at the 
court of Naples on account of his liberal 
opinions, came to seek an asylum in 
this remote corner of the world. It 
may be that in the midst of the splen¬ 
dours and the troubles that chequered 
his life while he was King of the French, 
he often recalled the humble white 
cottage which was pointed out to us as 
his former residence; and it may be, 
too, that even without foreseeing the 
sorrows of exile, he may often have 
regretted the cahn and peaceful days he 
spent at Milazzo.”— A.de Quatrefages. 

Milazzo possesses a stronger and 
more recent interest from the successful 
attack made on it by Garibaldi in July 
1860, who, with a much inferior force, 
composed chiefly of raw levies, first 
defeated General Bosco with his bat¬ 
talions of riflemen, picked expressly from 
the garrison of Messina, in the plain in 
front of the isthmus, then carried the 
town by assault, and shut up the Nea- 
politans in the fortress, which they sur¬ 
rendered four days afterwards to the 
Liberator. 

The contest began on the 18th, Bosco 
in vain endeavouring to force Medici's 
position. Early on the 20th, Garibaldi, 
who in the interim had arrived with 
reinforcements, marched Ins columns to 
attack the royal troops, who were drawn 
up in a strong position in front of the 


garibaldi’s victory. 

town, extending across the isthmus, 
their centre resting on the hamlet of S. 
Pietro, and their entire line protected 
by houses, walls, or embankments, and 
by a dense vegetation which completely 
masked them from their foes. The Gari- 
baldians were received by a murderous 
fire, which they could not return, yet 
continued to advance, threading their 
way through the brakes, “headed by 
Garibaldi in person, cigarette in mouth 
and walking-stick in hand, his calm and 
benevolent features bearing their usual 
happy expression, as if he were on a 
day’s excursion, rather than leading a 
death-struggle on which the fate of his 
country depended. Suddenly a 3-gun 
battery opened on them with mitraille 
at 20 paces.” The Garibaldians were 
checked by this murderous discharge ; 
and the reserve, consisting of the Eng¬ 
lish regiment, was ordered to carry the 
battery in flank. Dashing forward. 
Garibaldi at their head, after a short 
struggle the reserve carried the guns, 
and were dragging them off when 
they were charged by the Neapolitan 
dragoons. Colonel D unn was knocked 
down and galloped over. His men, 
driven out of the battery, divided them¬ 
selves on either side the road, placing 
their backs to the wall and prickly-pear 
bushes, and opened fire on the cavalry. 
The Neapolitans halted and endea¬ 
voured to return, but Garibaldi and a 
handful of guides barred the way. 
Summoned by the dragoon officer to 
surrender, the hero of Varese replied by 
cutting him down. A desperate hand 
to hand fight ensued, which ended in 
the remnant of the cavalry escaping to 
the town, leaving the guns in the hands 
of Garibaldi. The whole line now ad¬ 
vanced with the’; bayonet. The royal 
troops stood for a moment and then 
retired in confusion, the castle-guns 
covering then retreat. 

After a halt of 2 hours, during which 
Garibaldi washed his shirt in the brook, 
and sat smoking with bare back till it 
was dry, a general assault was made on 
the town, and in spite of a harassing 
fire from the houses and boats, and in 
teeth of a shower of shot and shell 
from the fortress, the patriots gradually 
advanced from position to position, till 



280 


ROUTE 10. -MILAZZO TO MESSINA. 


at 4 p.m. they had worked their way 
up to the castle-gate. Nothing more 
could he done for the want of heavy 
guns, the walls being too high to be 
escaladed. The victory was dearly 
purchased by the loss of 750 men, or 
about one-fifth of the number actually 
engaged; the Neapolitans, who had 
fought mostly under cover, not losing 
more than 200. “ It was Garibaldi’s 

liardest fought battle in Italy; for it 
was universally allowed that Bosco’s 
troops stood better than the Austrians 
had ever done in Lombardy against the 
Gicciatori delle Alpi.”— Commander 
Forbes, R.N. 

The road from Milazzo to Mes¬ 
sina first skirts the sandy shore of the 
bay, and then traverses a plain rich in 
nil, fruit, and wine, falling into the 
high road from Patti at the Fiume 
Nocito. This is supposed by Cluver to 
be the Facelinus Amnis of antiquity, 
on whose banks stood a celebrated 
temple of Diana, “sedes Facelina 
Dianse,” with a small town around it, 
oft' which Agrippa defeated Pompey's 
fleet, as already stated. It was re¬ 
garded, says Appian, as the spot where 
the oxen of the Sun were pastured, and 
where they were slaughtered by the 
companions of Ulysses, during the 
slumber of that hero. A number of 
streams in quick succession empty 
themselves into this bay of Milazzo; 
at the mouth of one of them, it is not 
easy to say which, stood the little town 
of Naulochus, or Naulocha, whose 
name implies that it was a station for 
ships, where Sextus Pompeius viewed 
from his camp the defeat of his fleet 
by Agrippa. At the 23 milestone is 
the hamlet of AW Arclii, and 2 m. 
beyond, at the Fiume di Moto, a road 
branches to the rt. to S. Pietro Mon¬ 
forte, 4 m. up the valley, with the 
towns of Venetico and Rocca on the 
slopes nearer the eye; the former of 
these conspicuous with its feudal 
fortress. Up the next valley, that of 
the Nucilla, Rametta also conies into 
view. The mountains which form the 
back-bone of that long narrow corner 
of Trinacria, which lies between the 
•Straits of Messina and the Tyrrhene 


Sea, and tapers up to Cape Pelorus, 
are boldly peaked and finely broken, 
their crests capped with snow in winter, 
their higher ledges crested with pic¬ 
turesque towns and villages, then- 
lower slopes dark with olive-groves, 
which are separated by stretches of 
crimson clover from the rich plains of 
fruit and corn at their base. 

156 m. Spadafora (pop. 2000). Inns : 
the “ Locanda di Fortuna,” kept by 
Canciemi, is the larger, but that of 
‘ Giovanni Lisi,” called Mastro Gio¬ 
vanni, is in more repute. This is 
a small town on the shore, amid 
beautiful scenery, but mean, dirty, 
and unhealthy. A square castellated 
building, half-way up the broad street, 
the palace of the titular Prince, is 
the only object to arrest the attention. 
The road continues along the coast, 
crossing the Fiume Saponara , with 
the castle of the same name on a 
distant green crest beneath the grand 
mountain of Tinnamara, which domi¬ 
nates Messina and the Straits. At 
Bavuso, 14 m. from Messina, and 
about 4 m. from Spadafora, the low 
table promontory of Rasocolmo conies 
full into view, but the road here 
quits the coast, and commences the 
ascent of the beautiful range of hills 
which back Messina, and whose lower 
slopes are luxuriantly clad .with vine¬ 
yards, cornfields, orchards, and olive- 
groves, and are studded with villages, 
villas, and monasteries. At 1 m. from 
the coast, at Divieto, is a barrier and 
custom-house ; 3 m. beyond stands 
the town of Gesso (10 m. from Mes¬ 
sina), half-way up the pass, with an 
abandoned fort in a commanding posi¬ 
tion, recalling the days of English 
occupation. Just below the town, on 
the rt. bank of the Gallo, is the little 
monastery of 8. Gregorio Mag no, which 
claims to have been founded by that 
pope, and retains traces of early days 
in its cupolaed chapel. The upper 
part of the ascent for 4 m. above 
Gesso is wild and bare, the vine and 
olive give place to the tern and tama¬ 
risk, and rocks of glittering gypsum, 
or grey liehened granite, crop out from 
the slopes. But every step affords a 



281 


ROUTE 11. -TERMINI TO CALASCIBETTA. 


wider prospect over the many-liilled, 
many-hued coast, with the strange 
promontory of Milazzo at its feet, the 
Aeolian Isles in varied forms studding 
the blue deep, and the mountains of 
Calabria stretching far away, dim and 
grey, till lost on the northern horizon. 
At the summit of the pass, which is 
only 6 m. from Messina, stands a 
ruined watch-tower of the middle ages, 
with a telegraph at a little distance. 
Here a new and glorious view breaks 
on the sight. 

The celebrated Straits of Messina lie 
beneath, appearing rather like a mighty 
river flowing out from a narrow valley 
to lose itself in the wide sea at Cape 
Spartivento. The heights on this side, 
at your feet, are broken into varied 
forms, rich with careful cultivation, 
and picturesque with castles, convents, 
and villages, scattered over their sur¬ 
face. The mountains of Calabria oppo¬ 
site present different features, more arid, 
less wooded, and less broken—a long 
even ridge, swelling up into a lofty 
mountain wall, covered with snow for 
the greater part of the year. Along the 
coast, at their base, stretches a succession 
of towns and villages, among which, 
Scilla, S. Giovanni, and Reggio, are 
the nearest and most prominent. Mes¬ 
sina is half-hidden by the intervening 
heights, but the green sickle, which 
gave its name (Zaucle), to the ancient 
city, and encloses the port, is clearly 
defined on the blue waters of the 
Straits. The retrospect is scarcely less 
beautiful; nearly the whole northern 
coast of Sicily is in sight, and the 
Lipari Islands in varied forms stud the 
horizon; Stromboli, with his eternal 
smoke, especially attracting the eye. 

From this point, the road descends 
by many windings to Messina, seen 
from time to time through breaks in 
the hills, which are clad with oak, 
arbutus, and myrtle, and crested with 
pines. As you descend, the long low 
point of Faro with its castle comes 
into view, fronting the square rock of 
Scylla on the opposite coast, and the 
fancy, without much difficulty, recog¬ 
nises the site of Charybdis within the 
point. Lower down you pass orchards 
and vineyards, leaving the Capuchin 


Convent on the rt., and descend to the 
large monastery of Sta. Maria e Gesii 
Inferiore, at the N. Gate of Messina. 

171 m. Messina. See Rte. 27, p. 1G5. 


ROUTE 11. 

TERMINI TO CALASCIBETTA. 

Miles. Hours. 


Termini to Caltauturo .. .. 18 6£ 

Caltauturo to Polizzi. 6 

Polizzi to Petralia Sottana .. .. 6 

Petralia to Alimena. 9 6£ 


Alimena to Calascibetta .. .. 17 5 

56 18 

This route is a rough mountain track, 
lying across the lofty Nebrodes, prac¬ 
ticable only on horseback, and hardly 
passable in winter. For the first 
few miles, or as far as the Fiume Torto, 
the route follows the coast road to 
Cefalii, described at p. 256, skirting 
the base of the grand lonely mountain 
of S. Calogero, girdled with vineyards 
and orchards, olive-groves, and planta¬ 
tions of sumach. On crossing the F. 
Torto by a bridge some miles inland, 
this cultivation gives place to open 
downs, partly corn-land, and partly 
untilled, which continue with frequent 
ascents and descents to Caltauturo. 
About half way to this place, you pass 
through a miserable village called 
Cerda or Fondaco Nuovo, but the 





282 


ROUTE 11. -SCLAFANI.-CALTAUTURO.-ROLIZZI. 


country otherwise appears uninhabited. 
From this to Caltauturo are 2 tracks, 
the more direct running through the 
valley of the Fiume Grande; the other, 
which is much longer, but more ele¬ 
vated, lying more to the W., and pass¬ 
ing by the picturesque fortress of 
Sclafani. By either path you cross 
the F. Grande, the ancient Himera, a 
little below this fortress, which is only 
3 miles from Caltauturo, but on the 
opposite bank of the river. 

Sclafani , a village of some 600 
souls, encircling the castle, which, 
crowning a rugged pinnacle of rock, 
points to times when feudal lords 
trusted to nature as much as to art for 
security against their foes. However 
inconvenient in some respects, these 
hawks’ nests always had the ad¬ 
vantage of extensive, and generally, as 
in this case, of beautiful prospects. The 
fortress claims a Saracenic origin. 
Count Roger captured it from that 
people, and William the Bad granted 
it in fee to one of his courtiers, who 
took from it the title of count. It was 
one of his descendants who erected the 
spacious palace, now called the Spedale 
Grande, in Palermo (see p. 79). The 
ch. contains an ancient sarcophagus of 
white marble, with a bacchanalian 
scene in relief. The neighbourhood of 
Sclafani abounds in bitumen. On the 
southern slope of its mountain, at the 
distance of 1 m., is a cave in which 
rise some warm springs, of the tempe¬ 
rature of 26.3 Reaumur, deemed of effi¬ 
cacy in certain chronic disorders. 

18 m. Caltauturo or Caltavuturo, a 
small town of some 4000 inliab., with a 
wretched fondaco. The traveller will 
fare better in one of the 2 convents— 
that of the Riformati, or that of the 
Agostiniani. The steep rock over¬ 
hanging the town is crested with the 
ch., and the ruins of the old fortress, 
whose name betrays its Saracenic 
origin — Kala’t-Abi-Thur, “ the fort¬ 
ress of Abi-Thur.” At its conquest, 
Count Roger bestowed it on his 
daughter Matilda, and after remain¬ 
ing a royal fief for some centuries, 
it was granted to the family of 


Moncada, whence it passed to that of 
Toledo. The Chiesa Maggiore con¬ 
tains a picture of the Adoration of the 
Magi, said to be worthy of Raphael. 
In the ch. of the Riformati is a Visi¬ 
tation, of the school of Novelli. 
Around Caltauturo nature displays 
herself on the most majestic scale, and 
in the most romantic forms. You are 
here in the heart of the Nebrodes, or 
Madonie mountains, with whose bare 
crests, rugged steeps, and broken out¬ 
lines, the crumbling castles of Sclafani 
and Caltauturo are quite in harmony. 

From this to Alimena there are 2 
routes. That to the W. is the more 
direct (18 m.), but it does not pass 
through a single village, and scarcely 
by a solitary habitation, traversing 
corn and grass uplands on the slopes 
of the lofty mountains of Campanaro 
and Ciriemi. The other track, which is 
3 m. longer, passes the towns of Polizzi 
and Petralia, and through a more 
wooded and attractive country. 

Between Caltauturo and Polizzi, the 
path lies through the valley of the F. 
Grande, crossing that stream several 
times. The mountain slopes are here 
dark with wood, or bright with culti¬ 
vation, and present a pleasing contrast 
to the wild treeless scenery on the 
other side of Caltauturo. A long and 
steep ascent leads from the river to 

24 m. Polizzi (pop. 6161). Inn ; a 
mere fondaco. Travellers can find 
shelter at the Franciscan convent. This 
town stands on an abrupt height, be¬ 
tween the 2 heads of the F. Grande, 
and commands a magnificent mountain 
panoroma. The Chiesa Matrice con¬ 
tains the ashes of S. Gandolfo, the 
boast of Polizzi, which are believed to 
have worked many miracles; also the 
fragment of a beautiful custodia, carved 
by Domenico Gagini, in 1482. The 
ch. of the Franciscan Convent has a 
chapel adorned by Antonio Gagini , 
son of Domenico, with statues of the 
Virgin, St. Francis, and St. Antonio, 
the first of which has been injured by 
lightning. In the ch. of Santo Spirito 
is a statue of the Virgin of the Rosary, 
by Vincenzo and Fazio Gagini. That 
of St. Orsola contains an early paint- 



283 


ROUTE 11. -PETRALIA SOTTANA.-ALIMENA. 


ing of tlie Sicilian school, by Tommciso 
Vigil/a, bearing date 1497 ; and that 
of Sta. Maria degli Angeli, a triptych 
altarpiece, attributed by some to Al¬ 
bert Purer, by others to Vander Goes. 
Polizzi is the birthplace of the learned 
Caruso, who wrote much on the history 
and literature of Sicily. 

Polizzi owes its origin to the Nor¬ 
mans. Count Roger, pursuing the 
Saracens to these mountains, found 
them encamped in a strong position, 
and, to besiege them at his leisure, he 
raised a fortress on this spot. After 
repeated attacks he overcame them at 
the foot of Monte Madonia, on a plain 
which still retains the name of “ Piano 
della Battaglia.” For some ages Po¬ 
lizzi was a royal demesne, and as such 
received from the Emperor Frederick 
II. the title of “ La Generosa; ” but 
eventually it became a baronial fief. The 
strength of its position enabled King 
Frederick II., in 1302, to defy the Ange- 
vins commanded by Charles of Valois, 
who marched to the base of the hill, but 
did not venture to attack the town. In 
the 16th centy. Polizzi was depopulated 
by the plague, and has never recovered 
its former importance. Native anti¬ 
quaries have ascribed an ancient origin 
to this town, deriving its name from 
"io-iSis, or from Pollux, or from 
the old Sicilian deities, the Palici ; but 
the absence of all local remains earlier 
than Norman times confirms the view 
we have given of its origin. On the rock 
overhanging the Matrice are the few re¬ 
mains of llogers Castle, which are less at¬ 
tractive than the view from them of the 
rich valley beneath, and the well wood¬ 
ed declivities of the Madonian range. 
These mountains yield nuts and mush¬ 
rooms in abundance,, together with 
many aromatic and medicinal plants. 
In the neighbourhood of Polizzi sul¬ 
pha to of zinc and other minerals are 
to be found. 

From Polizzi a mountain track runs 
southward to Sta. Caterina, on the high¬ 
road from Palermo to Catania, crossing 
Monte Ciriemi, and falling into that 
road a few miles beyond Landro. 

Around Polizzi the country is culti¬ 
vated with vines, and beyond, chiefly 


with corn. From the road to Petralia, 
the view of Polizzi on its precipitous 
height, backed by the cultivated slopes 
of the Nebrodes, and wfith the familiar 
forms of Monte Calogero, near Ter¬ 
mini, and of Monte Pellegrino, near 
Palermo, on the horizon, is most strik¬ 
ing. Just before reaching Petralia, at 
the foot of the Monte della Balata, you 
cross one of the heads of the Southern 
Himera, the Flume Salso, which falls 
into the sea at Licata on the southern 
coast. 

30 m. Petralia Sottana, or the lower 
Petralia, lies in the valley, and con¬ 
tains 4600 inhab. On a lofty height 
above it stands Petralia Soprana, 
supposed to occupy the site of the Petra 
or Petnea of antiquity. 

“ Romanos Petra?a duces, Romana petivit 
Fcedera Callipolis, lapidosique Engyon artus.” 

Sil. Ital., xiv. 248. 

In a diploma of Count Roger it is 
called Petra Heine, whence Petraglia ; 
though some 'would derive its name 
from Petra olea, as there is a spring of bi¬ 
tuminous water at the base of the hill, 
not far from the ch. of Santa Maria dell' 
Olio. It has a pop. of 5300, and pos¬ 
sesses a locanda. The Chiesa Matrice 
contains an oil-painting of the Cruci¬ 
fixion, by Pietro Novelli ; and in a ch. 
near the prison is a Deposition by the 
same artist. 

The route from Petralia follows the 
valley of the Salso, high above the 
river, to Alimena, passing through the 
village of Puonpietro. 

39 m. Alimena (pop. 3200). This 
village stands on an eminence in the 
midst of an open corn country, between 
the 2 heads of the F. Salso. It has no 
inn, but in its convent, that of Sta. 
Maria di Gesii, the traveller may find 
accommodation. Soon after Alimena 
you leave the province of Palermo, and 
enter that of Caltanisetta. Not far 
beyond Alimena you pass a mountain 
of rock-salt, white as marble, and trans¬ 
parent as crystal. The path traverses 
tlie’slopes of the great Monte Artesino, 
one'of the loftiest of the Hercean chain, 
and regarded as the true centre of 




284 


ROUTE 12. -PETRALIA TO BRONTE. 


Sicily, and descends to that branch of 
the Salso called the Flume di Gangl, 
from taking its source near that town. 
Far down the valley to the rt., is the 
village of Villarosa, on the high road 
across the island. Mounting the oppo¬ 
site height, called Monte Manaro, the 
route passes through the village of 
Priolo, situated in the midst of sul¬ 
phur-mines, and again descends, cross¬ 
ing the Vallone del Fico, before it 
climbs to Calascibetta. Open corn 
country, almost bare of trees, continues 
nearly up to that town. The soil is a 
stiff clay, and appears so rich that you 
wonder it receives so little tillage; 
even the mountains which rise on every 
hand in wild confusion seem capable 
of cultivation to their very summits; 
but when you observe the paucity of 
habitations in this wide region, the 
direction of your wonder is changed, 
and you are surprised to see so much 
of the land under cultivation. As you 
approach Calascibetta, you pass through 
a forest of oaks and chesnuts, high 
above which towers the elevated table- 
rock, crowned with the ruinous build¬ 
ings of the town, and backed by the 
still broader and loftier, but twin- 
height, on which Castrogiovanni rears 
her castle and towers to the clouds. It 
is a long and steep ascent to 

56 m. Calascibetta. Vide Rtc. 7, 
p. 225. 


EOUTE 12. 

PETRALIA TO BRONTE. 

Miles. Hours. 


Petralia to Gangi. 6 2 

Gangi to Sperlinga . 9 3 

Sperlinga to Nicosia. 3 1 

Nicosia to Troina.15 6 

Troina to Bronte.18 G 


51 18 * 

For the route from Palermo to Ter¬ 
mini and Petralia Soprana, see Rtes. 
10 and 11. 

In this route across the island there 
is much to “ interest in the wild mag¬ 
nificence of the scenery, in the extraor¬ 
dinary situation of towns and cities on 
hills or rocks which appear accessible 
to no animals but goats, in the fine re¬ 
mains of Saracenic and Norman castles, 
and above all in the singular habits, 
manners, and superstitions of the rustic 
inhabitants. Everything is delightful 
except the roads and inns.”— Hughes. 
This route lies through the mountain¬ 
ous districts of Sicily, where probably 
no carriage has ever rolled. Certain it 
is that at present the route must be per¬ 
formed entirely on horseback. 

The country between Petralia and 
Gangi is in parts cultivated with corn. 
The path lies over a lofty ridge from 
which the towns of Geraci and San 
Mauro are seen among the mountains 
to the N., and descends to the valley 
below Gangi, through which flows that 
branch of the F. Salso, the Himera 
Meridionalis of the ancients, which 
takes its rise near, and appellation 
from, that town. 

6 m. Gangi or Ganci, is a large town 
of more than 9000 inhab., crowning the 
summit and slopes of a steep and lofty 
height. Two miles to the S., on the 
spot now occupied by the Benedictine 
monastery, stood an earlier town of the 
same name, destroyed in 1299 by 
Frederick II. for the rebellion of Fran¬ 
cesco Ventimiglia, its feudal lord. This 










285 


ROUTE 12 . —GANGI.— 

is conjectured by Cluyer and others to 
have been the representative of the 
Engyum of antiquity—• 

“ Romana petivit 

Fcedera Callipolis, lapidosique Etigyon artus.” 

Sil. Ital., xiv. 248.— 

famed for its temple to the Magna Mater, 
which Cicero describes as “ a most 
august and sacred fane,” and which 
was robbed of all its treasures by the 
praetor Yerres. The town is said to 
have owed its foundation to colonists 
from Crete ; but it is not mentioned in 
history till the time of Timoleon, who 
liberated it from its tyrant Leptines. 
In the Second Punic War it sided 
with Carthage, and narrowly escaped 
the vengeance of Marcellus. In modern 
times Gangi is celebrated as the birth¬ 
place of Giuseppe Salerno, called from 
his lameness “ lo Zoppo di Gangi,” one 
of Sicily’s best painters, who flourished 
about the commencement of the 17tli 
centy. The Chiesa Matrice contains a 
Last Judgment by his hand, esteemed 
a chef-d'oeuvre. 

From Gangi a bridle-path runs north¬ 
ward to Cefalii, passing through Geraci, 
where it forks; the easterly branch 
running through S. Mauro; the other 
through Castelbuono. 

The route to Nicosia lies through an 
open country on the northern slopes of 
Monte Fuciiino. The soil is very rich, 
yielding, according to Sir R. C. Hoare, 
the most luxuriant crops he had seen in 
Sicily. The path is in parts very steep 
and bad, especially near Gangi. At 
about 3 m. from that town you cross a 
ridge which divides the province of 
Palermo from that of Catania. 

15 m. Sperlinga, a village of 1969 
inhabitants, with a picturesque castle 
on a steep and lofty rock. This place 
lias obtained an unenviable notoriety in 
Sicilian history, as being the only town 
in all the island which refused to join 
in the revolt against the French, which 
became general after the massacre of 
the Vespers in 1282. Hence the pro¬ 
verb— 

“ Quocl Siculis placuit, sola Sperlinga negavit”— 


SPERLINGA.-NICOSIA. 

still in common use, to ridicule insigni¬ 
ficant persons who attempt to dissent 
from the general opinion, or oppose the 
popular wish. The fortress, held by an 
Angevin garrison under Pierre Laman, 
maintained a protracted resistance on 
that occasion; but history is silent as 
to its fate. 

18 m. Nicosia. (Two locande of very 
inferior description.) This is an im¬ 
portant town of 13,271 inhab., the see 
of a bishop, and the capital of one of 
the districts of the province of Catania. 
It is situated in the midst of a wild, 
rocky, and mountainous country on the 
crest of an abrupt conical rock called 
Monte San Giovanni, standing between 
the two heads of the Fiume Sal so. The 
rock has 2 peaks, the highest of which 
is crowned by a ruined castle, said to 
have been founded by King Roger. 
The town, however, was previously 
peopled by the Norman and Lombard 
adventurers who had assisted his father, 
the great ..Count, in the conquest of 
Sicily. Three centuries ago the in¬ 
habitants retained in their dialect, says 
old Fazello, traces of this origin. Ni¬ 
cosia lays claim to the epithet of 
“ Costantissima,” conferred on it by 
the Emperor Frederick II. 

The Cathedral has a facade of Norm, 
architecture, with a beautiful doorway. 
A door to the 1. is of the same style. The 
interior is modernised; it contains a 
picture of S. Lorenzo, of the Neapoli¬ 
tan school ; a Christ on the Cross carved 
in wood by Era TJmile Pintorno of Pe- 
tralia; and on the paliotto of the same 
altar a bas-relief in marble of the 
Burial of Christ, by Antonio Gagini. 
A sepulchral monument from the 
chisel of Ignazio Marabitti; a picture 
by Giuseppe Velasquez, in the tribune; 
and a Martyrdom of S. Placido, by 
Patania, are also to be noticed. 
The carved wood-work in the Choir is 
by Giambattista Livolsi, a native sculp¬ 
tor. The sculptured adornments of 
the Baptistery are of early quattro-cento 
work. The statues which decorate the 
pulpit are by the hand of Gagini. 

Sta. Maria Maggiore contains a sin¬ 
gular monument of white marble, called 
“II Cono,” which rises 35 ft. above 




286 


ROUTE 12. —NICOSIA.—TROINA. 


tlie high altar, and is sculptured with 
more than 60 figures, culminating in 
that of St. Michael. It is the work of 
Antonio Gagini, in 1500. The eli. of 
the Carmelites has an Annunciation 
from the same chisel. 

S. Francesco di Paola contains a pic¬ 
ture of that saint by Filippo Randazzo 
of Nicosia. 8 . Calogero has other 
paintings by the same hand, and in 
its sacristy is an early Adoration of 
the Magi, on wood. 

In the ch. of S. Vincenzo are some 
frescoes and oil-paintings by IF. Borre- 
mans ; in that of S. Biagio five pictures 
by Giuseppe Velasquez of Palermo. 
The Capuchin Convent, distinguished 
by its grove of oaks, pines, and cy¬ 
presses, is worth a visit for its picturesque 
situation, and for the superb view it 
commands. 

Nicosia contests with Sperlinga the 
honour of representing Herbita, a very 
ancient town of the Siculi, which is 
first mentioned in history as joining 
Ducetius, about 446 n.c., when tlia t 
Siculan prince, urged by the oracle, re¬ 
turned from Corinth to found Cale 
Acte. In 403 it successfully withstood 
a siege by Dionysius of Syracuse; and 
immediately after, its ruler Arclionides 
founded Alsesa on the N. coast, which 
soon surpassed its parent city in wealth 
and power. Herbita was despoiled 
and almost depopulated by the ra¬ 
pacious Yerres, and its territory, pre¬ 
viously most fertile in corn, was made 
a desert. 


From Nicosia a track runs northward 
across the Hersean range to Mistretta 
and Santo Stefano; another, south¬ 
ward, crossing Monte Sappo, leads to 
Leonforte (12 m.) ; and a third, follow¬ 
ing the valley of the Salso, to S. Filip¬ 
po d’ Argiro, about the same distance. 
On this road, 5 m. from Nicosia, you 
pass the Rocca di S arno, a site me¬ 
morable in Sicilian history. While the 
Norman brothers, Robert and Roger, 
were engaged in the siege of Palermo, 
they left their nephew Serlo—a youth 
who inherited all the valour of his family 
and race—in charge of Ceraini, to keep 


the Saracens in check in the centre of 
the island. The Moslems, when they 
could not make head against him in 
the field, resolved to destroy him by 
stratagem. One of them, named Bra- 
cliino, pretending friendship for Serlo, 
wrote to him to beware, when he went 
forth to the chase, of taking a certain 
road, as 7 Saracens were lying in wait 
to slay him. Brachino had correctly 
calculated the effect of his epistle. 
Serlo, as noble and unsuspicious as he 
was brave, despising an enemy so few 
in number, and courting the adventure, 
took the very road against which he 
was warned. But instead of 7 foes. 
Brachino came against him with 70 
horse and 2000 foot, and compelled 
him—his horse being slain—to take 
refuge on a steep and rugged rock 
which stood on the banks of the San 
Filippo. Here he long held his pur¬ 
suers at bay, hurling clown stones and 
masses of earth on all who attempted 
to ascend, till at length he fell covered 
with wounds. The rock took from this 
event the name of Rocca di Serlo, now 
corrupted into Sarno. 


The descent from Nicosia towards 
Troina is steep, and on this side the 
city has suffered from landslips. The 
countiy between it and Troina is un¬ 
dulating, and cultivated with corn; 
the track crossing two branches of the 
F. Salso, a tributary of the Simeto. 
From the Pontello del Principe, on the 
second branch, the track mounts the 
long-drawn ridge, which is crested by 
Troina, passing only the solitary ham¬ 
let of Donna Maria on the way. 

33 m. Troina (pop. 8200). The tra¬ 
veller may find snelter, if not accommo¬ 
dation, at the Franciscan or at the 
Capuchin convent. Troina stands on 
the level summit of a mountain, which 
from the E. appears like a truncated 
cone, and rises to the height of more 
than 3000 feet above the sea, being, 
like Castrogiovanni, often lost amid the 
clouds for days from the view of those 
in the plains. At this elevation the 
climate is cold, and snow and ice often 




ROUTE 12 . -TROINA. 


287 


lie on tlie ground throughout the winter. 
This town commands a most extensive 
and magnificent view, Etna with his 
snowy crest and wooded slopes filling 
the eastern horizon, and a sea of inferior 
mountains in every other direction, high 
among which peer most of the towns 
and castles of central Sicily. 

Troina was one of the first places 
that fell into the power of Count Roger 
de Hauteville, on his first expedition to 
Sicily in 1063. Here it was that in 
the following year he and his fair bride 
Eremherga were besieged four months 
in the citadel by the revolted Saracens 
who held the town ; and here they had 
to undergo such hardships, that during 
an unusually severe winter they had 
but one cloak between them. After he 
had regained possession of the place, 
Roger left his young countess in com¬ 
mand during his absence in Calabria, 
when she used to make the round of 
the walls every night to see that the 
sentinels were on the alert. Here, in 
1078, he built a ch., and established 
the first Catholic see in the island, ap¬ 
pointing Eremberga’s brother, Robert 
of Evroult, the first bishop. The bishop¬ 
ric was in 1087 transferred to Messina, 
and all that Troina can now boast in the 
way of ecclesiastical dignitaries is an 
archdeacon and a college of canons. 

Santa Maria or La Matrice. This 
ch., founded by Roger, is supposed to 
be erected on the site of the citadel in 
which the count was besieged. A 
portion of the E. end, and a part of the 
campanile, are all that remain of the 
original structure. “ These portions 
are well constructed with large squared 
stones in regular courses. The style is 
a studious imitation of the Roman. The 
lower part of the belfry forms a porch, 
in which are well-turned round arches, 
resting on imposts decorated with a 
Roman moulding. In the E. end there 
is a departure from the habitual plan 
of the basilica. In shape it is square, 
and seems never to have contained a 
semicircular apse.”— Gaily Knight. 
This ch. contains 2 pictures by Giu¬ 
seppe Velasquez. Near the Tribune is 
a small under-ground chapel, where 
Rope Urban II. is said to have cele¬ 


brated mass when he came to Sicily 
in 1088 to consult his friend Count 
Roger on the affairs of the Catholic 
Church. 

The Basilian Monastery, situated 
; about 2 m. from the city, is a fine 
building. The institution owes its 
foundation to Count Roger, who, after 
the capture of Palermo from the Sara¬ 
cens in 1072, erected a monastery for 
the safety of his own soul and that of 
his family, and endowed it with lands, 
making his brother-in-law, Robert of 
Evroult, the abbot. The present edi¬ 
fice does not even occupy the site of 
the original, which stood at a much 
greater distance from Troina. In lay¬ 
ing the foundations of the modern 
structure many sepulchres were opened, 
and numerous remains of antiquity, 
such as vases, and small figures of 
bronze and terracottta, were brought 
to light, which now enrich the Museo 
Biscari, and the collection in the Bene¬ 
dictine Convent at Catania. 

On the height called Monte di San Pan- 
ton are vestiges of an ancient structure. 
Some fragments of masonry, of large 
uncemented blocks, beneath the Norman 
cli., as well as below the hospital, also 
appear to be of classic times, and with 
the other relics hint at the existence of 
an ancient city at or near this site. 
The citadel of the original city, says 
Fazello, is now included within the 
limits of the modern, but the ancient 
town stood on the slope lower down, 
1 m. to the S., in the spot called S. 
Silvestro, where traces of former habi¬ 
tation in blocks of regular masonry 
yet meet the eye. This city, if such 
it were, is conjectured by Cluverius 
to have been Imachara, a town men¬ 
tioned by Cicero, Pliny, and Ptolemy, 
the last of whom places it between 
Capitium and Centuripa. It is these 
remains .of former times which have 
conferred on Troina the title of “ Anti- 
chissima.” 


A track runs northward from Troina 
to Sta. Agata di Militello, across Monte 
Sordo, and the great forest of Caronia. 
At a spot called S. Elia, about 6 m. on 








288 


ROUTE 12 . —CERA MI.-CAPIZZI. 


this road in the midst of the forest, 
Count Roger, about the year 1080, 
founded another eh. and monastery, 
which he dedicated to St. Elias Eu- 
boulos, for the “ good counsel ” he 
received from some Christian villagers 
who dwelt there, as he marched by to 
attack the Saracens in Troina. He 
peopled this monastery with Basil ian 
monks, who followed the Greek ritual, 
and used the Greek language in their 
services; but these edifices were totally 
destroyed by the earthquake of 1643, 
which did great injury to Troina and 
its neighbourhood. 


Another mountain-track runs from 
Troina to the N.AY. to Mistretta (22 
m.), through Cerarni and Capizzi. 

Troina to Cerami. 6 miles. 

I'" Cerami to Capizzi. 4 „ 

Capizzi to Mistretta .. .. 12 „ 

Cerami (pop. 4800). Another of the 
old hawks’ nests, with which Saracenic 
and feudal Sicily abounded. This, like 
Troina, was one of the earliest of 
Roger’s conquests, and is especially 
celebrated as the scene of a great battle 
won by that prince over the Moslems, 
in 1064, in spite of a fearful disparity of 
numbers. While the contest was raging 
with doubtful issue, an unknown knight, 
of more than human beauty and of 
luminous aspect, in robes of pure white 
with a red cross on his breast, and 
mounted on a snow-white steed, sud¬ 
denly appeared amid the Norman ranks. 
Roger’s own spear was seen at the 
same moment to be tipped with a fea¬ 
thery cross. “ St. George ! St. George! 
God is on our side ! ” shouted Roger to 
his men. The cry ran tlirough the 
Christian ranks, and so excited their 
enthusiasm as to render them, irresist¬ 
ible ; and such was the slaughter, says 
an old Chronicler, that not one of that 
vast host of barbarians lived to relate 
the events of that fight. It is said that 
henceforth, for that day’s victory, the 
most signal he ever achieved, Roger 
placed upon his shield the motto which 
we still read on all the documents 
signed by him that have come down to 


our time—“ Dextern Domini fecit vir- 
tutem; dextera Domini exaltavit me” 
The castle of Cerami, now in ruins, 
crests the height above the town. 

Capizzi (pop. 3800). This is with 
much probability supposed to be the 
representative of the ancient Capitium , 
a town mentioned by Cicero as among 
those ruined by the exactions of Yerres. 
It is thought to have derived its name 
from the form of the hill on which it 
is built, which resembles a man’s head 
and shoulders. The fortress is in a 
picturesque state of ruin. In the ch. 
of St. Giacomo is a marble statue of 
the Madonna del Soccorso, bearing 
date 1508, and attributed to Gagini. 

These two towns are in the valley of 
the Salso, on opposite banks of that 
! stream. 

Mistretta (See Rte. 10., p. 268). 


The road from Troina to Bronte lies 
through a wide corn-clad valley, 
through which, in a rocky bed, flows 
with many a snaky twine that branch 
of the Simeto which is known as the 
Fiume cli Troina. The path is veiy 
rugged and difficult in fine weather, 
and is hardly practicable in bad. The 
descent from Troina is extremely broken 
and precipitous; the track presently 
crosses the stream, and follows the 1. 
bank all the way to Bronte, passing 
about half-way beneath the picturesque 
villages of S. Teodoro and Cesaro, a 
mile apart, which, save the towering 
mass of Etna, ever in sight, are the 
only interesting features on the road. 
The ascent from the valley to Bronte 
is very steep and rugged, traversing 
the lava stream of 1651. 

51 m. Bronte (See Rte. 13, p. 290). 










ROUTE 13.-ADERNO TO GIARDINI. 


289 


ROUTE 13. 

PALERMO TO GIARDINI, BA' BRONTE. 

Miles. 


Palermo to Ademb. 148 

Adernb to Bronte. 11 

Bronte to Randazzo . 12 

Randazzo to Linguagrossa. 13 

Linguagrossa to Piedimonte .... 4 

Piedimonte to Ponte della Disgrazia, 3 

P. della Disgrazia to Giardini .... 5 


106 

The route from Palermo to Adorno 
is described in Rte. 7. The old post¬ 
road to Messina, before that by Catania 
was opened, skirted the base of Etna, 
running from Ademb through Bronte 
and Randazzo. Though this is no 
longer tbe stracla postale, it is still car¬ 
riageable ; and he who travels in his 
own vehicle or by vettura, should he 
be compelled to do the E. coast of the 
island a second time, would do well on 
his return from Catania to Messina, to 
vary his route by taking this road round 
“ the back of Etna,” as it is called. To 
do this he must take the high road 
from Catania to Adorno, a distance of 
23 m., which he can easily accomplish 
in one day, or, as there is little to de¬ 
tain him at Ademb, he may, in sum¬ 
mer time, very well push on to Bronte, 
sleep there, and reach Giardini the 
second night. This is a desirable 
arrangement, as should he be tempted 
by the unusual comfort of the locande 
at Ademb, to spend the first night 
there, he will hardly be able to reach 
Giardini by the second; and there is 
no decent hostelry between that place 
and Randazzo. This tour round Etna, 
though not to be achieved without dis- j 
comforts, is the thing to be done by 
every traveller who would “ form an 
adequate idea of the mighty volcano, 
of the immensity of the region at once 
[SVcff?/.] 


| desolated and fertilized by its influence 
—its prolific vegetation, its awful lava- 
beds, its dense forests, its antiquated 
towns, and its wild population.” 

The road from Adernb to Bronte lies 
on the W. slope of Etna, high above 
; the valley of the Simeto. On leaving 
j the richly-cultivated plateau on whose. 
verge stands Ademb, you enter on a 
new region. It is the region of lava 
and devastation. Were it not for the 
! giant crest of Etna high above you on 
i the one hand, and the glorious moun- 
| tain scenery on the other, nothing 
could be more desolate, nothing more 
oppressive to the spirits. You cross a 
series of lava-torrents, which in various 
ages have swept down the mountain, 
scorching up all vegetation, and leaving 
its slopes black, naked, and barren 
for centuries. The relative ages of 
these torrents can in general be dis- 
i tinguished by their hue, and the de¬ 
gree of cultivation they admit of. 
Some give nourishment to patches of 
corn, or to clumps of fruit-trees in the 
hollows amid the rocks. Others can 
show only a few squills, orchids, 
fennel, or spurge; this is but slightly • 
tufted here and there with grass ; that 
presents a wilderness of rock, whose 
ruggedness is softened by no blade or 
moss, though mellowed by orange or 
grey lichen ; while one unbroken sheet 
in all the crisp jaggedness, and in¬ 
tense blackness with which it cooled 
into stone, stretching from among the 
many cones which stud the slopes 
high above your head down to the 
very bottom of the deep valley of the 
Simeto at your feet, proclaims the 
more recent terrors of the volcano. 

In one instance, that of 1610, the 
liquid lava actually filled up the bed 
of the river, till its antagonist element, 
fretting at this interruption, ate its 
way through the hard rock in a deep 
chasm, so narrow that tradition asserts 
a shepherd once crossed it at a bound. 
From this the spot has received the 
name of Salto clel Pecoraro. Though 
but a mile or two below the road, it is 
not to be approached from this side, 
and must be visited from the road to 
Palermo in the valley below Adernb. 

(Vide Rte. 7, p. 232). The reason 

o 

















290 


ROUTE 13 . -ADERNO TO GIARDINI. 


that this slope of Etna is so barren 
of vegetation, compared to the other 
sides, is not that the lava-streams have 
been more frequent, but that they are 
of more recent date. There is not 
one three centuries old. The first on 
leaving Aderno is from the eruption 
of 1610; the next marks that of 1787 ; 
then comes that of 1603; next, as we 
approach Bronte, those of 1763 and 
1727; still further on, beyond the 
156th milestone, the deep black mass 
of the eruption of 1813 ; while Bronte 
itself stands amid the streams of the 
torrent of 1651. That of ’43, being 
the latest, attracts the most interest. 
It came down in a stream some 200 or 
300 yards wide, covering an older 
torrent, and continued to flow down 
to the wooded banks of the Simeto, a 
course in all of 6 m. It crossed the 
road in a mass 40 or 50 ft. high, 
through which, when it had cooled 
into solid rock, a new passage had to 
be hewn. This eruption is memorable 
for the loss of life with which it was 
attended. The motion of liquid lava, 
like that of all viscous matter, is 
generally so slow that people who do 
not raslily expose themselves, have 
abundant time to escape. Here the 
fiery mass was slowly creeping down 
into the valley, scorching up all 
cultivation before it, a number of 
labourers being employed in cutting 
down trees, pulling up vines, and 
endeavouring to save whatever they 
could from the wreck, when, at a spot 
nearly at the foot of the steep, on a 
sudden, the front of the torrent was 
seen to swell up into the form of a 
cupola. A terrific explosion ensued ; 
the fiery matter was blown into fine 
fragments, the earth was raised in 
clouds, and the trees around levelled 
with the ground; and when the cloud 
of dust and smoke had cleared away, 
it was found that of 69 bystanders, 
36 were killed on the spot; 23 of the 
remainder surviving but a few hours. 
It is conjectured that this calamitous 
explosion was owing to the lava having 
encountered some water in its course, 
which, being suddenly converted into 
steam, by its expansion blew the red- 
hot metal above it into atoms. 


From this road, little is visible of 
the snowy cone of Etna, which so 
delights the eye on the eastern and 
southern sides of the mountain. Here 
it is lost behind the swelling torrents 
of lava, or behind the satellite cones 
which begird what should be the 
woody region, but is here a bare 
brown slope. The largest and most 
prominent of these cones which re¬ 
mains in sight throughout this journey 
is Monte Minardo, a lonely green 
sugarloaf, with deep red lips, rising 
some 750 ft. from the slope. In the 
wide landscape, on the other hand, 
there are features less stern, but not 
les 3 wild. The most rugged and 
mountainous region of the island lies 
before you, and it shows the true 
characteristics of Sicilian scenery. 
One crest after another rolls away into 
the horizon, all equally bare; even the 
nearer waves of this rocky sea are 
either utterly desert, or patched and 
parched only with corn; the deep 
valleys that open beneath you present 
not much richer features, and if you 
look for habitations you find them 
clustered on lofty table-lands, or on 
the summits of lonely mountain peaks. 
Such is Centorbi, immediately opposite 
Aderno, cresting an apparently inac¬ 
cessible rock; such are Kegalbuto, 
San Filippo, Leonforte, Castrogiovanni, 
Calascibetta, seen at various distances 
up the valley of the Sal so ; and such 
is Troina, crowning its truncated cone 
high over the mountains of La Placa, 
on the right bank of the Simeto, oppo¬ 
site Bronte. 

Within a mile or two of Bronte 
there is some cultivation of olives and 
vines, which the lava crumbling with 
age has been made to yield. “ On 
turning a corner, Bronte comes on 
the eye with startling effect, with its 
immense mass of rude houses, and 
churches, and convents, piled in the 
strangest confusion upon the mountain 
side, and absolutely surrounded by 
lava-beds, from which it seems to have 
escaped as if by miracle, as the in¬ 
habitants, of course, devoutly believe 
it did.”— Bartlett. 

159 m. Bronte. Inns: “ Locanda 






ROUTE 13. 

del Ileal Collegio,” kept by Peppe 
Fiorenza, is the largest and cleanest: 
here the traveller will meet with 
much civility and reasonable charges ; 
“ Locanda di Cesari“ Locanda del 
Lupo,” which thus quaintly proclaims 
its title a misnomer :— 

“ Ospite non temer di lupo il tetto; 

Trovi senza periglio agio e ricetto.” 

This town, with a name so terrible to 
Greek, but welcome to English ears, 
is a good sized place of 11,629 iuliab., 
with one long narrow street paved 
with lava, irregular, dirty lanes opening 
into it, houses of no symmetry, and 
churches without architectural preten¬ 
sions. Gaily Knight asserts that Bronte 
is inhabited by the descendants of an 
Albanian colony, and cites their cloth 
leggings in proof of the assertion ; but 
he does not tell us if the fashion of 
slitting up the jacket behind is also 
an importation. The women wear 
capes or shawls of white flannel on 
their heads. Though with a purely 
Greek name (Ppovrr) —thunder) there 
are no traces of ancient days at Bronte. 

Bronte remained a royal fief and 
duchy till it was granted, together 
with Maniace, in 1799, to our great 
naval hero, who ever after subscribed 
himself “ Nelson and Bronte.” Ferdi¬ 
nand of Naples made an apt selection 
in conferring a gift on him whose 
“ thunder ” had saved his crown. The 
estate was alienated from the Great 
Hospital of Palermo, and conveyed in 
perpetuity to Lord Nelson and his 
heirs, with the title of Duke of Bronte. 
It is of great extent, and comprises corn- 
lands, vineyards, forests, and pastures ; 
its revenue is estimated at nearly 
3000?. : a large sum for Sicily. 

Bronte is renowned for its wine, 
which has more body and a richer 
flavour than most of the wines of the 
island, deriving these properties, it is 
probable, from the volcanic soil, and 
the great reflected heat the vines re¬ 
ceive from the black masses of lava 
to which they are tied. The wine of 
Bronte is not what is known in Eng¬ 
land as “Bronte Madeira.” That is 
the wine of Marsala, first made known 
to the British public by the great 


—BRONTE. 291 

Duke of Bronte, who supplied his fleet 
with it when victualling on the coast 
of Sicily. It is a singular fact, how¬ 
ever, that in these days of oidium and 
wine-dearth, the wines of Etna, and 
among them those of Bronte, are trans¬ 
ported to Marsala, and thence shipped 
to England to be consumed as “ Bronte 
Madeira.” 

Bronte has, on several occasions, 
especially during the last 100 years, 
been singularly spared by the torrents 
of lava which have just avoided the 
town, when they seemed on the point 
of overwhelming it. The last narrow' 
escape of this description was in 1832, 
when the fiery stream suddenly stopped 
short a mile above the town, to which 
it was advancing in a direct line. To 
reach the spot you have to toil across 
an older bed of lava, of great rugged¬ 
ness. “At length we stood opposite 
the object of our walk, and were aston¬ 
ished at the magnitude, the width, and 
the height, of the black and rugged 
mass before us. It had stopped short 
at the edge of a vineyard which was 
green at its feet, after having advanced 
slowly and silently for several miles, 
and destroyed everything in its way. We 
could discern the spot, high up the side 
of the distant volcano, from whence the 
torrent issued, and could discern its 
onward course, streaking the green of 
the forest and the vineyard with its 
dark and hateful streams. We clam¬ 
bered up the face of the bed, and 
scratched away the surface with our 
sticks, and took up some of the cinders 
beneath; they were too hot to retain 
in the hand for above a moment, though 
they had been cooling for 3 years ! ”— 
Gaily Knight. This sudden stoppage 
of the lava is ascribed to the interposi¬ 
tion of the Virgin, and the miracle is 
recorded on a tablet in the Ch. of La 
Catena. 


8 m. N. of Bronte, up a valley that 
opens southwards from Mte. Cannata, 
once stood the town of Maniace, which 
was built in 932, by George Maniaces, 
governor of Sicily under the Byzantine 
Emperors, to commemorate a signal 
victory he had gained over the Sa- 










292 


ROUTS 13 . —MANIACE—EANDAZZO. 


racens on tlie spot. The town was 
standing in the 12th century, in the 
reign of William the Good, and was 
subsequently deserted or destroyed; 
its ruins only were extant in the 16tli 
century, and even these have now dis¬ 
appeared, having been used up, it is 
said, in the construction of Bronte. 
But there is an old convent, built by 
Queen Margaret, mother of William 
the Good, in 1174, about a mile from 
the site of the old town, which is an 
interesting relic of Norman architecture. 
To reach it you must descend by a bed 
of lava of torturing ruggedness into 
the valley below Bronte, and follow 
for 7 m. the stream which flows from 
the N. till you reach the convent, 
which stands on a high bank above 
the river. The Benedictine nuns, who 
once inhabited it, having been com¬ 
pelled by the malaria of the hot sea¬ 
son to remove to Bronte, it is now 
used as a residence by Mr. Tlioves, the 
agent for the Nelson estates, who has 
added large magazines to store the 
payments in kind, which Sicilian land¬ 
lords are fain to take from their ten¬ 
ants. 

“The eastern end of the ch. has 
been pulled down, but the nave and 
W. end still remain in their original 
state. The whole of this building is 
in the pointed style, with the excep¬ 
tion of the upper tier of windows, which 
are round-headed and small. The 
arches of the nave are obtusely pointed, 
and are surrounded with a single 
moulding. They rest on pillars, which 
are alternately round and hexagonal, 
and have an impost moulding in the 
place of a capital. The lower tier of 
windows are pointed and undivided. 
The western portal is pointed, decorated, 
and of good workmanship. On each 
side of the door are several small pil¬ 
lars, which support a corresponding 
number of mouldings. The caps of the 
pillars are foliated and ornamented 
with rude figures in the Norman style, 
representing the expulsion of Adam 
and Eve from Paradise, and the intro¬ 
duction of agriculture, the chase, and 
war. The bases of the pillars are 
deeply cut, moulded, and resemble 
those of the transition style in England. 


Three of the mouldings reproduce the 
Norman cable.”— G. Knight. 


The route from Bronte to Bandazzo 
still pursues a course over the lower 
slopes of Etna, ascending for many 
miles till it crosses the ridge which 
separates the valley of the Simeto from 
that of the Cantara, the 2 rivers which 
form the natural boundaries of the vol¬ 
cano. After traversing the black lava 
beds which hold Bronte in their grim 
embrace, we meet cultivation again,— 
lava gives place to limestone and 
white indurated marl; corn, vines, or 
beans brighten the slopes, instead of 
broom or spurge, and fruit trees refresh 
the eye, weary with the dusty desola¬ 
tion of Bronte. This verdure, however, 
is varied from tune to time by stray 
streams of lava, which in some cases 
cross the road and stretch down into 
the valley, in wide moors of rugged 
and black monotony. At 4 m. from 
Bronte a road to the 1. turns off to 
Maletto, a red-roofed village (pop. 
2300), below the road, which was 
nearly overwhelmed by the eruptions of 
1607 and 1759. A crumbling tower on 
an abrupt rock is a picturesque feature 
in the scene. The slopes of Etna above 
you are dark with lava or with forests 
of oak and chesnuts, among which rise 
many of the singular cones, all extinct 
craters, which are so many landmarks 
of the volcano’s history. About half¬ 
way on the road you cross wide downs 
of corn, partitioned with walls of stone: 
and even in the lava region beyond, 
corn fills the hollows between the 
parallel ridges of molten rock, or 
springs up in the basins which the 
fiery matter here and there encircled, 
but spared, in its downward course. 
As you approach Bandazzo, vegetation 
assumes a more luxuriant aspect; and 
you are struck, on comparing the culti¬ 
vated slopes of Etna with those of the 
mountains on the opposite side of the 
Cantara valley, with the superior fer¬ 
tility of a volcanic soil to one of lime¬ 
stone formation. 


171 in. Bandazzo (pop. G342). 








ROUTE 13 . 


RANDAZZO. 


293 


Inn : “ Loeanda di S. Martino,” just 
within the Porta di S. Martino, a to¬ 
lerably decent inn for Sicily, much 
improved of late years; the landlord, 
Salvatore Jopolo, doing his best to 
contribute to the traveller’s comfort. 
Randazzo is not seen till you reach the 
hill above it, when it appears crowning 
a low cliff of lava, and climbing the 
slope above, with its brown battle- 
mented walls and Norman towers, so 
truly quaint and mediaeval, that you 
seem to behold the original of the city 
depicted in some work of Masaccio or 
Ghirlandajo. Verily “ Randazzo is like 
a town of the middle ages preserved as 
a curiosity! ” 

Randazzo has been conjectured by 
Cluverius and others to occupy the site 
of the ancient Tissa, a town remarkable 
chiefly for its small size—“perparva 
ct tenuis civitas.”—Cic. 

“ Venit Amastra suis, ct parvo nomine Tisse,” 

Sil. Ital.— 

but there is nothing to identify it with 
that place. As far as history records, 
Randazzo is entirely a town of the 
middle ages; originally one of the settle¬ 
ments of the Lombard adventurers who 
assisted Count Roger in his conquest of 
Sicily. That it was formerly of much 
more importance than at present would 
appear from its conferring, from the time 
of Frederick of Aragon, the title of 
Duke on one of the younger sons of the 
Kings of Sicily. But 3 centuries since 
Fazello styled it “ ingens , nobile, lo- 
ruples, et muro cinctum .” The latter 
part of the description alone now holds. 
The town is in full possession of its old 
walls, pointed gateways, narrow wind¬ 
ing streets, quaint houses, and hand¬ 
some Norman churches ; but all signs 
of grandeur, wealth, and luxury, have 
long passed away. 

Randazzo received from the Emperor 
Frederick II. the title of “ Etnea,” 
probably from its being the nearest 
town to the volcano, from whose sum¬ 
mit it is only 12 m. distant. 

There is no single ch. entitled 
Chiesa Matrico at Randazzo; the 3 
principal ones of S. Martino, Santa 
Maria, and S. Nicolb take that honour 
for a year each in turn. 


S. Martino —This ch. is principally 
of modern construction, but the nave 
and transepts externally show traces 
of ancient work in corbelled string- 
courses. The campanile, which dates 
from the beginning of the 14th centy., 
is a tall square tower of 3 stages, 
topped with battlements and a low 
spire. It is constructed of black lava, 
banded horizontally with white stone. 
The 2 lower stories have double win¬ 
dows, pointed, and with cusped heads 
resting on massive piers of clustered 
shafts, the whole banded black and 
white, producing a singular effect ; 
the upper story has single windows, 
with triple lights divided by slender 
columns. The ch. contains a Pieta, 
in tempera, of the 16th cent.; a Na¬ 
tivity of the Virgin, ascribed to Vin¬ 
cenzo Anemolo; an Angelo Custodc, 
attributed to Onofrio Gabriello, of Mes¬ 
sina ; and a red marble font of octa¬ 
gonal form, supported by stout octa¬ 
gonal pillars, with cusped arches and 
foliated capitals ; it bears on its rim 
an inscription with the date of 1439. 

Santa Maria, at the opposite end of 
the town, is of the beginning of the 
13th centy., as is shown by 2 inscrip¬ 
tions preserved in the portico attached 
to the N. transept, one of which gives 
the date of 1222 and the name of the 
architect, Leo Cumier, the other the 
date of 1238, probably marking re¬ 
spectively the commencement and 
completion of the work. It is con¬ 
structed of large blocks of lava. At 
the E. end it has 3 apses, the central 
one being much the largest, all adorn¬ 
ed with corbellings and with billet 
or dentil mouldings. The N. door is 
round-headed and plain, but the S. 
portal is very curious. It is wholly of 
lava, and is built up in 3 tiers or 
stages : the lowest lias a square door¬ 
way with a lintel on brackets; the 
second and third have round-headed 
arches. Each tier is flanked by 3 shafts 
on each side, with quaintly foliated 
capitals. Around the doorway are 
! seen the dentil, billet, and nail-head 
| mouldings ; and were it not for these 
there would be little to mark the 
j Norman character. At the W. end of 





294 


ROUTE 13 . -RANDAZZO. 


the cli. was a lofty tower having a cu¬ 
rious porch beneath it, with pointed 
arches, adorned with triple billet 
mouldings, and resting on a double 
tier of columns, chevroned, twisted, 
or chequered. But this tower and 
porch have been recently pulled down, 
and have been rebuilt in a style in par¬ 
tial imitation of the original. In the 
upper stories of the tower the lights 
are pointed and more in the Siculo- 
Norinan style. The interior of the ch. 
is modernised. Here is an octagonal 
marble font of the Renaissance period, 
with benitiers in the same style ; and 
here are a Christ by Van FLoubracken, 
a St. Lawrence and St. Agatha by 
Onofrio Gabriello, and 6 pictures by 
Giuseppe Velasquez of Palermo. In the 
piazza adjoining the ch., called Largo 
cli Quadris, is a pretty Gothic doorway ; 
and here, till very recently, stood a large 
palace of the same architecture, known 
as the “Palazzo de’ Re Aragonesi,” 
but it has been pulled down to suit 
the more modern taste of its owner. 

Santo Nicola has a neat modern fa¬ 
cade ; but the nave and transepts ex¬ 
ternally bear traces of more ancient 
construction, as do also the 2 apses at 
the E. end, which are octagonal, di¬ 
vided by an angular wall. The ch. 
contains a Norman font of similar cha- : 
racter to that in San Martino, but of 
earlier date and richer ornamentation, j 
In the N. transept is a large statue of 
S. Nicola sitting on a throne, in episco- j 
pal robes, with 2 small bas-reliefs at 
his feet illustrative of the miracles he j 
wrought. It bears date 1523 and the 
name of Antonio Gagini, and displays 
the usual simplicity of style and , 
breadth of drapery, with also the 
stiffness, meagreness, and dryness of : 
outline characteristic of many of the 
works of that sculptor. In the chapel 
on the Gospel side of the Tribune are ! 
other reliefs of rude art, of the school 
of Gagini, representing the Last 
Supper, the Agony in the Garden, the 
Scourging, Christ carrying his Cross, 
and the Pieta. In this ch. is also 
shown a crucifix in wood, ascribed to 
Fra TJmile Pintorno of Petralia. In the 
Piazza in front of S. Nicola is a statue 


of the Genius of Randazzo standing on a 
pedestal, and pointing to the church; 
an eagle is perched on his shoulder, a 
lion is at his feet, and a pair of snakes 
enfold his body in their coils. 

In St a. Maria di Gesu is a figure 
of the Virgin, attributed to Vincenzo 
Gagini. 

The ch. of the Paolotti contains a 
Deposition, of the period and in the 
style of Raphael. 

In the church of the Capuchins is 
a Transfiguration attributed to Lan- 
franco. 

There are many interesting frag¬ 
ments of mediaeval architecture among 
the public and domestic buildings of 
Randazzo. Most of the houses of that 
antiquity, however, are of small size. 
“ Space,” as Mr. Knight observes, 
“ was a luxury beyond the reach even 
of the rich, so long as the protection 
of walls was indispensable.” Many of 
the doors in these old houses are 
pointed, others are round-headed, a 
few elliptical; and the same differences 
occur in the windows. Twisted shafts 
are very common, and Norman mould¬ 
ings are often seen, and occasionally 
there are stringcourses in that diaper- 
work of lava and white stone so abun¬ 
dant at Taormina. In some cases 
arches of Norman date span the street, 
connecting opposite buildings by means 
of galleries and pointed lights. A 
pretty instance of this is seen in 
the Volta S. Nicolb. The balconies 
of these old buildings are generally 
of lava, and project far over the 
street, propped by cantalivers of the 
same material terminating in gro¬ 
tesque heads. The roofs also over¬ 
hang greatly, but are of wood, with 
cantalivers of the same. Among the 
buildings to be noticed we must men¬ 
tion the Casa Comuncde, the house of 
J). Rocco Finocchiciro, that of I). Car- 
melo Milisari, of D. Diego Romeo, and 
of the Barone Fesaule, called also Pa¬ 
lazzo cli Rumolo. 

In the valley below the town, and 
to the W., are said to be ruius of a 
mediaeval ch. called La Misericordia, 
Here is also a lake called Lacjo Guv- 
vita. 





ROUTE 13 . LINGUAGROSSA CASTIGLIONE—PIEDIMONTE. 295 


From Randazzo a mountain-path 
rmis'nortliward to Patti, 36 m. (see Rte. 
10, p. 273). Another path runs to the 
N.E. through Roccella to Noara. 

From Randazzo the carriage-road 
runs through Linguagrossa and Piedi- 
monte to Giardini. But there is also 
a bridle-path on the opposite side of 
the Cantara valley, by Francavilla, 
Motta, and Gaggi, which we will after¬ 
wards describe. First the high-road. 

You leave Randazzo for Linguagrossa 
by an avenue of mulberries, and con¬ 
tinue through rich vinevards and 
vast forests of oaks and ehesnuts, 
which cover the slopes of the vol¬ 
cano, and ‘conceal the lava-streams 
of ancient date; but grey rocks here 
and there crop out among the trees, or 
are blended with the trunks by a 
mantle of ivy and clematis. At 5 m. 
from Randazzo you enter a wide moor 
of lava-blocks, here naked and black, 
there tufted with broom and fern, yet 
the slopes of Etna above it are dark 
with wood, which hides the snowy 
crest from view. Beyond the moor 
peers the distant castle of Castiglione; 
and among the bare mountains on 
the opposite side of the great valley 
of the Cantara, appear the towns of 
Roccella, Mojo, Malvagna, and Fran¬ 
cavilla. This wild scenery continues 
for several miles, and the road ascends ' 
over lava-ridges black and dreary, 
and crosses wide vales yielding scanty 
crops of corn or wine, till, about 9 m. 
from Randazzo, cultivation again van¬ 
quishes the desert, and a vale rich in 
vineyards and orchards opens below 
you, and wide tracts, green with filberts 
and ehesnuts, extend all the way to 
Linguagrossa. At the 181 milestone 
you have the lava-stream of 1809, which 
came to a stand about 200 yds. above 
the road. It is black and bare, but 
vegetation is carried up to its very base, j 
At 182 m. a road turns to the 1. down 
the slope to Castiglione, which has 1 
long been in sight, crowning a double- 
peaked rock, which rises from the wide 
valley of the Cantara. 

From this point the road continues [ 
with a long descent, through vineyards 
and nut-groves, to 


184 m. Linguagrossa (4000 inhabA 
Inns: “ Locanda Nuova,” very small 
and wretched; “ Locanda di Sant’ 

Egidio ” or St. Giles’s Hotel, worthy 
only of the parish which that saint 
patronises in the Great Metropolis. This 
mean lava-built town, which is ele¬ 
vated 1725 ft. above the sea, is said to 
derive its name from the rustic dialect of 
its inhabitants. It makes a respectable 
show with its church-towers rising 
above the woods of Etna, but contains 
nothing to interest the tourist. 5 m. 
from Linguagrossa , in the valley of the 
Cantara, lies 


Castiglione (pop. 3900), on a square 
rock rising abruptly from the valley, 
and having a double crest, on which 
stand a domed ch. and the ruins of a 
feudal castle ; the whole forming a most 
picturesque feature in the scenery of 
this region. Fazello derives its name 
from castrum leonis, and from its natural 
strength and commanding position, this 
“ lion’s camp ” played an important part 
in former times. It was once a fief of 
the celebrated Admiral Roger Lori a; 
and here in 1297, in the War of the 
Vespers, he raised the standard of re¬ 
bellion against his sovereign Frederick 
of Aragon; but that prince, after a 
short siege, gained possession of the 
place. 


There is a little lava sprinkled with 
cactus around Linguagrossa, but on 
leaving this you turn your back on all 
the horrors of the volcano, and descend 
through the richest cultivation of vines 
and fruit-trees, and through dense 
groves of ehesnuts and filberts to 


188 m. Piedimonte. Inns —several: 
“Locanda d’ Antonia Pajana; ” “L. 
dell’ Aquila; ” onother kept by Ro¬ 
sario Corrente; a fourth by Francesco 
Policena; but all in character with the 
place—not attractive. This town is 
about the size of Linguagrossa, having 
some 3800 souls, but with a still more 
dismal aspect; scarcely a house having 
more than one floor, and all, as well as 











296 ROUTE 14 . -RANDAZZO TO GIARDINI, BY FRANCAVILLA. 


the pavement, tlie gates, the fountains, j 
the churches, and the public buildings, 
being constructed of lava. The old 
square, battlemented castle, like many ! 
such buildings in Sicily, is now con- ; 
verted into a prison. 

Above Piedimonte the Mediterranean 
comes into sight; and as you leave that 
town a magnificent view opens of the 
eastern coast from Taormina on its 
mountain headland, backed by the blue | 
Apennines of Calabria and the bluer ! 
Straits, to Giarre with its domes, and ; 
Piposto with its vessels at anchor; and 
between these two points stretches a 1 
plain of wondrous fertility, overhung 
by Etna’s slopes teeming with vege¬ 
table wealth, and dotted with towns 
and villages. Just below Piedi monte a 
road branches to the rt. to Piposto, 2j 
hours, or about 10 m. distant. 

The descent from Piedimonte is 
very steep, winding among vineyards, 
orchards and olive-groves to the Ponte 
della Disgrazia, passing on the way 
some highly picturesque cliffs of purple 
lava overhanging the stream, which 
seems to have forced its way through 
an old bed of lava to the sea. At the 
Ponte della Disgrazia (191 m.) which 
must be 2 or 3 miles inland, is a fon- 
da co, or wayside inn. Here you enter 
on the great coast-road from Catania to 
Messina, and proceed along it for 5 m., I 
with Calatabiano on a height to ilie 1., 
and Capo Scliiso, a low headland of 
lava on the rt., the site of the ancient 
Naxos, till you reach Giardini. 

On the approach to this village you 
have a magnificent view of Taormina 
on its cliffs, with Mola towering high 
above it—-a bit of grand mountain out¬ 
line which deserves a record in every 
portfolio. 

19G m. Giardini. (See Pte. 27, p. I 
456.) 


I 


I 


ROUTE 14. 

RANDAZZO TO GIARDINI, BY FRANCA- 
VILLA, 


Miles. 

Randazzo to Mojo.6 

Mojo to Francavilla.6 

Francavilla to Motta Camastra .... 3 

Motta Camastra to Gaggi.5 

Gaggi to Giardini.4 


24 

The route from Randazzo to Giardini, 
by Francavilla, presents delightful 
scenery, the track winding through the 
Arcadian valley of the Cantara, and 
commanding some of the grandest 
views to be obtained of Etna, It 
descends from Randazzo into the valley, 
and following the course of the stream 
for about 4 m. fords it, and then the F. 
di Roccella, and reaches Mojo (6 m.), 
a hamlet in the plain at the foot 
of the crater of a volcano long ex¬ 
tinct. This is on the bank of the Can¬ 
tara, opposite to Etna ; but the course 
ot the lava-bed can be traced across 
the stream, and along the valley on 
the rt. bank till it reaches the sea at the 
mouth of that river, while a branch 
crossed the stream again a few miles 
inland, and stretched into the waves 
in that remarkable promontory known 
as Capo Schisb, on which stood the 
the ancient Naxos. That city being 
the earliest ot all the Greek colonies in 
Sicily, and having been founded about 
735 b.c., it follows that this stream of 
lava is of very early formation, prior 
probably to the historic era. 

On the wooded slope of the moun¬ 
tain, a little above Mojo, hangs 

Malvagna, a village of 1100 souls, 
just below which stands a Greek 
chapel, one of the very few relics 











ROUTE 15. -GIIIGENTI TO CASTROGIOVANNI. 297 


<>t the Greek empire now extant in 
Sicily. The plan is a square of small 
size, roofed in with a stone cupola, and 
having a semicircular apse on 3 of its 
sides, and a door, not in the middle, in 
the fourth. Above each apse is a small 
window, and in each angle of the square 
between the arches which support the 
cupola is a corbelled arch or penden- 
tive. All these arches are round- 
headed. “ Though of small size, and 
wholly unadorned, it is an object of 
interest, as exhibiting the features of 
the genuine Byzantine style, and as 
revealing the source from whence were 
derived some of the peculiarities which 
appear in Sicilian buildings of a subse¬ 
quent date .”—Gaily Knight. 

Six m. beyond, on the slope of 
-Monte Cantaro, and opposite Castig- 
lione, stands 

Francavilla, a mean, wretched, 1 
and malaria-stricken town of 3428 | 
souls. It boasts a Norman origin, 
and is said to derive its name 
from its having been exempted from 
the payment of taxes by Count Boger. 
Like Castiglione, it was held in fee 
by Boger Loria, the great Catalan 
Admiral, who lost it on his rebellion 
against Frederick II. It has since 
become celebrated for the total defeat 
of the Imperialists by the Spaniards 
during the War of the Succession, at 
the commencement of the last cen¬ 
tury. This place has the reputation 
of affording one of the most magni¬ 
ficent prospects of Etna. “ The best 
point of view is from the gardens 
of the Capuchin Convent on the 1. or 
northern side of the valley, situated 
between two very picturesque rocks, 
surrounded by wood and evergreens. 
The scenery, though of a different kind 
from that of Santa Maria di Gesu at 
Palermo, is very beautiful, and the 
gardens contain the largest oaks in 
Sicily, altogether forming a magnifi¬ 
cent foreground to the distant gran¬ 
deur of Mount Etna .”'—Sir Henry 
Light. 

From Francavilla to Giardini a ; 
carriage-road is in the course of con- 1 
struction. 3 m. further, on the hills 
overhanging the valley, you pass 
through Mottacamastra , a village of 


1700 souls; and 5 m. beyond, through 
Gaggi, a small hamlet, whence the 
road descends for 4 m. more to the 
shore at Giardini. 

24 m. Giardini. (SeeBte. 27, p. 45G.) 




BOUTE 15. 

GIRGENTI TO CASTROGIOVANNI. 

Miles. 


Girgenti to Gvotte ..' . ..12 

Grotte to Raealmuto . 2 

Racalmuto to Canicatti '.10 

Canicatti to Sotto-Serradifalco .... 9 

Serradifalco to S. Cataldo . 7 

S. Cataldo to Caltanisetta . 4 

Caltanisetta to Sta. Caterina . . . . ,. 13 
Sta. Caterina to Castrogiovanni .. .. 24 


SI 

This is the high-road between Gir¬ 
genti and Castrogiovanni, the only 
carriage-road from the former town to 
Messina or Catania, and till very re¬ 
cently the only means of communica¬ 
tion for vehicles between the northern 
part of the island and the southern 
coast. A glance at the map will show 
that this is a very circuitous route; it 
is one, in truth, that is only taken by 
carriages. The equestrian traveller 
always takes the direct track through 
Fa vara and Canicatti to Caltanisetta, 
and thence across the mountains to 
Castrogiovanni, by which he saves 
more than 30 m. 

The corriera leaves Girgenti every 
Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday 
for Caltanisetta and Sta. Caterina, 
where it meets the mail from Palermo 
to Catania, or vice versa. 

o 3 














298 


ROUTE 15.—CANICATTI.—CALTANISETTA. 


The road from Girgenti to Grotte 
for the first 10 m. is the same as that 
to Gomitini, described in Ete. 9, p. 218. 
After that the road ascends to Grotte, 
a large village of 5400 inhab. It de¬ 
rives its name from the number of 
eaves in the rocks around it, which 
prove it to have been an ancient site. 
It is supposed by Fazello and Cluve- 
rius to be that of Erbessus, a town 
where the Koinans deposited their 
military stores during their siege of 
Agrigen turn in 262 b.c., but which 
was siezed by Hanno, the Cartha¬ 
ginian general, who thus reduced his 
enemies to great straits. 

14 m. Eacalmuto or Bagalmuto, a 
considerable town of 8500 souls, crest¬ 
ing a hill 2 m. beyond Grotte, has a 
Saracenic origin and name, the latter 
of an ominous signification— Itahal- 
mot —“village of death.” Its castle 
was built by Frederick Chiaramonte 
in the 14th century. The road then 
crosses the shoulder of Monte Cazzola 
to Canicatti, leaving the village of 
Castrofilippo to the S. 

24 m. Canicatti, another town of 
Arabic origin and name, is of some 
importance, having 18,713 inhabit¬ 
ants. Its locanda is as filthy and 
wretched as could be expected in 
the interior of Sicily, with an abusive 
and extortionate landlord. The town 
lies in a hollow, amid vineyards, olive 
and orange groves, surrounded by 
heights of white rock. The women 
in this part of the country wear 
mantles of black cloth reaching only 
to the waist, but in other respects 
resembling those worn at Trapani and 
Syracuse. 

A carriage-road leads from Cani¬ 
catti to Licata, on the S. coast (24 m.), 
and a diligence runs between the 
towns twice or thrice a-week. 

The high-road runs northward along 
the ridge of Monte Grotta Eossa to 
Serradifalco, commanding magnificent 
views of the square mountain of Cas- 
trogiovanni, with Etna beyond, and 
Caltanisetta in the foreground. Soon 
after Canicatti you cross from the pro¬ 
vince of Girgenti to that of Caltani- 


j setta. Tliis is the heart of the sulphur 
district. The scenery is wild and 
stern. The mountains are of rounded, 
forms, always bare, here craggy, there 
browned with scorched herbage, and. 
in parts tinged with red, yellow, and 
grey by the heaps of ore and dross at 
the mouths of the sulphur-mines. 
Corn will not thrive in the fumes of 
sulphur; what little cultivation is to 
be seen is generally in the bottoms of 
the valleys. 

33 m. Serradifalco (pop. 6608), which 
stands on Monte Carano, and in the 
midst of sulphur-mines, has no interest 
beyond that of giving its name to a 
dukedom, the present holder of which 
has acquired a European reputation 
for his ably written and beautifully 
illustrated works on the Greek and 
Norman antiquities of his native is¬ 
land. 

40 m. S. Cataldo is a larger town 
with 9671 inhab. The hills around 
this place are burrowed with sulphur- 
mines. 

Caltanisetta is visible from a consi¬ 
derable distance, crowning a height 
on the verge of a deep valley, and as 
you approach it the scenery acquires 
softer features; cultivation reappears 
in tracts of olives, corn, and wine; 
and hedges of aloe and cactus border 
the road. It is a steep and winding 
ascent to 

44 m. Caltanisetta (pop. 18,511). 
Inns, several—the “ Locanda della Si¬ 
cilia ” is the best, which is not saying- 
much for it. 

The ; jcorriera leaves for Palermo 
(92 m.) every Monday, Thursday, and 
Saturday, doing the distance in 20 
hours. It leaves for Girgenti every 
Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday. 

Caltanisetta is the chief city of 
one of the 7 provinces of Sicily, 
and the see of a bishop. It is a 
tolerably neat place, with an air of 
more comfort than is usual in the 
interior of Sicily, yet it is most disap¬ 
pointing to the traveller, who expects 
to find in a town of Saracenic origin, 
retaining its Arabic name (Gal’at-al- 
Nisa, i.e. “Fortress of the Women”), 









ROUTE 15.-CALTANISETTA.-FA VAR A. 


209 


some interesting relics of the olden 
time, something to link the present 
with the past; instead of which he 
sees a place of entirely modern con¬ 
struction, with no architectural at¬ 
tractions, no art-glories, to compensate 
for its antiquarian baldness. Its chief 
charm is external — its picturesque 
situation on a lofty plateau over¬ 
hanging a deep and fertile valley ; and 
this character of pictnresqueness is 
enhanced by the Capuchin Convent on 
the verge of the steep, embosomed in 
cypresses and olives, and by a strange 
isolated square-headed rock springing 
from the slope below it. The views, too, 
it commands of the rich valley of the 
Salso, with Pietrapcrzia on its height 
on the other side, and a sea of moun¬ 
tains surging around, carrying the eye 
by the twin flat-topped waves of Castro- 
giovanni and Calascibetta to the mighty 
crest of Mongibello in the far E., are 
glorious in the extreme. 

Duomo. —Painting, carving, and 
gilding have here done their best to 
produce a tasteless whole. The ceiling 
is frescoed by W. Borromans. A pic¬ 
ture of the Baptism of Our Lord, by a 
pupil of Novelli, is much extolled by 
native connoisseurs. 

S. Giuseppe. —The altarpiece is by 
Andrea Carreca of Trapani. 

In the ch. of the Agostiniani Sccdzi 
is a Madonna in oil, attributed to 
Novelli. 

S. Domenico has an altarpiece by 
Filippo Paladino , and there is a small 
picture by the same hand, the Martyr¬ 
dom of Sta. Flavia, in the apartment 
of the abbot. 

2 m. to the E. of Caltanisetta is the 
Budia di Santo Spirito, of Norman 
architecture, founded by Count Roger 
and his wife Andelasia. 2 m. from 
this, in a plain called Terra Di¬ 
late, is a small volcano, somewhat 
like that of the Maccaluba, near Gir- 
genti, emitting, instead of mud, water 
and sand, accompanied by carbonated 
hydrogen gas, which rises in bubbles 
and burns with a whitish flame on 
the application of fire. The soil is 
a whitish clay, containing pebbles of 
carbonate of lime crystalized, of agate, 


jasper, and other minerals. It is splii 
into numerous cracks, through which 
the water and gas find their way to 
the surface. These cracks become 
j more numerous, and gape wider on 
the eve of an earthquake. Other 
traces of volcanic action are not 
wanting in the neighbourhood of this 
city. 

The road to Sta. Caterina ascends 
I Monte San Giuliano, and continues 
i northward along this mountain ridge, 
which commands extensive views of 
Castrogiovanni and Calascibetta to the 
E., backed by the mighty mass of Etna, 
till it meets the great strada postale 
across the island, near the 80th mile¬ 
stone, or about a mile eastward of Sta. 
Caterina. For the road hence to 
Castrogiovanni see Ete. 7, p. 221. 

The mule-track generally taken by 
tourists from Girgenti to Castrogio- 
vanni is much shorter. 

Girgenti to Favara. 4 miles 

Favara to Castrofilippo .. .. 6 „ 

Castrofilippo to Canicatfi.... 8 ,, 

Canicatti to Caltanisetta .. .. 15 „ 

Caltanisetta to Castrogiovanni.. 16 „ 

You leave Girgenti by the Porta 
del Ponte, and descend at once into 
the deep valley to the N., passing 
along the foot of the steep cliffs of 
the Eupe Aicnea. The slopes on both 
sides of this valley are of blue clay or 
marl, which, washed down by the 
heavy rains, fills up the hollow in a 
wide dismal mass bare of all vegeta¬ 
tion. After a while corn and olives 
clothe the slopes, dotted with almonds 
and carobs, and the road crosses a 
ridge to Favara, which lies beneath 
the brow to the S. overlooking a 
richly cultivated valley, and the distant 
mountains of Palma. 

4 m. Favara. A steep and dirty town 
of some size and importance, having a 
population of 12,341 souls, and giving 
a title to a marquis. Its name be¬ 
trays its Saracenic origin—“ Fawarah ” 
signifying in Arabic a spring of water. 
Its interest now centres in its feudal 
castle, built by Frederick Chiaramonte 
in the 14th centy., which stands in the 






IlOUTE 15. -NAKO.—CASTllOFILIPrO. 


500 

piazza, and is a fine square battle- 
mcnted pile of white ashlar masonry, 
having small pointed or round-headed 
windows in three stories, generally 
in double lights without a dominant 
arch. A small pointed doorway leads 
through walls of great thickness into 
an arcaded court. On the doorpost, as 
you enter, is an inscription in rudely 
carved characters, which are vulgarly , 
believed to be Arabic, but are in truth i 
Boman, and the inscription is in Latin, 
and bears date 1488. A stone stair¬ 
case leads to the upper story. Here 
is the little Chapel, which you enter 
by a beautiful but quaint pointed door- 
Avay of 3 orders. The chapel, now in 
utter ruin, is divided into 2 square 
bays, by a pointed arch on columns of 
white marble, with acanthus-leaf capi¬ 
tals ; the outer bay is lighted by ; 
a small cupola supported by pen- 
dentives, as in the early Norman 
churches of Palermo. The little apse 
recessed in the E. wall, was perfect 
till within a few years, but has now 
lost much of its beauty; it is pointed, 
and its arch rests on columns of por¬ 
phyry or of marble inlaid with mosaics, 
displaying in its adornments that mix- j 
ture of the Greek and Norman styles, ! 
common in the early architecture of 
Sicily. Outside the chapel is a lofty 
circular arch, with a highly decorated 
vault. 

Fa vara commands a line view over j 
the rich vale at its feet to the sea, 
and the wild mountains of Palma, to ; 
which town there is a track of 10 m. | 
across Monte Molladizzo. Between 
Fa vara and Castrofilippo you cross j 
open downs covered with corn, with 
the huge palace of Aragona peering 
above them to the 1., and the castle 
of Naro always visible on its ridge to 
the rt. The Eocc.a di Stefano, over¬ 
hanging the vale in this direction with 
its craggy precipices, is a striking fea¬ 
ture. 

Naro, 3 m. from Castrofilippo and 
14 from Girgenti, a town with 10,000 
inhabitants, is of Saracenic origin; : 
its castle is feudal and picturesque, 
and bears the arms of the Chiaramonte 
family, to whom all this district be- | 


longed till it was forfeited by the re¬ 
bellion of Andrea di Chiaramonte at 
the close of the 14th centy. Naro 
contains several churches and other 
buildings of mediaeval antiquity. It 
glories in the title of “la Fulgentis- 
sima,” bestowed on it by the Emperor 
Frederick II. Kemains of aqueducts 
and tombs in the neighbourhood indi¬ 
cate ancient habitation on this site. 

10 m. Castrofilippo, a village of 2394 
souls, is surrounded by plantations of 
prickly pears. From a hill a short 
way beyond it you catch a view of the 
snowy crest of Etna ; a rich vale opens 
on the rt., overhung by the strange 
cliffs of Baccianaro, whose crags, top¬ 
pling in different directions, resemble 
a town shaken by an earthquake; on 
the 1. the horizon is bounded by the 
conical peaks of Sutera and Musomeli, 
backed by the double crest of Monte 
Cammarata. Just before you descend 
to the high-road leading to Canicatti 
you pass cliffs full of semicircular 
niches, marking the site of an ancient 
necropolis, and continue through a 
vale teeming with vines, olives, and 
fruit, to 

18 m. Canicatt). (See p. 298.) 

At Canicatti the short cut to Calta- 
nisetta leaves the high-road to the 
1., and traverses lower though undu¬ 
lating ground and a dreary sulphur 
country, destitute of cultivation for 
many miles. Over the bare brown 
slopes the town of Summatino is seen 
to the rt., with the conical peak of 
Mazzarino behind it in the far dis¬ 
tance. From the summit of a ridge 
Caltanisetta comes into view, with 8. 
Cataldo to the 1. and the huge square¬ 
headed masses of Castrogiovanni and 
Calascibetta on the rt., with Etna fill¬ 
ing the horizon. 


33 m. Caltanisetta. (Sec p. 298.) 

He who takes the short cut from 
Caltanisetta to Castrogiovanni accom¬ 
plishes a great saving in time and 
distance. For while by the high road 
the distance between these towns is 
37 m., by the scorza they are only 
1G m. asunder. But after heavy rains. 







301 


ROUTE 16. —CASTROGIOVANNI TO CALTAGIRONE. 


the short cut is less desirable, as it 
crosses two branches of the Fiurae 
Salso, which, in a few hours, will 
.swell into furious and rapid torrents, 
not to be forded with safety. The inter¬ 
vening country is undulating : at first 
the slopes are darkened with olives, 
but cultivation soon disappears, and 
the mountain deserts of Sicily succeed. 
Not a tree within sight, not a hamlet; 
here and there perhaps a green upland 
dotted with sheep; but for the most 
part the mountain sides are grey or 
brown, with scattered rocks, diversified 
by patches of yellow or red at the 
mouths of the sulphur-mines. One of 
these, which lie3 close to the path, 
about 4 m. from Caltanisetta, bears the 
profane name of Gesu Longo, and the 
traveller who is curious in such mat¬ 
ters may spare an hour to descend into 
the bowels of the earth, for he cannot 
well see the extraction of the ore to 
more advantage than on this spot. In 
the valley below this he fords, if he ! 
can, the principal branch of the Salso, 
which comes from Villarosa, and here 
Hows through a sandy bed in a grassy : 
plain. After crossing the Salso and 
the range of conical green heights 
which bound the hollow, the traveller 
should halt a moment to admire afresh j 
the view of Castrogiovanni, which 
opens upon him in nearer majesty. 
Here, about 7 or 8 m. from Calta¬ 
nisetta, is a rugged height called 
Capo cl' Arso, evidently an extinct 
crater, composed of scoria) and lava. 
At its foot, about 1 m. off the road to 
the 1., is a large bridge of a single arch, 
called Ponte di Capo cV Arso, con¬ 
structed by the Emperor Charles V., 
and forming a striking object amid the 
savage scenery of this region. It is 
this bridge, according to some, that is 
referred to in the proverb which says 
that Sicily contains “ un monte, un 
fonte, ed un ponte ”—only one moun¬ 
tain, one fountain, and one bridge; 
though the Terminesi claim the honour 
of singularity for the lofty bridge 
erected by the same emperor over the 
Fiume S. Leonardo, beneath their 
city. The traveller then descends to 
the Vallone del Fico, fording the 
stream no less than seven times in his 


way up the valley, before he reaches 
the post-road, between the 95th and 
96th milestones from Palermo. 

For Castrogiovanni and the approach 
to it from this side, see Rte. 7, p. 221 
et seq. 


ROUTE 16. 

CASTROGIOVANNI TO CALTAGIRONE. 

Miles 

Castrogiovanni to Lago Pergusa .... 5 


Lago Pergusa to Piazza.] :i 

Piazza to Mirabella. 7 

Mirabella to Caltagirone. 7 


This is a mere bridle-path and can 
be performed in a single day. 

Nothing can be more picturesque 
than the descent from the height of 
Castrogiovanni by this road. You 
leave the town by the southern gate, 
and wind down into a ravine which 
runs far into the heart of the moun¬ 
tain, and look out between steep red 
precipices, honeycombed with caves 
hung with foliage, and crested with 
houses which threaten to topple down 
upon your head, to a landscape of 
green hills far beneath, from which 
the celebrated lake of Enna gleams 
j out brightly in the sun. The caves 
are all ancient tombs; many of them 
; now serving as hovels to the pea¬ 
santry, as stalls for their mules, or as 
' sties for their pigs; the houses too 
! are of the meanest description; every¬ 
thing is ruinous, filthy, and wretched 
in the extreme, though highly pic¬ 
turesque. The road was formerly 










302 


ROUTE 10 ). —LAGO DI PEEGUSA. 


paved, but is now so broken, rugged, 
and steep, that it is safer to descend 
on foot than to trust even to your 
mule. After rain it is dangerously 
slippery on the lower ground, where 
the blue marl underlies the calcareous 
breccia which composes the crest of the 
mountain. Open downs of pasture or 
corn-land, studded here and there 
with a clump of trees around a farm¬ 
house, intervene between the foot of 
the mountain and the lake, which you 
can reach in about 80 minutes from 
the town. 

5 m. Logo di Pergusa. This is the 
renowned lake 

“ Of Enna, where Proserpine gathering flowers, 

Herself a fairer flower, by gloomy Dis 

Was gathered.”— Milton. 

The traveller will recall Ovid’s de¬ 
scription— 

“ Haud procul Hennseis lacus est a moenibus 
altse 

Nomine Fergus, aquas. Non illo plura Cays- 
tros 

Carmina cygnorum labentibus audit in undis. 

Silva coronat aquas, cingens latus omne; i 
suisque 

Frondibus, ut velo, Pliccbeos submovet 1 
ictus. 

Frigora dant rami, Tyrios humus humida 
flores. 

Perpetuum ver est. Quo dum Proserpina 
luco 

Ludit, et aut violas, aut Candida lilia carpit’; 

Dumque puellari studio calathosque sinumque 

Implet, et Jequales certat superare legendo, 

Pene simul visa est, dilectaque, raptaque 
Diti.”'— Met. v. 385. 

‘'Whatever classical enthusiasm a 
traveller may bring with him to this 
lake, concerning which so much has 
been said and sung, is destined to 
meet with disappointment, for of all 
the former characteristics of the spot, 
it now retains but the simple one of 
being still a lake. With the exception 
of a few scattered trees at the western 
side the low hills that surround it are 
bare and arid, the sweet-singing swans 
have been succeeded by myriads of 
frogs, and the water, so far from re¬ 
sembling Cayster’s streams, was in 
many parts covered with green slime, 
and filled the air with its noxious 
exhalations. Of the flowers that once 
decked its banks not a solitary lily or 


violet remained that we could carry 
off; and were a dog to lose his power 
of scenting game, it would be from a 
very different cause from that assigned 
by Diodorus Siculus .”—Marquis of 
Ormonde. The faithfulness of the 
modern picture will be admitted by all 
who visit the lake. It is about 4 or 
m. in circuit, and looks like the crater 
of an extinct volcano ; indeed the im¬ 
mediate vicinity of extensive sulphur- 
mines renders this supposition highly 
probable. One peculiarity of its waters 
can hardly be otherwise accounted for. 
Sometimes it abounds in fish, particu¬ 
larly tench and eels; but on a sudden 
they all perish and cover the lake with 
their dead bodies, as if they had been 
poisoned, which must be owing to the 
occasional escape of noxious gases 
from below. The lake is rendered 
more unhealthy in summer by the ma¬ 
ceration of flax, which is cultivated on 
its western shore. The cavern on the 
south side, which is reported to have 
been burst as a passage for the car of 
the gloomy god when he ascended 
from the shades to seize the blooming 
Persephone, is now choked with masses 
of rock. 

On leaving this spot, where reality 
is so sadly at variance with fiction, 
you cross a wdld mountainous country 
for some miles, the slopes presenting 
here and there a scanty cultivation of 
corn, but in general the arid, dusty, 
and desolate features of the sulphur 
district. The track crosses two steep 
and lofty ridges, shoulders of the moun¬ 
tains of Pupalello and Micuno, which 
rise on the rt. and 1. respectively, and 
at 4 m. from the lake passes close to a 
sulphur-mine, which can be inspected 
by the traveller who has time and cu¬ 
riosity. Here the path, which has been 
rugged or slippery, improves, as the 
soil is sandy; it crosses a third long- 
drawn ridge, and descends to a valley 
dark with filbert-groves and clumps ol' 
alders, and overhung by bare conical 
hills. Here it falls into the road from 
Caltanisetta to Piazza, which is in this 
part carriageable. A branch to the 1. 
runs to Aidone, about 3 m. distant. 
Turning to the rt. you enter a rich 
valley of nut-groves and vineyards, a 









303 


ROUTE 16. 

welcome contrast to the desolate 
mountain wilds you have just traversed, 
and see before you the domes of Piazza 
peering above the foliage. You ap¬ 
proach the town by an avenue of elms, 
beneath slopes covered with magnifi¬ 
cent stone-pines. 

18m. Piazza (pop. 14,551). Inns: 
the “ Albergo dell’ Aquila Nera,” at 
the entrance of the town from Castro- 
giovanni, kept by Francesco Girasella, 
is the largest; beds clean, and atten¬ 
dance good. The “ Locanda di Sant’ 
Antonio,” in the principal square, is 
said not to be inferior. 

Piazza, corrupted in the Sicilian dia¬ 
lect into “ Cliiazza,” is irregularly built 
on the crests and slopes of an eminence 
1564 ft. high, which rises from the 
bosom of luxuriant and varied foliage. 
One of these crests is surmounted by 
the cathedral; the other by the feudal 
castle; and the town lies between and 
around them, and even stretches some 
way up the hill to the E., already men¬ 
tioned as bristling with pine-trees. 
Externally Piazza has rather a mean 
aspect, but, unlike most Sicilian towns, 
it is better than it looks. It contains 
some good houses, and neat shops ; its 
principal streets are well paved, and 
being the residence of many nobles 
and landed proprietors, it can boast of 
respectable palaces not a few. After 
poverty-stricken Castrogiovanni, Piazza 
appears highly civilized. 

The Castello, which crowns the 
height to the S. of the cathedral, has 
a small square keep, with a square 
tower at each angle, enclosed by an 
outer line of battlemented wall. The 
keep has a pointed door and windows. 
It is now used as a prison, and is 
therefore not easily accessible to the 
traveller. 

Duomo. —The Cathedral is a struc¬ 
ture of the commencement of the 17th 
centy., though on the site of a building 
some centuries earlier. It was raised 
by sums expressly bequeathed by a 
noble named Marco Trigona and his 
wife. Like most of the principal edifices 
of Piazza it is constructed of the reddish 


—PIAZZA. 

stone of the locality; it is of Tuscan 
architecture, with a facade of 2 arches, 
and a portal of incongruous ornateness. 
In form it is a Latin cross, with a 
dome at the intersection of nave and 
transepts. The interior is modern, and 
contains nothing of interest beyond a 
picture of the Assumption of the Virgin 
in the N. transept by Paladino, painted 
with the low inharmonious colouring, 
weakness of chiaroscuro, and want of 
simplicity characteristic of the artist. 
The Campanile at the S. angle of the 
facade, retains traces of Gothic archi¬ 
tecture in its two lower stories. It is 
known by the name of “ Ldnterna 
Greca .” 

The Convento di Fondro, in the 
piazza, is a monastery of Benedictines. 
In the prior’s apartments is a collec¬ 
tion of pictures; among which notice 
a small and delicate copy on copper of 
Raphael’s Transfiguration, called a 
sketch by himself; a Holy Family on 
panel, by Giitlio Romano, much in¬ 
jured; St. Benedict tempted by the 
Devil under the form of a woman, the 
horns showing amid her golden tresses. 
The saint, whose garments are most 
unsaintly in quantity, perceiving his 
fair persecutor approaching, casts him¬ 
self into a thicket of thorns, and by 
thus mortifying the flesh is enabled to 
resist her blandishments. 

Sta. Agata contains an Epiphany by 
Barbalonga of Messina. A few re¬ 
mains of Siculo-Norman or Sicilian- 
Gothic architecture are to be met in 
the gateways of private houses; also 
in the churches of San Giovanni de 
Roti and San Carmelo, which latter 
stands on the height opposite the 
town to the E. The ch. attached to the 
Convent of S. Pietro on the same hill 
is of the Renaissance period. There 
are private collections of pictures in 
the possession of Signor Floresta and 
the Barone Mandrascate. 

Piazza is supposed by Cluver to be 
the representative of Philosophiana 
Gelensium, a place mentioned only by 
the Itineraries, and taking its second 
name from its vicinity to the source of 
the river Gela, now Fiume di Terra- 






304 


ROUTE 16.-PIAZZA.-MIR ABELL A. 


nova. It can have been of no import¬ 
ance in ancient times. The original 
town, which stood 3 m. to the W., was 
one of the settlements of the Lom¬ 
bard followers of Count Roger, and 
was utterly destroyed by William the 
Bad for the part it took in the re¬ 
bellion of Bonello. That sovereign 
constructed the present town from 
its ruins. Piazza is celebrated as the 
seat of a parliament held in 1‘29G, to 
discuss the question of the submission 
of Sicily to Charles II. of Anjou, in 
which it was resolved to maintain the 
independence of the island. 

4 m. from Piazza is the monastery 
of S. Andrea, in whose eh. are a 
Martyrdom of St. Agatha by Ligozzi, 
pupil of Paolo Veronese, a St. Andrew 
by Olivio Sozzi, and a fresco bearing 
the date of I486. 

The environs of Piazza are luxu¬ 
riantly wooded, and abundantly water¬ 
ed ; the hills around are cultivated to 
their summits, and the hollows are 
dark with wood-walnuts, chesnuts, 
filberts, and other fruit-trees mingling 
with the elm, the alder, the pine, and 
the cypress. Of a truth, Piazza well 
merits her old appellation of “ la 
Dcliziosa.” It is pronounced by Sir 
R. Hoare to be the only town he 
had seen in Sicily which could 
boast of sufficient shade to screen its 
inhabitants from the summer heats. 
Its principal products are nuts and 
wine—a most sensible conjunction. 
In the neighbourhood are found stone 
for lithographing, and saponaceous 
earth. 

From Piazza there is a road to Cal- 
tanisetta, by Barrafranca and Pietra- 
perzia, 24 m. (see Rte. 17), carriage¬ 
able throughout in fine weather. 
Another road to Aidone, G m., con¬ 
tinues in a mule-track across the great 
plain of the Simeto to Catania (see 
Rte. 17). The direct route to Terra- 
nova runs through the valley of the 
Gela, 30 m., and is not carriageable. 

As you leave Piazza, just beyond 
the umbrageous villa of the Baron 
Mandrascate, a road branches to the 
rt. to Terranova. The road soon forks 
again, botli branches leading to Cal- 


tagirone ; that to the 1. by Mirabella 
is to be preferred as the more level. 
For about half of the way the route 
runs parallel to the beautiful and 
richly wooded valley of the Gela. 
Lanes overhung by honeysuckle, dog- 
roses, and by aloes festooned with ivy 
—woods of nuts and alders—groves of 
tall oaks vocal with thrushes—stretches 
of open country variegated with corn, 
beans, and vines — swelling hills wooded 
to their summits, which are crested 
with noble pines—such are the fea¬ 
tures of the route for the first few 
miles. Then succeeds an open corn and 
wine country, undulating up to Mira¬ 
bella. At the distance of 4 m. from 
Piazza, you leave the province of Cal- 
tanisetta, and enter that of Catania. 

25 m. Mirabella, a wretched little 
town of 3300 souls, crowning the sum¬ 
mit of a hill half way to Caltagirone. It 
has the alias of Tmbaccari, or more vul¬ 
garly “ Imaca," the only name known 
to the peasantry, who quite ignore 
Mirabella. Beyond this are bare, 
dreary downs, with a deep vale of 
corn to the E., bounded by a range of 
heights, above which soars the long- 
drawn peak which bristles with the 
distant towers of Caltagirone. In the 
bottom of the vale the road forks, 
both branches leading to Caltagirone, 
that to the 1. being the more direct. 
From this spot there is a continuous 
ascent to the city. The slopes, which 
in parts show a curious white earth 
like potter’s clay, are at first green 
with vineyards, but higher up are 
bare and scorched, or darkened with 
clumps of the dwarf-palm, which 
testify an approach to the southern 
shores of the island. And as you as¬ 
cend, a grand view opens in that di¬ 
rection, over the deep valley of the 
Gela, far out across the low country to 
the dim towers of Terranova and the 
blue horizon of waters. The road 
winds up round the bare peaked moun¬ 
tain, and enters the city on the oppo¬ 
site side to that from which you have 
approached it. 

32 m. Caltagirone. Inns : — all 
in the piazza, or close to it. The 






ROUTE 16 . —CALTAGIRONE. 


305 


largest is the “ Locanda di San Fran¬ 
cesco,” kept by Giuseppe Corrente; 
dean, barring fleas. Opposite is the 
“ Locanda della Pace,” kept by Salva¬ 
tore d’ Urso ; a rival house in comfort 
and discomfort. The least promising 
in appearance is the “ Locanda del 
Leone.” 

Caltagirone is one of the most lof¬ 
tily situated towns in Sicily. Perched 
on the summit of an isolated moun¬ 
tain, 2044 ft. high, craggy and steep 
on every side, it was till of late years 
inaccessible to carriages ; and though 
the wealth of the citizens commanded 
such luxuries, they could only be 
brought up piecemeal on the backs of 
mules. 

There is now a good road to Catania, 
49 m., and the corriera runs to that 
city every Sunday, Tuesday, Wednes¬ 
day, and Friday, at 13 o’clock, accom¬ 
plishing the journey in 10 hrs. 

In spite of its inconvenient situa¬ 
tion, Caltagirone enjoys the reputa¬ 
tion of being the best mountain 
town in the island, the best built, the 
most civilized, the most opulent, and 
the most frequented by the nobility. 
Its inhabitants have the character of 
being highly sociable, polite, and hos¬ 
pitable to strangers. The popula¬ 
tion is 23,G72, chiefly agricultural. 
The principal streets are clean, broad, 
and well paved; many of the palaces 
are handsome, ornamented with mas¬ 
sive balconies and grotesquely carved 
eantalivers. There is a general air of 
comfort, activity, and civilization about 
the city, very unusual in an inland 
town of Sicily. Altogether the title 
Caltagirone bears, of “ La Gratissima, ’ 
is no misnomer. 

At the top of the Strada de’ Nobili, 
above the market-place, a broad flight 
of 140 stone steps leads to the upper 
town, and to the site of the old teudal 
castle, of which little remains beyond 
some fragments of the battlemented 
wall. The panorama commanded from 
this height is most extensive and va¬ 
ried. In the N. the eye rests on the 
forests, lavas, and snows of Etna; in 
the N.E. it traverses the vast sweep 
of the Piana di Catania, brown, 
parched, and treeless, but dotted by 


the towns of Mineo, Militello, Palago- 
nia, Scordia ; eastward it embraces the 
whole of the rich Yal di Noto, with the 
rugged mountains of Vizzini and Palaz- 
zolo ; to the S., through an opening 
in the mountain it travels down to the 
far-famed Geloan plain, and to Terra- 
nova on the distant sandy shore of the 
Mediterranean; and westward it loses 
itself in another deep valley, flanked 
by the table-mountain of S. Michele, 
and the long-drawn crest which cul¬ 
minates in the feudal fortress of 
Butera. 

There is not much in the way of 
art to attract the visitor to Calta¬ 
girone. In the piazza the Casa Comu- 
nale, the Monte di Pi eta, the Caffe do' 
Nobili, the Teatro Grifeo, and the 
Chiesa Matrice, present a pleasing 
assemblage of Italian edifices. The 
latter contains 3 pictures by Francesco 
Vaccaro, a living artist much vaunted 
by the citizens—the Vision of Sta. Filo- 
mena—San Gaetano distributing alms 
—and San Giacomo interceding for the 
people during the cholera. The ch. 
of 8. Francesco d' Assisi also contains 
3 pictures by the same hand. 

In the convent of Santa Maria di 
Gesu, belonging to the Padri Osser- 
vanti, which stands on a height to the 
S. of the town, is a Madonna in marble 
by Antonio Gagini, of considerable 
merit, though disfigured by colour and 
gilding. A fine bridge of a single arch 
unites this convent to the rest of the 
town. 

Perhaps the most interesting works 
of art in Caltagirone are the little clay 
figures in the various costumes of 
Sicily, which are designed, moulded, 
and coloured with infinite truth and 
much artistic feeling, by Giacomo and 
Giuseppe Buongiovanni , uncle and 
nephew. They are formed of a very 
fine clay found in the neighbourhood, 
and of which imitations in porcelain 
are also manufactured. The price of 
single figures is 2 dollars plain, and 2£ 
coloured. For groups of four figures, 
15 dollars are asked. Some Calabrian 
brigands dividing their booty; and a 
party of cobblers at work, are ex¬ 
tremely good—full of life, truth, and 
character. But the best work of the 





306 


ROUTE 17 . —CALTANISETTA TO CATANIA. 


elder Buongiovamii is a group of eiglit, 
representing Polyxena sacrificed at 
tlie tomb of Achilles, for which he 
obtained a medal at an exhibition in 
Palermo in 1838. Should travellers 
make purchases of him, Buongiovanni 
engages to pack the figures, and 
forward them to Palermo or Messina 
at his own cost and risk. 

Caltagirone, though supposed by 
some to be the site of Hybla Hersea, 
and by others of an inland city of 
Gela, has but doubtful claims to so 
remote an origin. No relics of classic 
times are now extant. It was more 
probably founded by the Saracens, 
from whom it received the name 
of “ Cal'at al Chanzarit," or “ Cal’at al 
Gianum ,” for under both appellations 
it is mentioned in ancient documents. 
It was taken from that people by some 
Genoese, who held it at the time of 
the Norman invasion, and for services 
rendered to Count Roger in the cap¬ 
ture of Zotica, or Judica, were re¬ 
warded by him with its spoils. 

The country around Caltagirone is 
very fertile, especially in wine. A 
fair for the sale of cattle and agricul¬ 
tural produce is annually held here in 
October, and lasts for a fortnight. 

For the roads from Caltagirone to 
Terranova and Catania, see Routes 
22, 23, and 24. 


I 

I 

i 


ROUTE 17. 

CALTANISETTA TO CATANIA, BY 
PIAZZA. 

Miles. 

Caltanisetta to Pietraperzia .. .. 7 

Pietraperzia to Barrafranca .. .. 5 


Barrafranca to Piazza .12 

Piazza to Aidone .6 

Aidone to La Gabella .14 

La Gabella to Catania.24 


68 

This is a journey of 2 days, the 
traveller passing the first night at 
Piazza, which lies a mile or two off the 
direct road, but should be taken en 
route, as it affords the only decent 
accommodation on the line between 
Caltanisetta and Catania. As far as 
Aidone the road is carriageable. Be¬ 
yond that for many miles it is prac¬ 
ticable only for mules, traversing the 
dreary, uninhabited, and level waste, 
called the Piana di Catania, whose 
cheerless monotony is alone redeemed 
by the sublime glories of Etna, ever 
full in view. Between the Giarretta 
and Catania, however, the road is again 
fit for carriages. 

Between Caltanisetta and Pietra¬ 
perzia lies the broad and deep valley 
ot the Salso, the Himera Meridionals 
of antiquity, which falls into the sea at 
Licata. The river is crossed about half 
way between the towns, and the road 
then winds up the lofty height which 
is crowned by the mediaeval fortress of 
Pietraperzia. 

7 rm Pietraperzia (pop. 9700). This 
is a picturesque old town which has 
sprung up around the fortress that 
rises above it to the N. enclosed by 
battlementcd walls. 

The Castle. —“ The entrance to the 
Casth is on the S., and from this 
side it is seen to most advantage, as 










ROUTE 17 . —PIETIiAPEEZlA 

you have a view of the facade, and the 
side of the great hall with its 3 large 
Norman windows, and some of the 
corbelling of the cornice remaining 
above them. At the entrance to the 
castle-yard, in a marble niche, adorned 
in the cinquecento style, stands a 
bust, probably of one of the Barrese 
family. Opposite is the chapel of St. 
Antonio, the gate of which, of white 
marble, is enriched with figures and 
adornments, also of the cinquecento; 
but the interior, and especially the 
inner wall, is covered with Moresque or¬ 
nament of foliage pierced and cut with 
much sharpness. Around the soffit 
are inscriptions alluding to the book of 
Genesis, written in the vernacular 
Sicilian of that period. Opposite the 
entrance to the castle-yard is an arcade 
of massive square pilasters with small 
columns at the angles, and mouldings 
running round on the impost. Above 
the arcade is a large window of noble 
outline. A double staircase highly 
decorated leads on one side to the door 
of the great hall, which has a Norman 
arch resting on many slender shafts; 
on the other to a wide terrace, on which 
numerous chambers open; and hence 
you descend to subterranean passages 
cut in the rock, from which some 
imagine that the town takes its name 
of * perforated rock/ ” — Giovanna 
Power. 

In the Chiesct Matrice is a picture 
by Filippo Palculino. 

Another valley and a tributary of 
the Salso have to be crossed on the 
read from Pietraperzia to 

12 m. Barrafrcinca, a town of 
8600 inhabitants, also situated on an 
eminence, and the representative of an 
earlier town, called Convicino, on whose 
remains it was raised a few centuries 
since. (Near the Ohiesa Matrice rise 
the ruins of the feudal fortress. To 
the S. of this town are some sulphur- 
mines. The road now turns to the E. 
and makes a circuit round Monte 
Pubiato to Piazza, falling into the 
road from Castrogiovanni in the vale 
of the Gela, about 3 miles from the 
former town. Near this spot it branches 


—BAPvRAFRANCA.-AIDONE. 307 

to Aidone, and the traveller who con¬ 
tinues to Piazza for the night will 
have to retrace his steps for that dis¬ 
tance on the morrow. About 3 m. 
from Piazza on this side are the re¬ 
mains of the original town of the same 
name, which was destroyed by William 
the Bad. 

2-1 m. Piazza. See Ete. 10, p. 303. 

On leaving the nut-groves in the 
vale of the Gela, the road crosses a 
ridge of Monte Quattro Teste to 

30 m. Aidone , a small town of 5000 
inhabitants, crowning the summit of a 
lofty height which commands the 
vast plain of Catania. It is of medi¬ 
aeval origin, being, like Piazza, one 
of the settlements of the Lombards, 
who assisted Eoger the Norman in his 
conquest of Sicily. It was besieged 
and taken by Kobert Duke of Calabria, 
in the War of the Vespers. 

The descent from Aidone is steep and 
rugged, and the path, for it is nothing 
more, is bordered by prickly pears, 
which here grow in great luxuriance. 
It follows the course of the Fiume delta 
Gabelle, through a bare undulating 
country, not unlike the Wiltshire 
downs, but almost without inhabitants 
and cultivation, passing at 6 m. the 
vilage of JRctddusa, and next the sul- 
plmr-mines of Erbaspina, about halfway 
between Aidone and La Gabella. This 
is a wretched hamlet near the banks of 
the Gnrnalunga. Here you leave the 
hilly district, and enter the great plain 
of Catania. 

Piana di Catania. —With the excep¬ 
tion of the Campi Geloi near Terra- 
nova, and the plain of Licata, this is 
the only perfectly level tract of any 
extent in all Sicily. It is about 
20 m. long, by 8 or 9 in width, is 
bounded by the Gurnalunga on the S., 
and the Dittaino and the slopes of Etna 
on the N., and is traversed diagonally 
by the Giarretta, the ancient Symxtlius. 
The soil is a rich loam mixed with 
volcanic ashes, and is capable of high 
cultivation. This indeed is tlie^Xecm- 
tinus Campus of antiquity, famed for 
its extraordinary fertility, the native 
place of wheat, according to Diodorus, 






308 


ROUTE 18 . —GIRGENTI TO SYRACUSE. 


and the abode of the giant Lsestrygons, 
if we may believe the poets :—• 

‘‘ Prirna Leontinos vastarunt prjelia campos 
Reguatam duro quondam Lfwstrygone terram.” 

Sxl. Ital. xiv. 

Times are changed. The tract whose 
surpassing fertility enabled it of old to 
support a race of giants, and which in 
Cicero’s day was regarded as the most 
productive portion of the island— 

“ uberrima Sicilia? pars ”—and the 
chief source of her cereal wealth—■ 

“ caput rei frumentariae ”—is now an 
uninhabited region, cheerless and deso¬ 
late, and, though not wholly unculti¬ 
vated, affording in most parts only pas¬ 
turage for cattle. 15 m. across this waste, 
bring you to the Giarretta, or Simeto, 
which flows iu a wide bed, between low 
banks, fringed with oleander, and, until 
you are close upon it, is not visible, so 
level is the ground on either side. At j 
the ferry you fall into the old road ; 
from Caltagirone to Catania, about 10 
m. from the latter city. You soon 
quit the dead level of the plain, and 
enter a cultivated district with olive- 
groves fenced in by tall hedges of 
cactus. The road is carriageable, but 
the soil is loose and shingly; at the 
distance of 1J m. from Catania it falls 
into the stradone from Syracuse, and 
enters the city by the imposing gate of 
Fortino. 

68 m. Catania. See Ete. 26, p. 387. 

I 


j 


I 


EOUTE 18. 

GIRGENTI TO SYRACUSE, BY MODICA 
AND NOTO. 


JMiles. 

Girgenti to Palma.14 

Palma to Licata .. .. .. ..12 

Licata to Torre Falconara .. .. 7 

T. Falconara to Terranova .. ..11 

Terranova to Vittoria .IS 

Vittoria to Comiso.7 

Comiso to Ragusa.8 

Ragusa to Modica.7 

Modica to Spaccaforno.12 

Spaccaforno to Rosolini.4 

Rosolini to Noto .9 

Noto to Avola.4 

Avola to Lungarino.8 

Lungarino to Syracuse. 10 


131 

Those who would do Sicily in car¬ 
riages, and would be transported from 
Girgenti to Syracuse without the fa¬ 
tigue of mule-jolting, must take the 
stradone northwards through Caltani- 
setta (Ete. 15), and, striking the great 
road across the island at Santa Cate- 
rina, must continue eastward along it 
to Catania (Ete. 7), and thence S. 
through Lentini to Syracuse (Ete. 25). 
This route is an immense detour, yet it 
carries the traveller through some of 
the finest scenery in the island, and to 
many localities of interest. In truth, 
the charms of the route usually taken 
by mule-travellers along the southern 
coast lie principally in association, and 
fade into tameness and monotony 
before the wild and romantic beauties 
ot the interior; while the antiquarian 
interest attaching to Castro Giovanni, 
Leonforte, S. Filippo, Centorbi, and 
other spots between Girgenti and 
Catania, scarcely yields to that which 
imparts to the dirty towns along the 
coast their sole attraction. This circuit¬ 
ous but more easily accomplished route 
is an affair of six days in the saddle, 
the sleeping-places being Caltanisetta— 
Castrogiovanni, or Leonforte—Aderno 
•—Catania—Lentini—Syracuse. Th e 
shorter and more customary route re¬ 
quires at least 4A days’ journeying on 














ROUTE 18. —GIRGENTI TO PALMA. 


309 


the backs of mules, unless tlie tra¬ 
veller take a vehicle at Vittoria or 
Kagusa, when the tour may be short¬ 
ened by a day. “ The track is very 
solitary, and it is but rarely that the 
passenger falls in with anything but a 
Hock of silken-haired goats, and a 
shepherd wrapped in his huge brown 
cloak and sheepskin leggings. But 
the wild heaths over which the road 
passes are fragrant with myrtle, and in 
the season of spring the whole face of 
the country is enamelled with hya¬ 
cinths.” This southern coast, indeed, 
is usually looked upon as the most 
wearisome portion of the Sicilian tour, 
and, were it not that several of the 
earliest and most renowned of the 
Greek colonies lay on this coast, it 
would be avoided by every one who 
was not greatly pressed for time. 
These cities, however, are interesting 
rather for their associations than for 
their remains, few of them having 
many local antiquities extant, and 
most showing hardly a vestige above 
the surface. 

From Girgenti to Palma there is 
a choice of routes ; beyond that to 
Terranova, none ; but from that point 
there are no less than 5 roads to 
Syracuse, the most northerly running 
inland to Caltagirone and over the 
mountains of the Yal di Noto; the 
most southerly along the coast by 
Camarina and Scicli. The route laid 
down above, if not the most direct, is 
the easiest, as for the greater part of 
the distance from Terranova the road 
is carriageable. The sleeping-places 
are Palma (only half a day’s journey 
from Girgenti) — Terranova —• Kagusa 
or Modica—Noto—Syracuse. 

There are 3 routes from Girgenti to 
Palma : one by the coast, rounding 
the headland called Punta di Palma, 
and passing the feudal fortress of 
Monte Chiaro; another inland by 
Fa vara and the mountains; the third 
across the plain between the other 
two. This is the most direct, being 
14 m. only in length ; the first is but 
little longer, while that by Favara is 16 
m. The traveller who has not visited 
Favara should take it in his way to 


Palma; this route too has greater 
picturesque attractions than the others. 
For the road to Favara and notices of 
that town, see Rte. 15, p. 293. Beyond 
Favara the path climbs bare rocky 
heights whose slopes are studded with 
red, grey,' or white hillocks, marking 
the sites of sulphur-mines, and whose 
base is girt by vales of corn and beans, 
shaded by olives and carobs. Naro, 
with the towers of its old fortress 
crowning a ridge S m. from Favara, is 
ever in sight in the E. Nearer heights 
mimic its feudal honours with their 
crests of castellated rock. Here and 
there arched niches hollowed in the 
cliffs, like those in the walls of Agri- 
gentum, point out the sites of ancient 
sepulture. To the rt. the view opens 
across downs of squills and palmettos, 
and a treeless plain below, to the sea, 
the mountains of Palma, and the distant 
temples of A era gas. After fording the 
Flume di Naro, and crossing the steep 
arid ridges of Monte Molladizzo, the 
path descends gradually into a rocky 
; glen between white calcareous cliffs, 
crowned here and there with a convent, 
the hollow below being dark with 
almond and orange-groves and with 
olive and carob-trees of extraordinary 
size and luxuriance. At the end of this 
glen stands Palma, the ascent to which 
is difficidt enough, the smooth slabs of 
I shelving rock affording a most insecure 
i footing to a climbing mule. 

In taking the middle route to Palma 
you leave Girgenti by the Porta di 
Ponte, and traverse the site of the an¬ 
cient city; then descend into the hol¬ 
low below the temples of Juno and 
Concord, ford the little stream of S. 
Biagio, the Acragas of antiquity, next, 
at 8 m. from Girgenti, the Flume di 
Naro, and proceed over the palmetto- 
clad plain towards the back of the 
promontory called Punta di Palma, 
where you enter the white-cliffed glen 
which forms the approach to Palma 
from this side. In dry weather this 
route across the plain is good until you 
approach Monte Grande or Solfara, 
where it becomes rocky and rugged in 
j the extreme. 

Bv the coast route you follow the 








310 


ROUTE 18 . -PALMA. 


same course as far as“tlie S. Biagio. 
From the rising ground beyond this 
stream you obtain a magnificent view 
of the temples cresting the heights of 
the ancient city, huge masses of whose 
rock-walls, pierced with sepulchral 
niches and shrouded with foliage, are 
hanging on the slope, or lie overturned 
at its foot. All the way, indeed, across 
the plain, the temples continue in sight 
behind you—a most imposing retro¬ 
spect, hardly equalling, perhaps, that 
upon the temple of Segeste, yet proving 
the accuracy of Virgil’s description :—< 

“ Arduus inde Acragas ostentat maxima longb 
Moenia.” 

This very plain, too, now dotted with 
herds of brood-mares and lyre-horned 
cattle, must have been the nursery of 
the “ liigh-couraged steeds ” for which 
the ancient city was renowned— 
“Magnanimum quondam generator equorum.” 

The soil on this lower road is so tena¬ 
cious a clay that after heavy rains 
even mules can hardly toil their way 
through it. After 9 m., however, the 
ground becomes sandy, and the desert 
gives place to a fertile country. Here, 
on a steep height overhanging the sea, 
stands the feudal castle of Monte Cliiaro, 
with its large square keep, dating from 
the 14th century. The rocky coast be¬ 
neath marks the site of the destruction 
of a Maltese squadron in 1570, driven 
ashore here by the corsair Ocliali—a de¬ 
feat that so weakened the power of the 
Knights of St. John, that they could 
supply only 3 galleys for the battle of 
Lepanto. A mile or two beyond, 
after passing the sulpliur-mines of 
Monte Grande, you leave the coast, 
and turn inland to Palma, which crests 
a height 2 or 3 m. from the sea, and 
commands one of the most luxuriantly 
cultivated valleys in the whole of Sicily. 
Olive, carob, and almond-trees cover 
the slopes, shading rich crops of corn ; 
and orchards of southern character 
darken the banks of the stream which 
waters the valley. Travellers agree in 
pronouncing this fair vale to possess a 
more abundant share of natural beauty 
than most spots in Sicily, and Swin¬ 
burne beheld in it the image of what 
the whole southern coast would have 


been had the inhabitants had nothing 
to dread from the corsairs of Barbary. 

14 m. Palma. Inns: “ II Sole ” has 
for many years maintained the reputa¬ 
tion of being one of the best locande on 
the southern coast. It has been eclipsed, 
however, of late by a new house, which 
proclaims its triumph by taking the 
name of “La Vittoria.” Nicolo Sor- 
tino is the landlord. Palma has some 
11,879 inhabitants, many of whom are 
in comfortable circumstances, thanks 
to a brisk trade in almonds and sul¬ 
phur. But it is a dirty, miserable 
place, with nothing but its picturesque 
situation on a declivity overhanging 
its luxuriant valley to recommend it 
to the traveller. It is entirely a mo¬ 
dern town, its foundation dating only 
from the year 1637; but to what it 
owes its name is not very apparent, as 
it can boast of but one lonely date- 
palm, stripped of its leaves, and im¬ 
prisoned in a small box in one of the 
streets. The Chiesa Matrice is of re¬ 
cent construction, of Italian architec¬ 
ture, and with a facade of pleasing 
simplicity. In one of the churches is 
the tomb of Hodierna, a mathema¬ 
tician and philosopher of the 17th 
century, declared by the Sicilians to 
have forestalled Newton in the de¬ 
composition of light, and who can at 
least claim the undisputed honour of 
discovering that the queen-bee laid 
all the eggs in the hive. Apropos of 
eggs—Palma has these with poultry 
and pork in abundance, excellent 
bread and maccaroni, and a white 
sherry-like wine of good reputation. 

It is a ride of 4 hours from Palma 
to Licata. The country at first is 
more pleasing and better cultivated 
than on the other side of Palma. 
Descending from the grey rocky 
heights, you traverse an open plain, 
the great plain of Licata, partly 
marshy, and in parts producing corn, 
wine, and fruit. On the coast, just 
where the heights sink to the plain, 
is a lonely watch-tower, the Torre cli 
G-affi, whence the huge mass of Etna 
first comes into view in the N.E. A 
long ridge lies between the plain and 






110UTE 18 . —LICATA. 


311 


the shore, and after heavy rains it is 
advisable to folloAV this ridge, as the 
low grounds are then almost impass¬ 
able from the deep, stiff mud. This 
region is a paradise for sportsmen, for 
it abounds in game, both di pelle and 
di penna. Skirting the base of a lofty 
isolated ridge which shuts out a view 
of the sea, after some miles you reach 
at its further extremity at once the 
shore and the town of Licata. 

26 m. Licata or Alicata. Inns — 
several; but that of “ La Bella Sicilia,” 
kept by Angelo Rizzo, a non-resident 
landlord, is the best; cuisine and at¬ 
tendance wretched. It is in every re¬ 
spect much inferior to that at Palma or 
Terranova, but tourists seldom pass 
the night here, accomplishing the dis¬ 
tance between the last-named towns 
in one day. Angelo Perez can be re¬ 
commended as cicerone; Angelo Gigli 
as a boatman. The women here wear 
white woollen shawls on their heads, 
and many of them are remarkably 
pretty. 

British Vice-Consul. — Mr. L. A. 
Thompson. 

Licata contains 15,718 inhabitants, 
and enjoys a considerable commerce, 
exporting large quantities of grain, 
cotton, and sulphur; yet it is mean 
and dirty and “ rather out at the 
elbows.” The town is built partly on 
the lower slopes of the isolated heights 
which here sink to the sea, and partly 
on the shore, just where it forms a 
small peninsula between the headland 
and the mouth of the Fiume Sal so, 
one of the principal rivers of Sicily. 
The town was a place of some strength 
in the middle ages, but the Norman 
walls which enclosed it have fallen into 
utter decay. The old fortress on the 
peninsula is also more picturesque than 
formidable, and the castle of St. Angelo, 
on the brow of the hill to the W., is dis¬ 
mantled. Licata stands, however, more 
in need of a port than of a fort; for the 
sea is here so shallow that nothing but ! 
vessels of the smallest size can approach j 
the town, and the produce of Licata 
has to be carried in small craft to 
the ships which lie out in the offing. 

There is little to detain the tra¬ 


veller in Licata. The Chiesa Met - 
I trice has in the Sacristy a Nativity 
dated 1572. The Spedale contains a 
picture by Paladino, representing St. 
Francis on his way to execution. 8. 
Domenico has a Trinity in Glory by 
the same hand. The church of 8. 
Angelo , the patron-saint of the town, 
contains a Greek inscription record¬ 
ing a decree of the republic of Gela, 
awarding an olive-crown to Hera- 
clides, the son of Zopyrus. On this 
tablet, which was dug up in 1660 ill 
| the neighbouring mountain; on a 
marble pedestal bearing a Greek dedi¬ 
catory inscription from “ the people 
of Gela ; ” on a rock some miles dis¬ 
tant, which has been known from time 
immemorial as “lo Scoglio di Ge- 
loneon a flight of steps and other 
ancient remains near the Capuchin 
convent, Licata founds its claims to be 
regarded as the representative of the 
ancient Gela. However, there can be 
no doubt—out of Licata—that Gela 
occupied the site of Terranova, and 
Licata that of Phintias, a town built 
by the tyrant of that name, despot of 
Agrigentum, about 280 n.c., after he 
had destroyed Gela, whose inhabit¬ 
ants he transferred to his new town. 
It is also equally clear that the castle- 
height, now the Poggio cli 8. Angelo , 
was anciently called Ecnomos, “mon¬ 
strous ” or “ wicked,” a name derived, 

, says Diodorus, from the fact that in 
a castle he had built on this height 
the tyrant Phalaris kept the brazen 
bull, that fearful instrument of tor¬ 
ture which has rendered his name 
execrable to all ages. The height, 
then, was fortified prior to the found- 
I ation of the town of Phintias. In 
the war, indeed, between Agathocles 
and the Carthaginians, 310 n.c., the 
latter encamped on this hill, while 
the Syracusans held another height on 
the opposite bank of the river, 5 miles 
distant, fortified by Phalaris, and 
named from him Phalarium. The 
plain to the N. of this height, and be¬ 
tween it and the river, is the scene of 
the rout and slaughter of the Syracu¬ 
sans after their unsuccessful attack 
on the Carthaginian camp. On tliis 
headland in the year 256 n.c. the 













312 


ROUTE 18 . -LICATA—THE SALSO. 


Roman forces destined for tlie African 
expedition also encamped while wait¬ 
ing for the fleet under the consuls Re- 
gulus and Manlius, and shortly after 
inflicted a signal defeat on the Cartha¬ 
ginian fleet under Hanno and Hamil- 
car, off Heraclea Minoa, which enabled 
the Romans to transfer the war from 
Sicily to Africa. In 249 b.c. the Ro¬ 
man fleet was defeated by the Cartha¬ 
ginians off this town. Licata owes its 
modern name to the Saracens, though 
some claim for it a Greek origin, de¬ 
riving it from the position of the town 
on the sea, or from the brackishness of 
its river, the F. Salso. In the middle 
ages Licata suffered severely from the 
depredations of Barbary corsairs ; and 
in 1553 it was fired by a Turkish and 
French fleet, and almost destroyed. 

The Salso, which falls into the sea 
at Licata, is the Himera Meridionalis 
of the ancients, and claims to be the 
largest river in Sicily, though the 
Simeto disputes that honour with it. 
It takes its rise in the Nebrodes, or 
Madonian Mountains, some 20 miles S. 
of Cefalu, and thus traverses nearly the 
entire breadth of the island, almost di¬ 
viding it into two equal parts. It is not 
to be confounded with the other Himera 
which washed the walls of the cele¬ 
brated city of that name on the north¬ 
ern coast. Both rivers have their 
sources in the same range, though not 
in the very same spring, as old writers 
maintained:—• 

“ Dividuas se scindit in oras ; 

Nec minus occasus petit incita, quam petit 
ortus. 

Nebrodes gemini nutrit divortia fontis.” 

Sil. Ital. xiv. 234— 

pretending that that portion of the 
water which flowed westward and fell 
into the Tyrrhene sea was sweet and 
potable, while that which took the 
opposite direction was salt. Vitru¬ 
vius, however, justly attributed the 
brackishness of the water of this 
southern Himera to the salt-mines 
which it passes in its course, and 
which are in the neighbourhood of 
Caltanisetta. This river was cele¬ 
brated in ancient times for the battles 
fought on its banks; the most famous, 


perhaps, was that in which Marcellus, 
the conqueror of Syracuse, defeated 
the Carthaginians, b.c. 211. II 
now separates the province of Gir- 
genti from that of Caltanisetta. At 
the mouth of the river is a shallow 
sandy bar, which can easily be forded in 
dry weather ; but as after heavy rains 
the waters swell suddenly to a great 
height and rush out with much impe¬ 
tuosity, a ferry is established, which can 
be used when the ford, is impracticable, 
though in this state of the river the 
ferry-boat is seldom deemed safe for 
mules. The traveller, therefore, runs 
the risk of being detained at Licata 
until the waters subside. 

On crossing the Salso, let the tra¬ 
veller turn to admire the view now 
presented of Licata. With its build¬ 
ings stretching along the shore, or 
climbing the steep, crested by the 
bold mass of its fortress, with the 
smaller fort on a rock beneath jutting 
into the Mediterranean, it is a minia¬ 
ture copy of Naples, as seen from the 
shore of Portici. He will readily admit 
that for the beauty of its site, if not 
for the comforts of its locande, Licata 
well merits the title of “la Dilettis- 
sima.” 

The journey of 18 m. between Licata 
and Terranova is one of the most dreary 
rides in all Sicily. The track for the 
greater part of the way skirts the 
coast, and in many places lies along 
the sandy beach ; the low heights on 
the 1. shut out all view of the interior, 
and the traveller’s horizon is bounded 
by the waves, and by these hills, 
which here rise in sandy dunes, there 
in rocks of gypsum, and now again 
in broken cliffs of greenish marl, full 
of sulphur, and overrun with kali and 
saltwort, great quantities of which are 
grown in this district. A small head¬ 
land, called Monte della Guardia, 
about 5 m. from Licata, antiquaries 
mark as the site of Phalarium, a 
fortress raised by Phnlaris, and which 
Agathocles made his camp when op¬ 
posed to the Carthaginians in Ecno- 
mus. 2 m. beyond, on a rocky point, 
stands the Torre Falconara, on a height 
immediately overhanging the sen, once 




ROUTE 18 . —BUTERA.—TERRANOVA. 


the casino or farm of the Prince of 
Butera Racial!, now of the Baron 
Bordonaro. Here, should the traveller 
chance to be benighted, lie may seek 
the hospitality of the fattore; or, if in¬ 
terested in agriculture, he may obtain 
information from the same source; and 
in all the island lie could hardly find 
au estate where the Sicilian inodes of 
husbandry can be studied to more 
advantage. Beyond this, the streams 
of Faino and Manfrici are forded, on 
the latter of which, some miles inland, 
stands the town of Butera, cresting a 
high plateau of rock, which rises ab¬ 
ruptly from the plain. 


Butera is a small place of 4400 in¬ 
habitants, but it gives its name as a 
title to one of the leading noble families 
of Sicily. It lies on the road from 
Terranova to Caltanisetta, about 9 m. 
from the former, and 27 from the latter. 
Remains found in its neighbourhood 
rove it to have been an ancient site, 
ut the name of the town which occu¬ 
pied it has not been determined. In 
853 it was besieged for 5 months by the 
Saracens, who raised the siege on the 
surrender of 6000 people a3 slaves. 
Butera was almost the last town in 
Sicily taken by the Normans, having, 
through the great strength of its posi¬ 
tion, been enabled to hold out against 
Count Roger till 1089, 17 years after 
the conquest of Palermo. Its castle 
is of Norman origin, and the town con¬ 
tains several buildings of mediaeval 
antiquity. 


Between the Manfria and Terranova 
is a distance of 6 in. The wide plain in¬ 
land was formerly known as the Campi 
Gelui, sung by Virgil, and celebrated 
for its fertility in corn — a reputa¬ 
tion it still endeavours to maintain— 
and for the death of the poet TEschy- 
lus, who was here killed by an eagle 
letting a tortoise fall upon liis bare 
head, which the bird, it is supposed, 
had mistaken for a stone. Two other 
small streams are crossed before reach¬ 
ing Terranova, the first being the Tor- 
renie Montelungo. At 2 m. from Terra- 
[8icily.] 


Ol o 
oio 

nova, leaving the vast plain of corn 
and cotton, you ascend a height, the 
necropolis of ancient Gela, and now 
called Capo Soprano. It is covered 
with vineyards, orchards, and planta¬ 
tions of cactus, but the olives and 
almonds, which are so abundant in most 
parts of this coast, are here wanting. 

44 m. Terranova (pop. 11,000).— 
Inns : “ Locanda della Venice,” in the 
Piazza, was once spoken well of; it is 
now dirty. Travellers, eschewing this, 
should proceed to the “ Italy Hotel,” 
kept by Domenico Guttilla, where they 
will meet with (Sicilian) cleanliness 
and comfort at moderate charges. An¬ 
gelo Calandra can be strongly recom¬ 
mended as cicerone. 

British Vice-Consul. —Sig. Francesco 
Bresmes. 

Terranova is cheerfully situated on 
a long narrow efninence rising from 
the sandy beach, and separating it 
from the extensive and fertile plain 
inland. With mediaeval walls, sur¬ 
mounted by church domes and towers, 
it looks imposing enough at a distance ; 
but on entering you find it to consist 
of little more than the one broad paved 
street which traverses it from end to 
end: all the others are narrow filthy 
alleys. The public buildings arc mean; 
the churches and convents for the 
most part shabby. The Chiesa Ma- 
trice, recently repaired, has a classical 
fa 9 ade, Doric and Ionic, strangely in¬ 
congruous with its blue and white 
dome. The altarpiece is an Assump¬ 
tion of the Virgin, hy Cavalier Tresca, 
1786. The ruined church of San Gia¬ 
como, outside the Porta di Licata, has a 
door of late Gothic. The campanile 
of the Capuchin Convent is also of me¬ 
diaeval date. The little chapel of S. 
Biagio, on the Capo Soprano, is the 
earliest edifice here, dating probably 
from the foundation of Terranova. 

Though, like Licata, without a port, 
Terranova carries on a pretty good 
trade in sulphur, corn, wine, soda, 
cheese, and, above all, in cotton, of 
which it grows large quantities; and 
many of its citizens are well to do in 
the world. The caricatore, or old 
shipping-place, 1 m. to the W. of the 







314 


ROUTE 18 . -TERRANOVA.—GELA. 


town, near the Torre Insegna, is now 
abandoned. Terranova possesses few 
attractions within its walls. Don Carlo 
Navarra and the Cavaliere Mallia 
have collections of Greek vases and 
coins found in the Necropolis. At 
Terranova the traveller coming from 
Girgenti first meets the Sicilian manto 
of black silk, as worn at Syracuse and 
Catania. The fair sex here have a 
great reputation for beauty ; but —nulla 
rosa sine spina —to balance this attrac¬ 
tion, the Terranovesi are much af¬ 
flicted with sore eyes, a disease that is 
attributable to the want of shade, the 
drift and glare from the sand-hills 
around the town, and, most of all, to 
their dirty habits. 

Terranova was founded by Frede¬ 
rick II. at the end of the 13tli century; 
at least he raised a fortified town on 
this spot, and gave it the name it now 
bears. But the site was inhabited at 
a far earlier period. Within the town, 
and chiefly in the Piazza della Matrice, 
are sundry mutilated fragments of an¬ 
tiquity. But outside the walls to the 
E., 500 paces from the Porta di Vit- 
toria, on the summit of a dune of sand 
studded with mulberry-trees, lies a fine 
Doric column prostrate and disjointed, 
one only of the 6 frusta which com¬ 
posed it still standing in situ. This 
measures 4 ft. 8 in. in diameter, and 
the entire column, exclusive of the 
abacus, must have been 24 ft., or a 
little more than 5 diameters, in height. 
It is fluted, and is of a fine conglomerate, 
or an agglutination of broken shells. 
From its position on the extremity of 
the hill to the E., it is probable that 
this column formed part of some temple, 
and the steps of the basement are said 
to have existed below the sand, which 
is ever drifting up around these frag¬ 
ments until a few years since, when 
they were dug out for the construction 
of modern houses. This fragment of 
a temple, the abundance of broken 
pottery of early date, the sepulchres of 
Greek antiquity, the vases, coins, and 
other relics found in the neighbour¬ 
hood of Terranova, all mark this as an 
ancient site, and there is no doubt that 
the city which stood here was 


Gela, one of the earliest and most im¬ 
portant Greek colonies in Sicily, founded 
45 years after Syracuse, or G90 b.c., by 
Antiphemus of Rhodes, and Entimus 
of Crete. In 582 b.c., or only 108 years 
after her own establishment, Gela sent 
out a colony and founded the great city 
of Agrigentum—a fact evidencing her 
own wonderful prosperity, which must 
have been the result of her commerce 
and the surprising fertility of her terri¬ 
tory, renowned of old for its wheat— 
TTvp6(popos Te\a. Under the tyrant Hip¬ 
pocrates, who ruled from 498 to 491 
b.c., Gela attained to her highest pitch 
of power and prosperity, extending her 
dominion along the cast coast of the 
island, imposing new lords on Zancle, 
and humbling the pride of Syracuse, 
her rival. Gelon, brother of Hippo¬ 
crates, succeeded him, and rose in a few 
years to be Tyrant of Syracuse; but 
despising his native city, he sacrificed 
its interests to those of his new capital. 
In the latter half of the 5th century 
b.c. Gela’s prosperity revived; but it 
was brought to a sad and abrupt ter¬ 
mination on the great invasion of the 
Carthaginians, who, after they had 
taken and destroyed Himera, Selinus, 
and Agrigentum, laid siege to Gela, 
405 b.c. The city, having no natural 
strength of position, had to rely wholly 
on the valour and energy of its in¬ 
habitants, who made an obstinate 
defence, repairing during the night 
the breaches made by the Carthaginian 
battering-rams, and successfully re¬ 
pelling every assault, until succour at 
length arrived from Syracuse. Diony¬ 
sius brought a powerful force to their 
relief; but failing in his first attack, 
he renounced all further efforts, and 
compelled the inhabitants to abandon 
the city and accompany him to Syra¬ 
cuse. The Carthaginians then sacked 
Gela, destroyed the fortifications, and 
sent a colossal bronze statue of Apollo, 
which stood outside the walls, to Tyre, 
where it was afterwards found by 
Alexander of Macedon on his capture 
of that city. It is not improbable 
that the ruins on the eastern ex¬ 
tremity of the city-ridge are those of 
the temple which enclosed this cele¬ 
brated statue. Gela, though soon after 



315 


ROUTE 18 . —GELA.-TERRANOVA TO SYRACUSE. 


repeopled, never recovered lier former 
importance; yet she managed to escape 
falling again under the Carthaginian 
yoke. Greatly favoured by Timoleon, 
who restored the descendants of her 
old inhabitants—oppressed by Aga- 
thocles, who massacred 4000 of her 
citizens—Gela received her death-blow 
from Pliintias of Agrigentum, who, to 
advance the new city which he had 
founded at the mouth of the Himera, 
and named after himself, transferred to 
it the population of Gela, and rased 
her walls and buildings to the ground. 
This was ahout 280 b.c., since which 
period, though incidental mention is 
made of Gela as still inhabited, the 
city never again rose from obscurity 
until it was revived and fortified by 
Frederick II. of Aragon, at the close 
of the 13tli century, under the name 
of Terranova. 

Gela was renowned as the birthplace 
of Gelon and Hicron of Syracuse, of 
the comic poet Apollodorus, and of the 
philosopher Timogenes; and as the re¬ 
treat of the tragedian iEsehylus when, 
driven from Athens, he took refuge in 
Sicily; and here he met his death, 456 
b.c., by the singular accident already 
mentioned. 

Gela is said to have taken its 
name from the river which washed its 
walls— 

“Immanisque Gela, fluvii cognomine dicta.” 

The river falls into the sea about \ a 
mile to the E. of the town, and in dry 
weather is a small stream easily ford¬ 
able at its mouth. It is only after 
heavy rains that it assumes the cha* 
racter of an impetuous and dangerous 
torrent, ascribed to it by Ovid— 

“Et te vorticibus non adeunde, Gela.” 

Fast. iv. 470. 

The view from the site of the ruined 
temple, if not greatly diversified in 
natural features, is very extensive, truly 
Sicilian, and of beauty enough to make 
a lively impression on the memory. To 
the N., stretching 6 or 7 m. inland, and 
of much greater width, lies the plain 
of Terranova, once the Campi Geloi, 
one of the most abounding regions of 
the ancient world’s granary, and still 


the summer corn gilds large portions 
of its treeless surface. Through it the 
Gela, now Flume di Terranova, winds 
in its course from the distant moun¬ 
tains of Piazza, and directs the eye, by 
its glittering bends, far to the N.E. up 
to the snowy crest of Etna, towering- 
over the intermediate heights. These 
hem in the plain in a semicircle, more or 
less remote, extending from the island¬ 
like hill of Licata in the W., northward 
round to Butera, prominent on the 
crest of its scarped plateau, and east 
ward to Palazzolo, from which they 
sink gradually to the sea in the 
long low point of Capo Scalambri, 
to which the eye is directed also by 
the strip of sandy shore and the dunes 
that border it. At the foot of the 
height of Terranova, and between it 
and the sea, are certain circular struc¬ 
tures, frequented at all hours of the 
day by strings of mules and asses. 
These are wells of fresh water, tra¬ 
ditionally of very ancient construction, 
and they are among the curiosities of 
Terranova. There are 6 of them, at 
distances varying from 30 to 200 yards 
from the sea, all yielding potable water, 
in one or two instances slightly bitter, 
in none brackish, and in some per¬ 
fectly sweet. The town is chiefly de¬ 
pendent on these wells for its supply 
of fresh water. 

Terranova is the point from which 
the several routes from Girgenti to 
Syracuse along the southern coast di¬ 
verge. The traveller has his choice 
between them. First, there is that 
marked at the head of this chapter as 
the principal, because it includes a con¬ 
siderable portion of carriage-road, and 
is therefore the shortest and easiest, if 
not the most direct. This route also 
affords the best accommodation, and 
passes close to a spot of some interest, 
the valley of Ispica and its so-called 
“ rock-city.” The most direct route, 
however, is by Biscari, Chiaramonte, 
Palazzolo, and Floridia, and this is 
perhaps the most interesting from the 
ruins of the ancient Acrse, near Palaz¬ 
zolo. It is but a bridle-path all the 
way to Floridia, which is connected 
by a carriage-road witli Syracuse. 

p 2 



31G ROUTE 18. -THE BIVIERE-THE DIRILLO-YITTORIA. 


Another, but very circuitous route, 
which the guides, if uncontrolled, are 
very apt to take, as it lengthens the 
journey by a day, is from Terranova 
to Caltagirone, and thence along the 
mountain-ridges by Yizzini and Buc- 
cheri to Palazzolo. A fourth route, 
which also makes a detour, runs through 
Palazzolo and Sorti no to Syracuse, 
passing by the “ rock city ” of Pan¬ 
talica, a more singular and interesting 
site than Ispica. The fifth route follows 
the line of coast by Cape Passaro, 
meeting the high-road to Syracuse 
below Noto. By making a little di¬ 
version northwards from Scicli to Mo- 
dica, it will embrace the valley of 
Ispica. It passes a few spots of interest; 
but these hardly compensate for its cir¬ 
cuitous character and great deficiency 
of accommodation. It should be re¬ 
membered that the chief points of anti¬ 
quarian interest between Terranova and 
Syracuse are Camarina, Ispica, Palaz¬ 
zolo, and Pantalica. If the traveller 
wishes to visit them all on his way, he 
must go through Camarina to Modica 
and Ispica, and then through Ragusa 
to Palazzolo and Pantalica. But Pan¬ 
talica is out of the beaten track. The 
guides for the ordinary tour of Sicily 
do not know their way across these 
pathless downs and rocky mountains, 
and it would therefore be better for the 
traveller on his road from Terranova 
to content himself with Ispica and 
Palazzolo, and, if he can spare the time, 
to make a special excursion from Syra¬ 
cuse to Sortino and Pantalica, with a 
competent guide. 


The first 18 m. from Terranova, or 
as far as Vittoria, must be accomplished 
in the saddle, unless the traveller pre¬ 
fer a lettiga, which is always to be 
had at Terranova. From Yittoria the 
road is now carriageable to Noto and 
Syracuse. 

Descending the sandy hill of Terra¬ 
nova, you cross at its foot the river Gela, 
here spanned by a high modern bridge 
of a single arch. The road traverses the 
wide plain, in parts clothed with corn 
and cotton, but chiefly uncultivated, and 


fragrant until cistus and*other aromatic 
plants. After 4 m. it passes a lake 
of some size, called Lago or Biviere 
cli Terranova, abounding in fish and 
wild fowl. This is probably the Gelo- 
niurn Stagnum of antiquity; but it is 
not now, as described by Solinus, un¬ 
approachable on account of its fetid 
odours. The traveller will also seek in 
vain for the 2 fountains in the neigh¬ 
bourhood.of this pool, one of which was 
said to impart, the other to remove, 
barrenness. You next descend into a 
sandy plain, through which flows the 
Dirillo, the boundary between the pro¬ 
vinces of Caltanisetta and Noto. This 
is about 8 m. from Terranova. It is a 
small stream in dry weather, but sub¬ 
ject to floods, and not easily to be forded 
after heavy rains. It was supposed by 
Cluverius to be the Achates of anti¬ 
quity ; and he was led to that opinion 
by the clearness of its waters, an excel¬ 
lence for which the ancient river was 
renowned:— 

“ Et perlucentem splendenti gurgifce Achatem.’’ 

Sil. Ital. xiv. 22S. 

But Pliny places the Achates between 
Selinunte and Sciacca. This river did 
not derive its name from the hero of 
faithful renown, but from the agates 
found on its banks, which were of old 
in great request, though in Pliny’s 
time they had ceased to be counted of 
value. 

Should the ground be heavy with 
rain, it will bo advisable to take the 
beach as far as the Dirillo, and then 
turn inland to Vittoria. 

On leaving the Dirillo the country 
becomes more cheerful and the scenery 
attractive. The track crosses a plain 
studded with venerable cork-trees, of 
crabbed and distorted forms; and plan¬ 
tations of olives and carobs, with ex¬ 
tensive vineyards, are traversed on the 
way to 

62 m. Yittoria. Inns: There are 2, 
one larger than the other, but both 
condemned as “ unfit for any Christian.” 
The traveller is recommended to go to 
a draper’s shop, No. 160, where he will 
meet with cleanliness and extreme civi¬ 
lity. Few tourists spend a night at 





ROUTE 18. -COMISO.-RAGUSA. 


317 


Vittoria. As it lies half-way between 
Terranova and Modica, 18 m. from each, 
it is made a noontide resting-place 
only, and the guides carry on their 
charge to sleep at Ragusa or Modica. 
Vittoria is quite a modern town, of 
11,741 inhabitants, and possesses no in¬ 
terest for the traveller. It was built at 
the beginning of the 17th centy., by Al¬ 
fonso Enriquez, Count of Modica, who 
called it after his mother, the celebrated 
Vittoria Colonna. Hence a track runs 
northward to Biscari, on the Dirillo, 6 
m. distant. Another track in the oppo¬ 
site direction leads to Santa Croce (10 
m.); and this, though a considerable 
detour, is sometimes taken by the guides 
on the way to Modica, as being more 
level than the upper track by Comiso 
and Ragusa. Between Vittoria and 
Santa Croce you cross a deep stream, 
the Camarana, which tails into the sea 
below the site of the ancient Greek co¬ 
lony of Camerina. The first part of 
the way lies across barren heaths, fra¬ 
grant with aromatic plants; the latter 
part traverses tracts of corn-land. A 
third track, more to the W., leads from 
Vittoria to Camariiia on the sea-coast 
(9 m.), and as far as the fishing-village 
of Scoglitti (6 m.) is carriageable in 
fine weather. The country between 
Vittoria and this place is sandy, covered 
in parts with copse or brushwood, and 
in others yielding corn, wine, and oil, 
though traces of more extensive cultiva¬ 
tion in former years are apparent. 

About a mile from Vittoria, on the 
road to Ragusa, you cross the Camarina, 
or Camarana, as it is commonly called, 
which, under its ancient name of Hip- 
pur is, had the honour of being sung by 
Pindar (Olymp. v.). It was famed of old 
for its abundance of fish. Though but 
of small size, it has an unfailing How of 
water, belying the description given by 
Silius Italicus (xiv. 229), “pauperis 
alvei Hipparis.” Before reaching 
Comiso, a road branches to the 1. to 
Chiaramonte. 

G9 m. Comiso, a town of Saracenic 
name and origin, with about 13,000 
inhabitants and a tolerable locanda. 
Here in the market-place rises a spring 
of clear water, so abundant that, as old 


Fazello says, at the distance of a stone’s 
throw it is able to work mills. It falls 
into the Camarina, and is the source of 
the perennial How of that stream. Fa- 
zcllo regards it as the Fountain of 
Diana, celebrated of old for its sensi¬ 
tiveness in refusing to mix with wine 
when poured out by unchaste hands :— 

“ I Hanoi fons cst; Camarina gignitur und;1, 

Quern si quis manibus non castis liauserit, 
unquam 

Loitifico tristis non miscet pocula Bacclio.’’ 

Friscian. 

The road to Ragusa crosses a wild, 
mountainous, and rocky country, and is 
rugged and wretched in the extreme. 
The approach to Ragusa is striking, 
and the town itself, with its orange- 
coloured roofs piled one over the other, 
and its many arcades on the verge of 
the cactus-hung precipice, is highly 
picturesque. 

77 m. Ragusa. Inns: “ Locanda di 
Buon Consiglio,” and another, both 
very indifferent; that opposite the 
church of S. Giovanni is the better. 
This is a large town, of some 22,009 
souls, covering a narrow and steep ridge 
between two ravines—a situation which 
is recognised by the antiquary as one 
likely to have been chosen by the early 
people of Italy for a city. The tombs 
hollowed in the cliffs below the walls 
show that the site was not overlooked 
in ancient times. Midway in the ridge 
is a depression, in which stand the pi¬ 
azza and the. market. The streets are 
well paved, the houses neat and clean, 
with heavy balconies supported on 
corbels massive and grotesque. Ra¬ 
gusa, having been almost destroyed by 
the earthquake of 1G93, retains few 
mediaeval remains. In the lower 
town is the domed Chiesa Matrice, a 
modern church of no interest; near it 
is another church of Sicilian Gothic. 
In front of Santa Maria delle Scale, in 
the upper town, is a quaint old pulpit 
in the wall, worthy of notice. 

The Capuchin Convent has no less 
than 3 pictures by Pietro Novelli. Tra¬ 
dition states that the maestro on the 
occasion of some misdeed took sanc¬ 
tuary in this convent, and in return for 
the protection afforded him painted 



318 


ROUTE 18 . —RAGUSA.—MODICA. 


these pictures for the monks. The 
principal altarpiece is the Assumption 
of the Virgin, with the Apostles around 
her tomb. Over the altar to the rt. is 
St. Peter appearing to St. Agatha when 
in prison; and over that to the 1. the 
Martyrdom of St. Agnes. “ Admir¬ 
able is the contrast between her entire 
resignation to the Divine will and the 
ferocity of the executioner, and his 
manifest eagerness to perform his 
duty.”— Gallo. The canon D. Silves- 
tro Picciotto has a small picture of the 
punishment of Prometheus, attributed 
to Novelli. 

In the church of St. George, the 
patron-saint of Kagusa, some traces of 
frescoes by the same hand were shown 
some years since. Here repose the 
remains of Count Bernardo Cabrera, 
the bold and lawless Spaniard, whose 
ambition kept all Sicily in a ferment 
in the early part of the 15th century. 
He died in 1423. 

Kagusa has already been said to oc¬ 
cupy an ancient site. In various places, 
especially near the Capuchin Convent, 
are fragments of early walls. The 
cliffs beneath and around the town in 
all directions are hollowed into tombs 
—some, large chambers with vaulted 
roofs; others small, with entrances like 
the mouth of a furnace. “ About a 
mile to the W. of the town these se¬ 
pulchres are numerous. Hard by is a 
cemetery in the form of a labyrinth; 
and more to the N. is another, 54 feet 
deep, containing many tombs, some of 
which have vaults supported by co¬ 
lumns. Similar monuments and other 
remains of antiquity are found scat¬ 
tered around the town for a circuit of 
6 m. The remains of a great fortress 
are extant, which, from its position, 
and the solidity of its construction, 
must have been difficult to capture. 
Its subterranean chambers are vaulted.” 
•— Power. What city of antiquity oc¬ 
cupied this site is still a matter of con¬ 
jecture. Cluverius, on the authority of 
the Itineraries, takes it to have been 
Ilybla Minor, or Her sea, one of the 3 
Hyblae about which least is known, 
which lay on the road from Acrco 
(Palazzolo) to Agrigentum, and but 


18 m. from the former city. The con¬ 
jecture is probably correct, though Ka¬ 
gusa does not lie on the direct route 
from Palazzolo to Girgenti. It was 
taken in 848 by the Saracens, who 
destroyed the walls. 

At Kagusa the traveller may procure 
a vehicle for Syracuse. The corner a 
runs 3 times a week to that city and 
Catania, passing through Modica and 
Noto. The days are Tuesdays, Thurs¬ 
days, and Saturdays; the fares being 
at the rate of 5 bajocchi the mile are 
easily calculated. 

The ravine to the E. of the town, 
through which flows the Fiume di Pa- 
gusa, alias Fiume Maidi, supposed to 
be the Flumen Hirminium of antiquity, 
is very deep with rocky banks, but 
luxuriant walnut and chesnut-groves 
darken the bottom, and hanging woods 
of olives and almonds mingled with 
prickly pear clothe the slopes. The eye 
travels up between walls of verdure 
to the town of Giarratana crowning a 
distant height at the head of the 
ravine, the height in which the river 
takes its rise. A road, practicable for 
vehicles for part of the way, follows 
the right bank of this ravine down to 
the sea, to Torre Mazzarelli, the cari- 
catore, or port, of Kagusa, some 16 m. 
distant. 

The road to Modica is also car¬ 
riageable, and for half the way it fol¬ 
lows the same ravine, on the 1. bank 
of the river which here flows amid 
cornfields, carob and orange-groves. 
At a turn of the road the sea opens to 
the view, and Modica appears before 
you, lying on both slopes of a deep 
hollow, the opposite brows of which 
are crested by the rival convents of the 
Gesuiti and Osservanti. You descend 
from the arid stony table-land into 
the said hollow which is verdant with 
carob-trees and prickly pears, and follow r 
the bank of a stream into the town. 

84 m. Modica — Inns: there are 5 
to choose from,—“Loeanda Nuova,” of 
tolerable size, but comfortless; “Lo- 
canda di Vincenzo Luminaria“L. 
d’ Ignazio Azarrelli“ L. di S. Fran¬ 
cesco d’Assisi,” all alike small and 
filthy. The best is that of “ Mastro 




ROUTE 18. -MODICA TO SPACCAFORNO. 


819 


Giorgio,” beneath Gli Archi, near the 
Palace of the Sotto-Prefetto. 

Modica is the chief city of one of 
the districts into "winch the province 
of Noto is divided, and contains a 
pop. of 30,875. It is a straggling- 
irregular town, strangely situated in 
the bottom of a ravine on the banks of 
the Fiume Magro, with its houses con¬ 
tending witli the rocks for a footing 
on the steep slopes on either hand. 
One wide level street runs through the 
hollow by the side of the stream. A 
cactus-hung crag, crowned with a 
mediaeval fortress, impends over the 
town. The buildings are in character 
with the situation, many of the houses 
being picturesque, with massive bal¬ 
conies on cantalivers of angels or 
monsters; and the churches are not 
without architectural pretensions. 

The Chiesa Matrice, or San Pietro , 
is modern, in an ornate Italian style, 
and is approached by a long flight of 
steps flanked by statues of the 12 
Apostles. 

The church of Spirito Santo, on the 
banks of the stream, had a handsome 
doorway of pointed architecture, but 
it has recently been destroyed. 

The Carmine, or church of the Car¬ 
melites, has a door of similar cha¬ 
racter, bearing date 1150, which may 
mark the foundation of the church, 
or of the marigold window in the 
tirade, but the door itself has more 
modern features. 

Santa Maria di Betlem, the greater 
part of which was destroyed by the 
earthquake of 1693, still retains a beau¬ 
tiful chapel of mediaeval architecture. 

Santa Maria di Gesu, belonging to 
the Paclri Osservauti, is of the same 
period, and its cloister of round arches 
is worthy of attention. 

Modica is supposed to be the re¬ 
presentative of the ancient Mot yea, or 
Motycha, of which we know little be¬ 
yond the fact of its existence. Nume¬ 
rous sepulchral caves in the neigh¬ 
bourhood show habitation in early 
times, but the ancient town could not 
have occupied the same site; it must 
have stood on the summit of one of 
the impending cliffs. 

The Castle on these heights is pro¬ 


bably of high antiquity, for Byzantine 
forts existed in this position prior to 
the capture of Modica by the Saracens 
in 845. 

The district of which Modica is the 
capital is undulating and rocky, com¬ 
posed chiefly of a vast table-land in¬ 
tersected by ravines, and having a 
dry calcareous soil covered with large 
stones, which seem to forbid all culti¬ 
vation, and give a character of arid 
desolation to the landscape. Yet such 
are the industry and enterprise of its 
inhabitants, fostered, it is said, by 
peculiar privileges granted them by 
King Roger, that they conquer these 
natural disadvantages, and render their 
soil abundantly productive, making 
the very rocks yield corn, wine, and 
oil. There is an appearance of general 
comfort and even affluence in the 
towns of this corner of Sicily, which 
present a pleasant contrast to the 
poverty and squalour so common in 
other parts of the island. 

The road from Modica to Spacca- 
forno ascends through a well-wooded 
ravine flanked with bare cliffs, to the 
table-land, here covered with corn,"and 
divided into fields by stone walls. 
From the top of the ascent you have a 
singular view of Modica at the bottom 
of the ravine, framed in by rocky 
heights, sprinkled with carob-treee. 
At 1| m. a road branches to the rt. to 
Scicli, 5 m. from Modica to the S.S.W.; 
it is practicable for vehicles. A little 
beyond, a bridle-path opens to the 1. 
leading to Ispica, the valley of caves, 
so often described as a “rock-city” 
of the early people of Sicily. The road 
to Spaccaforno continues over the 
rugged, stony table-land, which is 
forced to yield a scanty produce of 
corn and wine; and commands the 
whole way a fine view of the sea and 
the low grounds of the coast, in which 
Cape Passaro with the town of Pa- 
cliino od it, is the most striking 
feature. In clear weather Malta, it is 
said, may be descried on the horizon. 
At 5 or 6 m. from Modica a road 
branches to rt. to Pozzallo on the 
coast, 12 m. You soon descend through 
an undulating and better cultivated 



320 


ROUTE 18. -SPACCAFORNO.-VALLEY OF ISFICA. 


country, with olives and carobs grow¬ 
ing over corn, to Spaccaforno. 

96 m. Spaccaforno—Inns : “ Albergo 
del S. Sacramento ”, and “ A. dell’ 
Immacolata.” Standing on a bill and 
enclosed by walls, this town is rather 
imposing at a distance, but in spite of 
its numerous churches and convents, 
and 844.9 inhabitants, its interior is 
far from prepossessing, for its houses 
are mean and of a single story, and 
its cliurcln s ugly. Yet it has some 
trade, chiefly with Malta, to which it 
exports grain, flax, soda, and cattle. 

Spaccaforno evidently occupies an 
ancient site, as is proved on descend¬ 
ing into the corn and carob-clad valley 
beneath it, on the high road to Roso- 
lini. The low cactus-liung clifts on 
which it stands are pierced with 
tombs, and here and there with a tall 
sewer, a sure indication of ancient 
habitation. The road runs beneath 
these cliffs, with a cultivated tract on 
the other hand, to Rosolini. 

From Spaccaforno a path runs to 
the S.W. to Pozzallo, the caricatore or 
port of Modica, G m. distant; and 
another runs to the S. by the banks of 
the Busaidone, and then along the 
coast to Pachino, 12 in. 


Valley of Ispica. 

The tourist who cares less for com¬ 
fort than for antiquities and the pic¬ 
turesque, instead of keeping the high 
road from Modica to Spaccaforno, 
should leave it at the turn 1J m. from 
the former city, and take the direct 
path to the latter through the rocky 
glen of Ispica. This lies about 3g m. 
from the road, and you descend into it 
at a lonely house called Casa dell' 

FjCO. 

The Cava (VIspica is a very narrow, 
secluded glen, shut in by steep cliffs 
of yellow sandstone, which are hung 
with cactus and other foliage, while 
through the rock-strewn hollow flows 
a rivulet, the Busaidone, watering 
strips of corn and beans, and shaded 
by carobs and noble walnut and 
cliesnut-trees. The cliffs on either 


hand are hollowed into caves and 
niches of various forms, which you are 
told by the custode of the glen, Ignazio 
Scappellata, who lives in a grotto 
at the entrance, were the habitations 
of the earliest people of Sicily, who, 
before they had discovered the art of 
building houses, hollowed out caves 
in the rock, like the Edomites of 
old. He will point out houses in 
the cliff, 3, 6, or 8 stories high, com¬ 
munication between which must have 
been maintained by ladders let down 
from above through openings, in the 
floors; he will show you more com¬ 
modious abodes, with a suite of 8 or 
10 chambers on a single flat; he will 
point out the “ Chiesci,” or church, 
with its aisles and pews; the “ Spe- 
zieria,” where the apothecary of that 
Troglodyte town prepared and dis¬ 
pensed his medicines ; the “ Larderia," 
or cheesemonger’s shop; the “ Al- 
taria,” or temple ; the “ Spelonca 
Grossa," or great cavern ; the “ Grotta 
del Corvof or rookery; the “ Grotta 
del Vent of or cave of the wind, and 
many others ; each with its appro¬ 
priate designation; and above all, the 
“ Castello,” which protected this 
strange rock-city at its eastern en¬ 
trance. 

He is not without good authority 
for his statements. He might cite 
writer after writer on Sicily, as point¬ 
ing out these caves to be the dwellings 
that preceded architecture, and this 
honeycombed glen to be a city of the 
Troglodytes. “ These crypke appear 
to have been the earliest effort of a 
primitive and pastoral people towards 
a town ; in after ages they perhaps 
served as a retreat in time of danger, 
and as a place of security, on any 
extraordinary alarm, for women, chil¬ 
dren, and valuables. In this light 
I was particularly struck with the 
resemblance these rude habitations 
bore to the caves I had seen in 
Owliyhee for similar uses. The 
Troglodyte villages of Northern 
Africa are also precisely the same.” 
— Admiral Smyth. Should you ven¬ 
ture to call in question this opinion, 
and having seen many ancient sites in 
Italy, Greece, or Asia Minor, should 




ROUTE 18. -ISPICA-ROSOLINI. 


321 


you arrive at the conclusion that 
these grottoes, one and all, were ori¬ 
ginally sepulchres, though there are 
undoubted traces of subsequent habita¬ 
tion, and that here was the necropolis 
of some forgotten city, you will excite 
the contempt of the custode for your 
ignorance and presumption. Yet you 
can distinguish among these caves 
many which are undoubtedly of sepul¬ 
chral character, bearing Greek funereal 
inscriptions, though of Christian times; 
many in every respect like the tombs 
in the catacombs of Rome, Naples, or 
Syracuse, while most betray features, 
often almost obliterated by subsequent 
misapplication, as the hovels of the 
peasantry, or as sheds for their cattle, 
which stamp them as originally con¬ 
structed for the purposes of sepulture 
by the Greeks or other early Pagan 
inhabitants of Sicily. So greatly have 
these tombs suffered from their con¬ 
version to such purposes, that they 
now possess little interest for the anti¬ 
quary. He who has seen the sepul¬ 
chral glens of Etruria — Norchia, 
Sovana, Oastel d’Asso, for example— 
may pass Ispica by without notice. 
He who has visited the Greek ceme¬ 
teries at Pantalica and Palazzolo, in 
this same district of Sicily, will lose 
little by neglecting Ispica. The great 
charm of this glen lies in its highly 
picturesque character—in the choice 
studies of rock, wood, and water it 
affords for the portfolio. 

The site of the town to which this 
cemetery belonged and its name are 
both unknown. The former might be 
easily determined by a little research ; 
the latter, in default of local monu¬ 
ments, must remain a matter of specu¬ 
lation. 

The tombs continue in the cliffs 
for about two miles, but terminate-at 
the “ Castello.” Here a ravine opens 
towards Spaccaforno, about 6 m. dis¬ 
tant, and the path is rugged in the 
extreme. As there is nothing to see 
at that town, the traveller had better 
make for Rosolini, which is about the 
same distance, and 4 in. further on 
the high road to Syracuse. The track 
to it crosses the stony plain, whose 
monotony is relieved by the snowy 


crest of Etna rising in the N., by the 
white buildings of Noto hanging on a 
slope in the N.E., and by a rich tract 
of fertile country to the S., green with 
corn and flax, studded with olives and 
carobs, and bordered by a broad belt 
of sandy beach ; while a level green 
tract stretches out to the S.E., and 
terminates in Cape Passaro and the 
celebrated Port of Ulysses. From this 
plain you descend abruptly to Rosolini, 
exchanging the region of stones and 
barrenness for one of exuberant fer¬ 
tility. 

100 m. Rosolini .—This is a small 
town founded in the 16th century, 
having 5000 inhabitants, one small 
inn, and a neat church of Italian archi¬ 
tecture. It is picturesquely situated 
on low, grey cliffs, overhanging a 
richly-cultivated valley, where corn, 
flax, oil, fruit, and vegetables of many 
descriptions are produced in abund¬ 
ance. This country extends to the 
Stafennci , a small stream 2 m. from 
Rosolini. A heath overrun with 
palmetto succeeds, and then a rich 
valley of olives, corn, and fruit, through 
which winds the Tellaro or Abisso, a 
deep and rapid stream spanned by a 
bridge. This is the Hdorus of anti¬ 
quity, the “ clamosus Helorus ” of 
Silius Italicus ; and the vale through 
which it flows is the “ Heloria Tempe ” 
of Ovid, whose fertility is also sung by 
Virgil— 

“ Exsupero praspingue solum stagnantis Relorl 

The epithet applied to the river 
appears strange to one who views the 
torrent in summer, but is perfectly 
applicable in winter, when it over¬ 
flows its banks, and, like the Nile, 
imparts that exuberant fertility which 
attracted the notice of the writer of 
the 4 Georgies.’ 

Beyond the Tellaro are bare undu¬ 
lating downs, covered with palmetto 
and lentiscus; the hollows carpeted 
with olives, almonds, corn, and vines. 
The country becomes richer as you 
approach Noto. At the distance of 
14 m. that city comes into view, seated 
on a wooded height, palatial and 
imposing. At the foot of the ascent 
you cross the Falcomm, or Flume di 




322 


EOUTE 18. -NOTO. 


Noto, flowing through a deep rocky 
bed. This is the Asinarus of antiquity, 
for ever memorable as the scene of 
the melancholy termination of the 
disastrous expedition of the Athenians 
against Syracuse. The precise site of 
the last and fatal defeat of the Athe¬ 
nians is not ascertained. It was pro¬ 
bably lower down the stream, between 
Noto and the sea. 

109 m. Noto. — Inns: “ Albergo dell’ 
Aquila d'Oro,” called also “cli Can- 
nigarrao,” in the Piazza di S. Domenico, 
more comfortable than most country 
inns in Sicily, and the charges con¬ 
sequently higher. “ Locanda de’ 
Gesuiti,” kept by a chemist, is recom¬ 
mended as clean.’ 

Though containing only 12,529 
inhabitants, Noto is the capital of 
the province which bears its name, 
and comprises 1120 sq. miles, with a 
population of 240,000. It is proudly 
situated on a height 3 or 4 m. from 
the sea, in the midst of a country 
richly wooded, and abounding in corn, 
wine, and oil. Though inferior in 
size and population to many towns in 
Sicily, it is surpassed only by Palermo, 
Messina, and Catania in the imposing 
character of its buildings, and in its 
general appearance of wealth and 
civilisation. It is, in truth, one of the 
neatest and best built towns of Sicily, 
with regular streets, not paved but 
macadamised, palaces of much preten¬ 
sion, and handsome churches and 
convents in considerable numbers. 
There is an aristocratic air about it 
which it owes to the residence here 
of the chief nobility of the province, 
one of whom, the Prince of Villa 
Dorata, was distinguished in former 
years for his hospitality to English 
travellers. Whether Noto still retains 
the character of “ Ingegnosa,” which 
she received as her distinctive title 
some 6 centuries since, the traveller 
lias little opportunity of learning. 
Noto is quite of modern construc¬ 
tion. The original town stood 0 or 
7 m. further inland in the moun¬ 
tains to the N.W.; but on its entire 
destruction by the terrible earthquake 
of 1693, the citizens removed to this 


site, which, though conveniently 
situated, is said to be unhealthy, its 
natural insalubrity being increased by 
the steeping of hemp to a great extent 
in the neighbourhood. 

In the Via Cassaro, the principal 
street, is a square called Piano della 
Matrice, on the N. side of which, ap¬ 
proached by 3 long flights of steps, 
rises the Chiesa Matrice , or San Cor - 
raclo, a handsome domed church of 
yellow stone, Corinthian below and 
Composite above. By its side stands 
the Palazzo of the Marchese S. Alfdno, 
a neat edifice of Italian architecture. 
On the E. of this square is the churcli 
of San Salvatore, of two orders in 
the same style; and on the S. side 
stands the Casa Comunale, or Town 
Hall, an Ionic pile of a single story, 
with an inscription over the doorway, 
recording the history of the town. It 
contains a library, and a gallery of 
portraits of illustrious citizens. Near 
this square is the chinch of Sta. Chiara, 
of elliptical plan, with a dome of tire 
same form. Here is a picture of St. 
Benedict and his sister Sta. Scolastica, 
by Salvatore Loforte, greatly lauded by 
the Notinesi. In the Cassaro stands 
the Collegio de" Gesuiti, of Italian archi¬ 
tecture, with a concave fagade of 3 
orders, more pretentious than good. 
The churches of San Benedetto and of 
the Crocifisso are in better style. 

In the Piazza di San Domenico is 
a handsome fountain with a marble 
statue of Hercules drinking from a 
wine-skin, which he holds in southern 
style at arm’s-length above his head. 
This fountain bears date 1758. 

There were several collections of anti¬ 
quities in Noto, but most have been 
dispersed of late years. That of the 
Barone Astuti has recently been trans¬ 
ferred to the Universita of Palermo. 
Tire Cavaliere Castelluccio has still a 
collection. 

The ancient name of Noto was Nee- 
turn, and the original city stood some 
miles inland, on the banks of the Asi¬ 
narus, crowning a lofty rock, about 
1^ m. in circumference, and surrounded 
by precipices, save where it was united 
to the neighbouring mountains by a 
narrow isthmus. Of the wrecks of 1693 



323 


EOUTE 18. —LA PIZZUTA-THE ASINARUS. 


little now remains but a confused heap 
of ruins. Neetum was probably a Si- 
culan town, but we have no record of 
it before the times of the Eomans, and 
all we know of it is that it was left 
subject to Hiero of Syracuse when he 
made peace with that people. From 
the great strength of its position, Noto 
was slow to change hands. It was not 
captured by the Saracens till the year 
864, or 37 years after their invasion of 
Sicily. And it was the last city of 
Saracenic Sicily that submitted to 
Count Roger, not surrendering till the 
year 1090, or 18 years after his con¬ 
quest of Palermo, and 28 after his first 
landing at Messina. 


La Pizzuta. 

Leaving. Noto by the Porta Reale, 
you cross the Flora, or public pro¬ 
menade, and descend the wooded 
slopes to the plain. At a mile from 
the gate are two roads, one leading 
eastward to the Marina or Gala, the 
port or cciriccitore of Noto, the other 
running southward to Paclimo, 16 m. 
distant. Both are carriageable. At 
2 m. from the mouth of the Falconara, 
and about 4 m. from Noto, stands, on 
a height overrun with lentiscus and 
pahnetto, an ancient monument, which 
tradition marks as having been erected 
by the Syracusans to record their crown¬ 
ing victory over the Athenians in the 
fords of the Asinarus. To reach it you 
take the road from Noto to Pachino, 
and after traversing an undulating 
country clothed -with luxuriant cultiva¬ 
tion, at 3 m. from the former town, 
you take a path which opens to the 1, 
just by a farmhouse, and it leads 
you through dwarf palms, carob and 
almond-trees, to the monument, or, as 
it is called, La Pizzuta. It is a column 
of tapering form, composed of large 
blocks neatly joined without cement, 
on a square basement of 4 steps, which 
rests on a low square plinth hewn from 
the rock. The column, though but a 
fragment, is still 33 ft. high, but has 
evidently been of greater altitude. It 
is clearly of Greek, not of Roman con¬ 
struction ; but there is no authority, 


beyond local tradition, for regarding it 
as one of the trophies which we are 
told the Syracusans raised over the 
vanquished Athenians. The traveller 
who entertains no doubt on this point 
will regard the monument with melan¬ 
choly interest for its connexion with 
the fatal termination of the disastrous 
invasion of Sicily by the Athenians 
413 b.c. 

It was on the 8th day of their flight 
from Syracuse that the Athenians ap¬ 
proached the Asinarus. They hurried 
forward to the river, both to escape the 
Syracusan horsemen, who were press¬ 
ing them from behind, and also to 
refresh themselves, for they were thirsty 
and weary with their march. So they 
rushed into the stream in a disorderly 
crowd, every man striving to be the 
first to cross; but in their eagerness 
they threw each other down, and 
trampled each other under foot, so that 
many were pierced by the weapons in 
the confusion, or, being entangled toge¬ 
ther, were carried away by the torrent. 
Meanwhile the Syracusans from the 
further bank, which was steep, assailed 
them with missiles as they were drink¬ 
ing greedily, or struggling with one 
another in the bed of the river. The 
Spartans also came down upon them, 
and slew many in the stream. Seeing 
that the dead lay heaped one on the 
other, and that the army was utterly 
defeated, Nicias surrendered himself to 
Gylippus, and besought him, whatever 
he might do with himself, to stay the 
slaughter of his men. The Spartan 
thereon commanded quarter to be given, 
but 18,000 already lay dead in the 
stream and on its banks. 

In honour of this victory an annual 
festival called Asinaria was instituted 
at Syracuse, which was employed in 
sacrificing to the gods. 

From the high ground of La Pizzuta, 
you look over a wide tract of country 
to the S., low and level, but rich in 
corn and wood. The height immedi¬ 
ately in the foreground is that once 
crowned by the old Greek colony of 
Helorus; beyond it, the coast breaks 
into a deep bay with the island of 
Vindicari within it; and trends away 
to the low flat headland of Pachynus in 



324 


ROUTE 18. —AYOLA.-THE CACYPARIS. 


the horizon, with Fort Passaro on a 
rock at its point; Pachino itself being 
conspicuous with its square tower on an 
eminence rising from the plain. 


The road from Noto to Syracuse fol¬ 
lows the line of coast, crossing a country 
undulating and richly-cultivated, lying 
between the sea and the bare hills 
which rise inland. About a mile liefore 
reaching Avola, it crosses a narrow but 
deep stream, flowing between cliffs of 
white calcareous rock, and now called 
the Fiume CavaUata ; but known of 
old as the Erinseus. It was on its banks 
that Nicias, the Athenian general, en¬ 
camped for two nights before his final 
overthrow. Here he heard of the de¬ 
feat and surrender of his colleague 
Demosthenes, with his army of 6000 
men. 

113 m. Avola. Inns .—“ Albergo 
di Sicilia,” in the Piazza, very poor. 
The “ Albergo de’ Yiaggiatori,” on the 
1. as you leave for Syracuse, looks 
better. This is a modern town of 
10,754 inhabitants, prettily situated on 
a wooded eminence. A long street of 
low houses, only one story high, tra¬ 
verses the town; yet though without 
imposing edifices, Avola is regular, 
clean, and respectable in appearance, 
with a piazza unusually large, and 
several churches of architectural pre¬ 
tensions. It produces a considerable 
quantity of wine, oil, honey, fruit, and 
cheese; and boasts of the only plan¬ 
tation of sugar-canes now existing in 
Sicily. The juice is not converted into 
sugar, but into rum, which sells at 
Avola at 1J dollar the bottle. The 
surrounding country also abounds in 
game, and pastures a number of fine 
cattle which supply the market at 
* Malta. Avola has a marina or ship¬ 
ping-port on the beach, with a tunny- 
fishery. 

Between Avola and Syracuse the 
country is open and rocky. At 1 m. 
beyond the town you cross a rivulet 
called the Fiume- d'Avola, which by 
some has been taken for the Erinseus, 
but the Cavallata has better claims to 


that honour. The road, traversing a 
country rich with corn and wine, olive 
and orange-groves, continues to follow 
the coast, beneath a range of rugged 
table-heights, called Monti d’Oro, be¬ 
tween which and the next range to 
the N., or the Monti di Cannigatini, 
opens a deep gorge. From this flows 
out the Flume di Cassibili, which you 
ford near its mouth, at 5 m. from 
Avola, where its banks are adorned 
with clumps of fine trees. This is the 
ancient Cacyparis, whose upward 
course the Athenians in then - retreat 
from Syracuse attempted to pursue, 
hoping to receive support from the 
Sicuii of the interior, but they found 
the passage barred with a wall and 
with piles, which compelled them to 
relinquish the attempt. The coast 
here is low, with sandy coves; but it 
abounds in remains of baths* sepulchres, 
and other ancient structures. The road 
now traverses open downs, partially 
cultivated ; and the little rocky bay of 
Lognina soon comes in sight, about a 
mile to the right. A little beyond, 
Syracuse itself opens to the. view, peer¬ 
ing above the wooded plain on which it 
appears to stand ; the intervening bay 
not being visible. To the rt. of it rises 
the long low height of Plemmyrium, 
sinking to the sea in Capo Mele ; to the 
1. of it the eye traces the long-drawn 
ridge of Acradina and Epipoke, once 
crowned with the temples and towers 
of the ancient city, now a bare down, 
culminating in the Belvedere. Behind 
are the honeyed heights of Hybla, and 
at their feet Floridia gleams out from 
the olive-clad plain ; while high above 
all soars Etna with his diadem of snow. 

At 8 m. beyond Avola is the hamlet 
of Lungarino, with a little inn, the 
“ Fondachello di S. Michaeluceio,” 
where muleteers are wont to halt. A 
few miles further, and Syracuse comes 
fully into view, its white buildings and 
yellow fortifications reflected in the 
deep blue bay. You soon reach the 
top of the ridge which overhangs the 
valley of tire Anapus; and here close 
on your 1. are the ruins of the temple 
of Jupiter Olympius. You descend 
and cross the corn-clad hollow, and 
the celebrated stream, which is but a 






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325 


ROUTE 18 . —SYRACUSE—INNS—WINES. 


rivulet, and follow the shores of the 
bay towards the cliffs of the ancient 
city. Here, where the road turns 
eastward to Syracuse, you cross a brook 
flowing from the heights through the 
old Greek theatre, and presently reach 
the grassy promenade outside the gates. 

131 m. Syracuse. 


Syracuse. 

Hotels. —Many ; but by far the best 
is the “ Locanda del Sole,” kept by 
Antonio Torres, who pays particular 
attention to the cuisine, providing his 
guests with dishes in great variety, of 
excellent quality, and cooked to per¬ 
fection. Those who like to trace 
effects to their causes should visit the 
cucina, which will bear inspection, 
unlike most in Sicily, where ignorance 
is bliss to the hungry traveller. The 
apartments are large and cheerful, 
looking over the port, the heights of 
the ancient city, the plain of the 
Anapus, and the mountains of Hybla. 
Though of unpretending appearance, 
the Sole is one of the most comfortable 
hotels in Sicily, and well maintains the 
reputation it has enjoyed for more 
than 40 years. No landlord can be 
more obliging or attentive than Signor 
Torres and his coadjutor Don Anto- 
nino Mammo, and liis dinners are not 
to be excelled elsewhere in the island. 
His charges, considering the comfort, 
are moderate. Bedrooms from 4 to 8 
tan each ; sitting-rooms, according to 
size and prospect; dinner, at any 
hour, 8 tan; breakfast, 4 tan. Of 
the other hotels of Syracuse, the 
“ Locanda d'ltalia,” in the Via Amal- 
fitania, is the newest and best; the 
“ Hotel de Scicli, ’ tolerable ; “ La 
Bella Parigi;” “La Giojaand 
“ L’Aquila d’ Orof'are better adapted 
for native travellers than for foreign 
tourists. The “ Vittoria,” or Casa 
Musutneci, is rather a trattoria than 
a locanda. A ttached to the “ Sole ” 
is also a trattoria, where those not 
residing in the hotel may avail them¬ 
selves of the excellent cuisine. 

Game is plentiful at Syracuse in 


I the winter and spring, when the 
marshes of the Anapus and the Lake 
of Lentini swarm with wild-fowl in 
great variety. But foremost among 
tiie “ dainties of Syracuse ” are the 
fish, which are most abundant in 
winter, especially after rough weather, 
when they are to be caught in multi¬ 
tudes on the coast. Ask for the 
rivetto, a large fish of exquisite deli¬ 
cacy ; for the serra, the orata , or the 
spinola, in no way inferior. Omit 
not an opportunity of trying the sala- 
mone; the dentici, so called from its 
formidable teeth ; the dotto, or mona- 
cello, from its large prominent eyes; 
the pettine, known by the mark of a 
comb; the linguata, or sole ; the peace 
tuna, of the same tribe ; th o palamito, 
like salmon; the triglia, or red 
mullet; the merluzzo, or whiting ; and 
the sgombero, or mackerel. Signor 
Tor res will serve up all these “ Syra¬ 
cusan® dapes,” and many other va¬ 
rieties, in the manner best exhibiting 
their respective excellences. Honej r , 
fresh from Hybla and fragrant with 
mountain thyme, is a luxury nowhere 
to be had in such perfection as at 
Syracuse. The fruits are admirable, 
though few tourists visit the city in 
the season to enjoy them; but the 
vegetables are excellent all the year 
round, especially the broccoli, which 
grows to a prodigious size. 

The wines of Syracuse have main¬ 
tained their ancient reputation. There 
are many sorts, but most of them 
are sweet, both red and white. The 
red wines are the “ Calabrese,” sup¬ 
posed to be the representative of 
the Vinum Pollianum of antiquity; 
the “ Occhio di Bove,” made from 
grapes as large as “bulls’ eyes ;” and 
the “ Amarena,” with a cherry flavour. 
Of tiro white wines, the “ Albanello,” 
the “ Nacarella,” the “ Moscato,” the 
“ Capriata,” and the “ Pista-motta,” 
are highly esteemed by Sicilians. The 
wine best adapted, however, to the 
English taste is the “ Isola,” grown on 
the ancient Plemmyrium, which is 
both red and white, but always dry. 
Of these, the “Isola Bianca” is pre¬ 
ferable; it is rich, nutty, fragrant, 
and full-bodied, but guiltless of 






326 


ROUTE 18. -MODERN SYRACUSE. 


brandy. It sells at 5 tan or 20(7. the 
bottle. 

Syracuse, once “ the largest of Greek 
cities,” 14 miles in circumference, 
of wider dominion than Athens or 
Sparta, the mistress of Sicily, whose 
citizens were reckoned by hundreds of 
thousands, whose wealth and luxury 
were unbounded, and which was 
adorned with the utmost magnificence 
and the choicest treasures of archi¬ 
tecture, sculpture, and painting—Sy¬ 
racuse, the rival of Athens, the an¬ 
tagonist of Carthage and of Rome—is 
now a provincial town of some 19,400 
inliab., and has shrunk to a mere 
fraction of its ancient dimensions. 
The modem town is confined to the 
limits of the original Greek colony, 
occupying what was once the island, 
but is now the peninsula, of Ortygia, 
“ just as if London were reduced to 
the Tower and Tower-hill, or Paris 
to the island in the middle of the 
Seine.” This rocky island, which is 
about 2 miles in circumference, stood 
at the mouth of the bay, but almost 
adjoining its northern shore, and when 
united to it by art, it divided the bay 
into a larger and a lesser port. It 
derived its name, say some, from the 
resemblanco it was supposed to bear 
in its plan to the form of a quail— 
oprv£, while others refer it to the 
well-known epithet of Diana, who w r as 
worshipped there. It lies almost N. 
and S., and stretches half-way across 
the mouth of the bay, towards the 
height of Plemmyrium, from which it 
is separated by an interval of about 
two-thirds of a mile. Being the part 
of ancient Syracuse first inhabited, 
it received the name of the Acropolis, 
—quite a misnomer in this case, as 
the island was the lowest ground in 
the whole city. 

The appearance of modern Syra¬ 
cuse is in accordance with her fallen 
fortunes. The streets are narrow and 
confined, and, with few exceptions, 
are dirty. The Via Amalfitania, which 
traverses the city from E. to W., is 
well paved and always clean. The 
houses here are neat and even hand¬ 
some, with their heavy balconies rest¬ 


ing on carved cantalivers. There are 

o 

a few interesting palaces of the middle 
ages; and some of modern times, espe¬ 
cially in the neighbourhood of the 
cathedral, are large and imposing. 
The public buildings are numerous. 
There are 8 parish churches, 10 
convents for monks, and 7 for nuns, a 
seminary for priests, and a college for 
laymen ; but, save one or two churches, 
none of the modern edifices have 
attractions for the traveller. But Syra¬ 
cuse would still be a respectable city 
(for Sicily), were it possible to regard 
it otherwise than as a pitiful wreck of 
one of the most celebrated, populous, 
and mighty cities of the ancient 
world. 

The natives of Syracuse are cour¬ 
teous and hospitable to strangers. 
Ladies, during their stay at the hotel, 
will often experience the polite atten¬ 
tions of the nobility or gentry of the 
city, who will place their carriages at 
their disposal for an evening drive. 
The women of Syracuse have more 
beauty than is usually seen in Sicilian 
towns, with complexions which would 
be admired even in the North of 
Europe, and not seldom show their 
origin in the true Grecian profile. 
Those of the higher orders generally 
understand French; they are modest, 
amiable, and unaffected, and display 
that ease which marks good breeding. 
The women of the middle class 
wear the manto , a black silk cloak, 
gathered in under the right arm, and 
shrouding the head and entire person. 
Those of the lower orders wear 
shawls of brilliant hues over their 
heads, like the gipsies of Spain: 
canary, amber, and crimson are the 
favourite colours. The distaff, which 
Theocritus tells us was invented at 
Syracuse, is constantly seen in the 
hands of the women of this order. 
The men of the same class wear brown 
or blue velveteen, with white or brown 
pendant Phrygian caps. 

The foreign trade of Syracuse is 
almost confined to Malta, to which it 
exports wine, oil, salt, and salt-fish, in 
exchange for dry goods, colonial pro¬ 
duce, and timber. 

The climate of Syracuse is delight- 



327 


110UTE 18. —GUIDES—CONVEYANCES—STEAMERS. 


ful iii winter : as mild, perhaps, as that 
of any other city in the Mediterranean. 
During easterly winds alone, which 
are not of frequent occurrence, is the 
weather unpleasant; at other times it 
is as mild as in an English May. At 
all seasons it justifies the ancient 
boast that there never was a day on 
which the sun did not make his ap¬ 
pearance at some hour or other. In 
summer it is far from healthy; the 
miasma from the marshes to the west 
of the bay infecting the atmosphere. 
This must have been the case in all 
ages, for Archias, the founder of Syra¬ 
cuse, when asked by the oracle at 
Delphi whether he would prefer great 
power and wealth with an unhealthy 
climate, or vice versa, chose the former 
condition, and was directed accord¬ 
ingly to this site. 

Ciceroni .—There are several in Syra¬ 
cuse. The best is Salvatore Politi, 
nephew of the antiquary at Girgenti, 
and himself possessed of considerable 
information on the antiquities of his 
native town. He is, moreover, a man 
of gentlemanly manners and obliging 
disposition. He must not be con¬ 
founded with an uncle of his, Michel¬ 
angelo Politi, who also acts as guide. 
Davide Pietro Alberti is likewise a 
very good cicerone, extremely civil 
and anxious to make himself in every 
way useful. Another, whatever be 
his native name, rejoices in that of 
“ Jack Robinson,” given him on board 
an English man-of-war, and which 
has stuck to him ever since. For his 
qualifications consult his book of testi¬ 
monials, which he believes to be highly 
flattering. 

Vetturino .—In this capacity Salva¬ 
tore Allosco is well spoken of. For a 
carriage to Catania, with a pair of 
horses, he charges 7 dols.; for one 
with three horses, 9 dols. 

Muleteer. —Vincenzo Storace can be 
recommended as honest, trustworthy, 
and obliging, and as a good guide for 
the mountains around Syracuse. His 
brother lets out donkeys on hire for 
4 taxi e*-dny each. 


Boatmen. —Carmelo Greco and his 
sons, and Raffaele di Falco, are recom¬ 
mended. 

Mail-coaches. —The corriera leaves 
Syracuse for Noto, Modica, and Ragusa 
every Tues., Tliurs., and Sat., at 
night, shortly after the arrival of the 
mail from Catania. But conveyances 
leave daily for these towns when 
passengers are to be found. Fares: to 
Noto, 4 tari; to Modica, 10J tt.; to 
Ragusa, 19 tt. 8 gr. a seat. 

The corriera leaves for Catania, 
Messina, and Palermo every Sun., 
Wed., and Friday, at 2 or 3 a.m., soon 
after its arrival from Noto. Three 
seats only. Fare to Catania, 2 piastre 
1 tari 8 baj.; to Messina, 4 piastre 
10 tari 8 baj.; to Palermo, 9 piastre 
4 tari 1 baj. Besides this, there is 
the usual fee of 5 baj. per post to the 
postilions. 

Steamers. —Steamers run from Syra¬ 
cuse to Catania and Messina twice 
every week, Tucs. at 9 a.m. and Sat. at 
4 a.m., reaching Catania in 3J lirs., 
and Messina in 10 or 11 hrs. Fares : 
to Catania, 1st class, 6f. 50c.; 2nd 
class, 4*50; 3rd class, 2*50. To Mes¬ 
sina, 1st class, 17*60; 2nd class, 12 ; 
3rd class, G'50. Some of these boats 
touch at Agosta on the way. 

A steamer leaves Syracuse for Malta 
every Sun., at 11 p.m., accomplishing 
the distance in 8^ hrs. Fares: 1st class, 
18*25 ; 2nd class, 12 ; 3rd class, 6*50. 

A steamer leaves Syracuse eveiy 
other Tues., at 5 p.m., for Licata, Gir¬ 
genti, Sciaccn, Marsala, Trapani, and 
Palermo. 

It will take at least three days to 
make the entire tour of Syracuse, and 
to visit all its videnda. Half a day may 
suffice for the city itself; another half 
for an excursion to the Anapus, the 
Olympeium, and Plemmyrium. To 
inspect all the objects of interest in 
Acradina and Neapolis will occupy a 
day; and a third will be required for 
an excursion to Fort Euryalus and 
Belvedere, with the tour of the ancient 
walls of Epipoke and Acradina. A 
much longer time might be plea- 




328 


ROUTE 18. —SYRACUSE- 

surably and profitably spent on this site 
by the antiquary or student of history, 
with Thucydides, Diodorus, or Livy in 
hand, particularly in following out the 
incidents of the Athenian siege. But 
the tourist who is pressed for time 
may, by working hard, condense his 
siglit-seeing into 2 days, devoting the 
first to the city, the Latomie, the Cata¬ 
combs, and the other objects of in¬ 
terest in Aeradina, with a run up the 
Anapus in the evening ; the second to 
the Theatre, Amphitheatre, Altar, and 
other monuments of Neapolis, and the 
never to be omitted Fortress of Eury- 
alus, on the crest of Epipolse. 

The objects of interest in modern 
Syracuse are both ancient and me¬ 
diaeval. As the former predominate, 
we will mention them first. 

La Catledrale .— The Cathedral of 
Syracuse, in the piazza or principal 
square, is dedicated to Santa Maria 
delle Colonne, or “Our Lady of the 
Columns,” so called because it occu¬ 
pies the site of a Greek temple, whose 
peristyle is embraced by its walls. 
This is supposed, and with every 
probability of correctness, to be the 

Temple of Minerva, much cele¬ 
brated in ancient times. For, though 
Ortygia was peculiarly sacred to Diana, 
Minerva was its guardian, and pre¬ 
sided over its arms and counsels, and 
in that capacity must have occupied 
the highest point of the Acropolis,— 
the very position of the temple in 
question. It was built by the Ga- 
mori, or Geomori, an oligarchy who 
held supreme power in Syracuse for a 
century between 596 and 495 b.c., and 
must therefore date from the 6th cent. 
b.c., an antiquity which is confirmed 
by the archaic character of its Doric 
architecture, which closely resembles 
that of the earliest temples of Selinus, 
and of the Temple of Jupiter Polieus 
at Girgenti. This temple of Minerva 
was renowned for the unrivalled splen¬ 
dour of its decorations. Cicero is 
diffuse in his description of the gor¬ 
geous magnificence of this shrine, 
which, spared by the generosity and 
piety of Marcel lus, was stripped bare ; 


—TEMPLE OF MINERVA. 

by the cupidity of Verres. Its doors 
were so wondrously beautiful as to 
have been the theme of numerous 
Greek writers. They were adorned 
with reliefs in gold and ivory, and of 
exquisite art. The walls within were 
decorated with paintings — portraits, 
and exploits of Sicilian kings and 
tyrants; one scene, representing Aga- 
thocles contending with the cavalry of 
Carthage, was considered a master¬ 
piece of Greek pictorial art. All were 
carried off to Rome by that arch-thief 
Verres. On the highest part of the 
roof, and probably over the eastern 
pediment, was an enormous shield of 
brass cased with gold, which from its 
brightness was visible in the sun from 
a great distance. It was a very an¬ 
cient custom of the Syracusan sailors, 
on leaving the port, to carry with 
them in a cup some ashes from the 
altar of Juno, at the outer point of 
Ortygia and, just as this shield was 
vanishing from their sight, to cast the 
cup into the sea to secure a prosper¬ 
ous voyage. This temple was con¬ 
verted into a Christian ch. in the 7th 
cent, by Zosimus, Bishop of Syra¬ 
cuse. A lofty bell-tower was soon 
after added, which on Easter-day, 
1100, was overthrown by an earth¬ 
quake, crushing the entire congrega¬ 
tion beneath its ruins. The temple 
also received much injury from the 
terrible earthquake of 1693, and the 
columns thrown out of the perpen¬ 
dicular, and in some instances quite 
off their bases, supported only by the 
wall in which they are embedded, 
attest the violence of these convul¬ 
sions. 

The temple was liexastyle perip¬ 
teral, that is, it had 6 columns in each 
portico and a peristyle, which in this 
case had 14 columns on each side, 
including those at the angles. There 
were thus 36 in all. Of these, 9 are 
still standing on the S. side, and 12 
on the N., all embedded in the walls 
of the modern ch. One on each side 
can only be seen from an internal 
gallery. The peristyle rests on a 
stylobate of 3 steps, the upper of 
which has been cut through so as to 
; give the appearance of square plinths 



329 


ROUTE 18. -SYRACUSE-CATHEDRAL. 


or bases to the columns. These, 
which are in 3 drums, are fluted, 
taper considerably, and are hardly 
diameters in height. On the N. side 
they still support the ancient archi¬ 
trave and frieze, with its triglyphs and 
guttae, but no trace of the cornice 
remains, its place being supplied by 
Saracenic battlements. The stone of 
which the temple was constructed is 
a compact limestone, much harder 
and less sensible to atmospheric in¬ 
fluences than that used in the temples 
of Selinus and Agrigentum. The 
cella of the temple now forms the 
nave of the ch., and its walls, of 
large regular masonry, have been cut 
through at intervals, so as to form 
arched doorways into the side-aisles, 
which are the wings of the ancient 
edifice. The piers thus left between 
these archways correspond with the 
ancient columns. The roof is of wood, 
constructed in 1645. Both porticoes 
of the cella were in antis , with pilas¬ 
ters at the angles and 2 columns be¬ 
tween, of rather smaller diameter than 
those of the peristyle, and resting on 
moulded bases. 

This temple was nearly of the same 
dimensions as the larger Doric temples 
on the same plan at Paestum, Segesta, 
Selinus, and Agrigentum, being about 
185 ft, in length by 75 in breadth. 
The diameter of the columns at their 
base was 6 ft. 6 in., and their height 
28 ft. 7 in.; the intercolumniations 
being 7 ft. 1 in. 

This temple has lost all its beauty 
in the alterations to which it has been 
subjected. The modern facade of 
yellow stone, added in 1754 by Bishop 
Marini, presents in its vicious style 
and tasteless prodigality of ornament 
a striking contrast to the severe sim¬ 
plicity of the original edifice. In the 
upper order is a statue of the Virgin 
between those of Sta. Lucia and S. 
Marciano. The interior, though over¬ 
laid with modern work, is mostly of 
ancient construction. The high altar 
is composed of a block of the entabla¬ 
ture, 11 ft. long. The Baptismal Font 
is a large plain vase of marble, sup¬ 
ported by 7 small lions of bronze, and 
standing on a pavement of Alexan¬ 


drine mosaic. This vase was found 
in the catacombs, and is of the Low 
Empire, bearing the fragment of a 
Greek inscription of that period, 
which shows it to have been conse¬ 
crated to its present use by Zosimus, 
the bishop who converted the temple 
into a Christian church. 

There is little in the way of modern 
art to attract the tourist. The Chapel 
of the Sacrament in the rt. aisle has 
on the paliotto of its altar a bas-relief 
in white marble, representing the Last 
Supper ; simple and full of expression, 
said to be by a French artist. The 
semi-dome of this chapel is frescoed 
by Agostino Scilla , of Messina. In 
the same chapel is a Byzantine pic¬ 
ture of the Virgin and Child, on a 
gilt ground, said to have l^een trans¬ 
ferred from an old chapel which for¬ 
merly stood by the Fountain of Are- 
tliusa. 

The Chapel of Sta. Lucia in the 
same aisle is of recent architecture; 
it contains a silver figure of that 
Saint, on whose bosom hangs a large 
onyx cameo, presenting three heads 
of different colours, which is shown to 
strangers only as a great favour. This 
image is esteemed of great sanctity; 
during some bombardment of the city 
it is believed to have escaped destruc¬ 
tion from a shell by bending over the 
altar. Twice a year, at the beginning 
of May and September, it pays a visit 
with great pomp to the neighbouring 
Convent of Sta. Lucia. 

Behind the High Altar is a Nativity 
of the Virgin, by Agostino Scilla ;cold 
and sombre. Over the 2nd altar to 
the 1. is a picture of San Marciano, the 
first bishop of Syracuse, who converted 
the citizens from paganism to Christi¬ 
anity. Over the next altar is.an earlier 
picture of the Saint on a gold ground. 

In the same aisle, opposite the Font, 
is an early Renaissance doorway, with 
its jambs resting on lions, and adorned 
with vine foliage, and a relief on its 
lintel, showing the Virgin with her 
dead Son on her lap, between St. 
Marcian aud Sta. Lucia. In the 
Sacristy are to be seen a chalice 
of wine - coloured amber, a pastoral 
ring of enormous size, some curious 




330 ROUTE 18. -TEMPLE OF DIANA—FOUNTAIN OF ARETHUSA. 


sauclals, and a large music-book of 
parchment, beautifully illuminated. 

In the Court of the Arcivescovcito, 
adjoining the Cathedral to the S., are 
14 columns of cipollino and granite, 
taken from some ancient edifice, vul¬ 
garly called the Temple of Ceres. 
Another column lies prostrate in front 
of the palace. 

Temple of Diana. — Between the 
Piazza and the N.E. wall of the city, 
in the Vico S. Paolo, and in the house 
of a private gentleman named Sant¬ 
oro, are the remains of another Doric 
temple, which, as it must have been 
about the same size as that just de¬ 
scribed, is supposed with all proba¬ 
bility to have been that dedicated to 
Diaua, which, Cicero tells us, with the 
Temple of Minerva, far surpassed all 
the other sacred edifices in Ortygia. 
Diana, in truth, was the peculiar tu¬ 
telar of the island, and was adored 
under the title of “ Protectress,” as 
we learn from the beautiful coins of 
Agathocles. Ortygia, indeed, was pe¬ 
culiarly sacred to Diana, whence Pin¬ 
dar calls it, “ the seat of Artemis,” 
“ the couch of Artemis,” and “ the 
sister of Delos.” It is probable, there¬ 
fore, that her worship was of very early 
date, and that her temple was the most 
ancient religious structure in Syra¬ 
cuse. The fragments now extant fully 
bear out this view. They are but the 
heads of two of the columns with a 
fragment of the architrave, all of a 
yellow tufaceous stone, presenting 
little to interest the ordinary traveller, 
but the architect and antiquary will 
detect some peculiar features. The 
capitals especially are of vast spread, 
projecting far over the neck of the 
column, and the echinus has a bold 
round sweep, as in the earliest temples 
of Selinus. Everything combines to 
stamp this temple with a high anti¬ 
quity, and antiquaries do not hesitate 
to assign it to at least the 6th cent, 
before Christ. 

Fountain of Arethusa. —This cele¬ 
brated fountain is on the W. side of 
the island, close to the port, and it 
rises in a large semicircular pit lined 


with masonry, about 20 ft. deep, the 
chord of the arc, about 50 ft. long, 
being the city-wall, which defends the 
spring from the sea. The water rises 
from an arch in the rock, and, as Strabo 
describes it, attains at once the size 
of a stream. It enters the pool by 4 
openings; but the water once so pure 
was rendered brackish by the earth¬ 
quake of 1169, and the fish which 
used to abound here disappeared at 
the same time. The disappointment 
which cannot fail to be experienced, 
by every traveller at the first sight ot 
this fountain is well described by 
Hughes. “ I flew on the wings of im¬ 
patience to the Fountain of Arethusa. 
I needed no guide but Cicero, who 
directed me along the ramparts of the 
city towards the extremity of the 
island, where I found the fountain in 
the very situation which he designates, 
protected by a bastion of the wall from 
the encroachment of the sea, but di¬ 
minished in size, and possessing neither 
its sweet waters, nor those sacred fish 
which, even in the extremity of famine, 
were not to be touched, without the 
vengeance of offended deities; not a 
vestige remained of its former splen¬ 
dour, of Diana’s grove, or of that statue 
of the goddess, which adorned its 
banks; but I beheld Arethusa, the 
lovely Arethusa, so celebrated in an¬ 
cient minstrelsy, and so honoured in 
the choicest specimens of numismatic 
art, despoiled of all her charms, and 
degraded to the vile office of a wash- 
tub. Instead of Diana’s train, a tribe 
of bare - legged nymphs, with their 
petticoats tied above their knees, were 
dabbling in the stream, and soiling its 
purity.” 

The fountain was dedicated of old to 
Diana, and is said to have been made 
by her nymphs to delight her. But 
the more popular version of its origin 
is, that Arethusa, a beautiful maiden 
of Elis, was seen when bathing by the 
river-god Alpheus, who, desperately 
enamoured of her charms, pursued her 
till, utterly exhausted with her flight, 
she implored the aid of Diana. The 
goddess in compassion changed her into 
a fountain ; when, Alpheus mingling 
his stream with hers, they both sank 



331 


EOUTE 18. — SYRACUSE — BATHS—ORTYGIA. 


into the earth, and passing under the 
sea, rose again in Ortygia. 

“ Alplieum fama est, hue Elidis amnem 
Occultas egisse vias subter mare ; qui nunc 
Ore, Arethusa, tuo Siculis confunditur midis.” 

Virg. JEn . III . 

Lord Nelson watered the British 
fleet here on his way to the Nile and 
victory. “ We have victualled and 
watered,” wrote he to Lady Hamilton; 
“ and surely, watering at the Fountain 
of Arethusa, we must have victory.” 

The fountain has very recently been 
taken under the protection of the au¬ 
thorities. The bare - legged nymphs 
have been expelled, the area cleaned 
and beautified, access to it has been 
formed by a handsome flight of steps, 
and the pool is to be encircled with 
papyrus. 

Bagni .—In Ortygia stood of old 
the Baths of Daphne, not so called 
from the poet Daphnis who in¬ 
vented pastoral poetry, but from the 
laurel grove near the Temple of Diana. 
The site of these baths is unknown, 
but close to the Fountain of Arethusa 
are three ancient baths sunk deep in 
the rock below the surface, and all 
fed by that celebrated spring. Since 
the recent expulsion of the washer¬ 
women, who from time immemorial 
have profaned the fountain, they have 
betaken themselves to these baths, 
and imperatively demand toll of the 
traveller who, Actaeon-like, intrudes 
on their ablutions. 

Besides these ancient baths, there 
is another of more curious construc¬ 
tion beneath the house of Don Inno- 
cenzo Bianca. You descend to it by 
a flight of 58 steps, mostly cut in 
the rock. The chamber to which this 
leads is 23 ft. square, by 7 ft. high, 
having its roof supported by 4 piers of 
rock, and having benches around it 
also hewn from the rock. An arched 
doorway leads from this room down to 
the bath which is full of excellent 
water. 

Pozzo di S. Filippo .—Another 
curious structure lies beneath the 
Church of S. Filippo, in the Piazza 
della Giudecca. A. spiral staircase, 
vaulted and liewn in the rock, leads 


you down by many turns round a cir¬ 
cular wall of rock, with small lights at 
intervals opening in the staircase, by 
which you perceive that enclosed in 
the circular wall is a well, sunk far 
below the surface. At the depth of 40 
steps, you reach a vast cave, a sort of 
Latomia, or quarry, rugged with masses 
of rock. After 24 steps more, you reach 
the well, which is about 3 ft. in dia¬ 
meter, and of clear though brackish 
water. 

No other remains of ancient times 
are extant within Ortygia. But we 
have record of other remarkable build¬ 
ings within its walls. Chief of these 
was the wonderful Hexcicontaclinus, or 
“House of Sixty Beds,” finished by 
Agathocles, the largest, loftiest, and 
most magnificent structure of the age, 
a Sicilian Tower of Babel, for it excited 
the wrath of the gods by soaring high 
above their temples, and they destroyed 
it by lightning. Then there was the 
palace of King Hieron II., which after 
the capture of the city by Marcellus, 
was occupied by the Boman praetors, 
and became the scene of their de¬ 
baucheries, and the depository of their 
plunder. Here Yerres erected a work¬ 
shop for the manufacture of gold vases, 
for which purpose he melted down 
vast quantities of art-treasures plun¬ 
dered from individuals, or torn from 
the temples and other public buildings. 
The public granary was an edifice also 
of such stupendous size and massive 
construction as to serve for a fortress. 
The very site of these ancient build¬ 
ings is now unknown. But we know 
that there was a Temple of Juno, 
which occupied the site of the present 
Castle of Maniace, at the southern 
point of the island; in which temple 
was preserved a statue of Gelon, 
raised by the Syracusans in his ho¬ 
nour after his victory at Himera, 
and which represented him in an un¬ 
girded tunic, just as he had presented 
himself before the assembly of war¬ 
riors he had convened in the Forum,, 
to render an account of his adminis¬ 
tration as Strategus, or general, in the 
war just concluded. We know also 
that Dionysius I. erected on the isth- 





332 


ROUTE 18. —SYRACUSE—MUSEUM. 


mus a very strong fortress, defended 
on tlie land-side by massive walls and 
lofty towers, having a strongly fortified 
entrance, which from its five gates was 
called Pentapyla, in front of which he 
raised a lofty sundial, with extensive 
porticoes and bazaars. Within this 
fortress he erected a sumptuous palace, 
with spacious gardens adorned with 
noble statues ; and here his son, just 
within the royal gates, raised a mag¬ 
nificent mausoleum for his father's re¬ 
mains. “ To render his fortress com¬ 
plete, Dionysius constructed within it 
a mint, a prison, a magazine of arms 
furnished with accoutrements for 70,000 
men, with* superb porticoes, for the 
purpose of exercise or repose during 
the violence of the heat. To secure 
the command by sea he enclosed within 
its walls the dock of the small harbour, 
in which he kept 70 triremes always 
equipped for immediate service. This 
citadel, so admirably planned and exe¬ 
cuted, was surrendered by that weak 
and contemptible tyrant Dionysius II. 
to the great Timoleon. Then it was 
that the people, being called together 
by proclamation, razed to the ground 
this last retreat of despotism, and broke 
in pieces the s tatues of all their former 
tyrants, except that of the warlike and 
patriotic Gelon.”— Hughes. Timoleon 
erected clicasteria, or courts of justice, 
on the spot, with other buildings 
adapted to the requirements of a re¬ 
publican government. Such was the 
strength of this Acropolis, and of the 
walls and towers with which Dionysius 
surrounded the island—and so well 
supplied with food was Ortygia by its 
vast granaries, and with water by its 
fountains and aqueducts—that it was 
well nigh impregnable. Its possessor 
was always master of Syracuse, not¬ 
withstanding that the rest of the city 
was in the hands of an enemy. Diony¬ 
sius by its means maintained his 
authority till his death, and even 
his degenerate son held it long in 
perfect security, though every other 
quarter of the city was occupied 
by his foes. “ Marcellus, himself, 
having subdued Acradina, Tyclie, and 
Neapolis, was indebted to treachery 
for the reduction of the island; and so 


conscious was that great commander 
of its natural and artificial strength, 
that he would allow no Syracusan 
citizen to dwell within its walls.”— 
Hughes. 

Occhio della Zilica .—About 80 ft. 
from the walls, and immediately oppo¬ 
site the Fountain of Arethusa, a co¬ 
pious spring is said to bubble up from 
the bottom of the port, and in such 
abundance that it does not mingle with 
the salt-water until it gains the sur¬ 
face. Yet it is not always distinguish¬ 
able, and it has so often been sought 
for in vain, that the fact of its existence 
may be called in question. The truth 
is that the water just at this spot is 
always fresher than elsewhere in the 
harbour, owing to the proximity of 
Aretliusa’s fountain. Tradition, how¬ 
ever, marks this spring as Alplieus 
rising through the sea to meet his be¬ 
loved Arethusa, and bearing her gifts 
of olives, flowers, and sacred dust from 
Elis. 

Museo. —Opposite the N. door of the 
Cathedral is the Museum, containing 
a collection of antiquities discovered 
in Syracuse and its neighbourhood. 
The curator is the Canonico Lenti- 
nelli. It was commenced in 1809 by 
Bishop Trigona, and the Cavaliere 
Landolina Nava, to secure to Syracuse 
the relics found in its soil. Chief of 
these is the Landolina Venus, a beau¬ 
tiful though headless statue of white 
marble discovered in 1804 by the 
said Cavaliere in the Orto Bonavia in 
Acradina. The goddess seems to be 
represented rising from the sea, draw¬ 
ing round her with her left hand the 
loose drapery which yet only half 
shrouds her lower limbs, while her 
right arm, which, as well as her head, 
is wanting, was evidently raised to 
hide her bosom—thus imitating, with 
the exception of the drapery, the con¬ 
ventional attitude of tlie Medicean 
Venus. Her emblem, a dolphin, is at 
her feet, attached to the drapery,which 
is blown out behind her. Half of the 
little finger of the 1. hand is also gone ; 
and both the 1. arm and foot have been 
broken, the former in three places. 





ROUTE 18. —MUSEUM—LIBRARY. 


333 


“ The height of this statue, which is 
of the finest Parian marble, was 6 ft.; 
ancl the beauty of its design, the deli¬ 
cacy of its attitude, the roundness and 
voluptuous grace of its limbs, and its 
high finish, mark it as one of the first 
order, as a fine example of that beau 
ideal in which the Greeks excelled 
every other natiou.”— Hughes. This 
statue, however, though possessing 
great beauty, is open to criticism, and 
is undoubtedly inferior in symmetry to 
the unrivalled goddess of the Ufiizj. 

Another statue, discovered on the 
same site, and by the same Cavalier 
Landolina, is that of Aesculapius, 3J ft. 
high, on a marble stand. His right 
arm is gone, but portions of his club 
with the serpent twined round it, are 
left. A torso of the beardless father of 
this bearded god, with a curl hanging 
on eacli shoulder, is also here, found 
on the site of Hieron’s Palace. A co¬ 
lossal head, much defaced, lying on 
the ground beneath the Aesculapius, is 
supposed to have belonged to the 
statue of “Jupiter the Deliverer,” 
which the Syracusans erected after 
the expulsion of Thrasybulus, and 
which was inscribed with those words. 
It was found in 1530, in digging the 
foundations of the present fortifica¬ 
tions. The Greek inscription was 
obliterated by the Spaniards, who 
added a monkish one in their own 
language. A much grander head is 
one of Neptune in Parian marble, 
also colossal, and wanting the nose. It 
is apparently of the Macedonian pe¬ 
riod. It was discovered in 1839 near 
the Amphitheatre. It stands on a 
marble cipptis with reliefs on 3 sides, 
found in the Greek Theatre, but of 
late Roman times. There are frag¬ 
ments of other statues in this col¬ 
lection : a torso of a Roman emperor 
or general; a draped torso of an em¬ 
peror ; 2 mutilated draped statues, 
male and female; a head of Isis; frag¬ 
ments of a colossal Caryatid found 
in the Theatre; 2 statues of Roman 
senators found in Neapolis in 
March, 1862. There are several bas- 
reliefs; fragments of architecture, some, 
both of stone and terracotta, retain¬ 
ing traces of the colour with which the 


Greeks used to decorate their buildings; 
a marble sarcophagus 7 or 8 ft. long; 
terracotta statuettes and busts, some 
very pretty and of a good style of art, 
others very archaic, or even purely 
Egyptian in character; Roman cinerary 
urns; Roman pots and lamps fused to¬ 
gether in a mass, found in an ancient 
furnace on Acradina; manubria, or 
handles of Greek amphorae, bearing in¬ 
scriptions ; 2 Egyptian figures of smalt; 
several of those small vases of varie¬ 
gated glass, which seem to have been 
common to every country of the 
ancient world; in bronze, a Medusa’s 
bust, and a few small idols of archaic 
character; in pottery, a few Greek 
figured vases, of both the early and 
late periods, not remarkable for beauty, 
and by no means doing justice to the 
high reputation Syracuse maintained 
throughout the Hellenic world for her 
school of ceramic art. There are some 
Greek and Roman inscriptions, chiefly 
sepulchral; besides others in Hebrew, 
Arabic, and Gothic characters; and 
some Byzantine paintings and me¬ 
diaeval armour. 

The C'anonico Lentinelli, the curator 
of this museum, possesses a beautiful 
cameo, and a rare collection of the 
Greek coins of Syracuse which pre¬ 
sent the most excpiisite specimens of 
ancient numismatic art. “ The great 
number and variety of the coins of 
this city are very significant indica¬ 
tions of that wealth which afforded 
the Romans almost as much plunder 
at Syracuse as at Carthage itself; 
while they furnish splendid proofs of 
that perfection in the elegant arts, in 
which scarcely any Greek city but 
Athens could enter into competition 
with Syracuse.”— Col. Lealce. 

Biblioteca .—On the floor above the 
Museum is the Public Library, esta¬ 
blished by Bishop Alagoua, contain¬ 
ing some 9000 volumes, and sundry 
curious MSS. On the staircase is a 
marble tablet bearing a Greek dedi¬ 
catory inscription —“ Under the go¬ 
vernment of King Hieron, son of Hie- 
rocles, the Syracusans ('dedicate this) 
to all the Gods.” In the antechamber 
are 2 handsome tables composed of 





ROUTE 18 . —SYRACUSE-FORTIFICATIONS. 


334 

different Sicilian marbles and agates 
to tlie number of 196. This library 
is open daily to the public from 10 to 
12 in the morning; but admission may 
be obtained at other hours on appli¬ 
cation to the librarian, the Parroco 
Baiona. Among the curious MSS. 
are,—a Gospel of St. John, of the 
12th cent.,—the Epistles in Greek,— 
the Vulgate in black letter on vellum, 
with illuminated initials; of the first 
half of the lltli cent.,—the Gospels in 
Greek in black letter on vellum, more 
richly illuminated; about 1480,—Ari¬ 
stotle’s Rhetoric in Latin, on vellum, 
about 1400,—a Koran on paper, bearing 
date 1199, which cannot be that of 
the Hejira, as this MS. was brought 
from Egypt by Lord Nelson, presented 
by him to the Cavalier Landolina, and 
by him to this library. 

In the Gabinetto della Storia Natu- 
rali is a good collection of objects 
of the natural history and geology of 
Sicily, commenced by the Doctor Ales¬ 
sandro Rizza, nearly 20 years since. 
It is in the Via di Sta. Maria. 

Fortifications. — In objects of medi¬ 
aeval and modem interest Syracuse 
is not deficient. Foremost among 
these are the Fortifications, erected 
by Charles V., which are now of 
little value in a defensive point of 
view, being completely commanded 
by the heights of Acradina. They 
entirely surround the peninsula, 
making Syracuse one of the chief 
places d'armes in Sicily, generally 
held by a considerable garrison. They 
rest on the remains of the walls and 
towers with which Dionysius sur¬ 
rounded Ortygia, fragments of which 
are here and there still visible in 
enormous square blocks, closely joined 
without cement. On the isthmus 
stands a horn work within a crown- 
work, covering a front, in the curtain 
of which are the gates of the modern 
town. It is a long winding road of 
4 m. through this fortress. Three 
bridges and five gateways have to be 
passed before you reach the town of 
Syracuse. The ancient citadel and 
palace of Dionysius, as already said, 


stood on the outer sides of the isthmus, 
fronting the mainland, and occupied 
the .site of the modern fortress, but 
not a vestige of it is now extant. In 
the line of modem walls there is a 
gate leading to the Marina, called 
Porta del Mare, which is of earlier 
date than the rest of the fortifications. 
It has a circular arch, above which is 
a square hood resting on foliated 
corbels, and surmounted by a pedi¬ 
ment, the whole forming a rich frag¬ 
ment of Gothic architecture. It must 
be about the year 1440. 

Castello di Maniace .—At the south¬ 
ern point of the island, on the spot once 
occupied by the temple of the Olym¬ 
pian Juno, stands the Castle defending 
the entrance to the port. At its extreme 
point is a new battery with a light¬ 
house. “An ancient castle stood on 
this spot, which the Saracens destroyed 
in the year 878, when Syracuse was 
conquered by these barbarians and 
lost its title of capital of Sicily. In 
the year 1038 George Maniaces, a 
general of the Byzantine Empire, with 
the assistance of the Normans, dis¬ 
possessed the Mohammedans of their 
conquest, and built the present fortress; 
after the lapse of 2 years the infidels 
returned in great force, and obliged 
the governor to evacuate, not only the 
fort, but the city. The castle after its 
capture was completed by the Sara¬ 
cens.”— Hughes. It is a square keep 
of bright yellow stone, with round 
towers at the angles; and it stands on 
the black rocks only a few feet above 
the sea, forming a picturesque termi¬ 
nation to the island. In 1704 it was 
greatly damaged by the explosion of 
its magazine, which was struck by 
lightning. The garrison was de¬ 
stroyed, but though a vast quantity of 
stones fell into the city, not a single 
inhabitant was injured — a miracle 
ascribed to the interposition of Santa 
Lucia, the patroness of Syracuse, who 
has taken the place of the Diana 
Soteira of ancient days. “It is not 
improbable that the bulk of the ex¬ 
isting building, the very thick walls, 
and strong round towers, may be part 
of Maniace’s work. These portions of 
the fortress are unmarked by any 



335 


ROUTE 18 . —CASTLE— 

peculiar architectural features. The 
only very marked or interesting part 
of the fabric is a great hall and portal, 
which belong to much later times than 
those of the Byzantine general. The 
hall is in a ruinous state, having been 
greatly damaged by the explosion. But 
some of its round-headed windows re¬ 
main, and some of the pointed arches 
which support its vaulted roof. This 
mixture of style would in England 
ascribe this building to the latter years 
of the reign of Henry II., but the 
arches rest on pillars with octagonal 
capitals, which in the North were not 
introduced till a much later period. 
The capitals assimilate more directly 
with the style of enrichment used in 
England, than even with the works of 
a similar date in France. On one side 
of this hall are the remains of one of 
those large stone fireplaces, with a 
projecting top, which are common in 
the North. The portal is pointed, and 
exceedingly well finished. It is en¬ 
riched witli a few bold mouldings and 
a variety of elaborate ornaments, not 
in the style of the North, but with 
that infusion of the Greek character 
which prevails in the pointed archi¬ 
tecture of Sicily .”—Gaily Knight. Over 
this gateway, which is surmounted by 
an inscription placed there by Charles 
V., formerly stood the 2 bronze rams 
of exquisite art brought by Maniaces 
from Constantinople, and afterwards 
removed to the Koyal Palace at Pa¬ 
lermo. “ Turning on pivots, like 
vanes, they served to point out the 
direction of the wind, which, blowing 
into their mouths, is said to have 
imitated the natural bleating of the 
animal. These monuments of ancient 
art were considered of such value as 
to be accepted by the infamous Gio¬ 
vanni Ventimiglia Marquis of Geraci, 
from Alphonso King of Aragon and 
Sicily, as a recompense for his base 
services to that monarch; he having 
decoyed 20 Syracusan nobles, sus¬ 
pected of treason, into this fortress, 
and treacherously murdered them all 
during the conviviality of an entertain¬ 
ment, a.d. 1448. When this wretch 
died, the memorials of his infamy were 
placed upon his tomb, but his grandson 


CHURCHES—PALACES. 

having been executed for rebellion, 
they were removed to the royal palace 
at Palermo.”— Hughes* Just within 
the gate of this castle is a vaulted 
staircase leading down to a subter¬ 
ranean chamber, paved with marble, 
and called the Bagno della Begina. 

Churches .—Several of the churches in 
Syracuse are of mediaeval times. Near 
the castle is S. Martino , which has a Go¬ 
thic faQade, and a doorway of 4 orders, 
with singular foliated capitals. The 
details are quite of a Northern charac¬ 
ter, which is rare in the pointed archi¬ 
tecture of Sicily. The interior is mo¬ 
dernised. S. Giovanni Battista , a very 
small cli., has a plain pointed door of 
a single sinking, enclosed by a label 
resting on clustered shafts with fig-leaf 
capitals; the door is surmounted by a 
small marigold window. The whole 
partakes much of the character of 
Northern Gothic. S. Benedetto has a 
pointed doorway, plain with 2 sink¬ 
ings. The upper windows have several 
lights with cusped heads, separated by 
slender columns; the lower are simple 
lancets. The roof is flat and of wood, 
with octagonal coffers, painted and gilt, 
in the Siculo-Norm. style. The altar- 
piece is the Death of St. Benedict, by 
a pupil of Caravaggio. Attached to 
the Collegio de Gesuiti is a spacious 
and imposing ch. in the Italian style. 

Palazzi. — The palaces and houses 
of Syracuse present many interest¬ 
ing fragments of mediaeval architec¬ 
ture, either of Norman or of later 
times. Circular or pointed doorways 
with prominent labels, surmounted 
by escutcheons, lead into courts with 
arcades on the upper floor, reached 
by quaint moulded staircases. Among 
the most striking specimens of do¬ 
mestic architecture is the Palazzo 
Bucceri, formerly P. Lanza, in the 
Via Amalfitania, whose facade had 
pointed arches below, and ogee win¬ 
dows with trefoil lights in the upper 
story. The arcade within the court 
is of circular arches on octagonal co¬ 
lumns with bossed capitals; and must 
be about the year 1350. The Palazzo 
Ardizzoni-Castelletti, in the Via Pa- 





336 


ROUTE 18 . —SYRACUSE—HISTORY. 


lazzo Vescovilo, has a court with an 
arcade of very similar character. The 
Palazzo Terrisena, in the Yia S. Gia¬ 
como, has features of later elate ; 
windows square-headed, yet decorated 
with the dog-tooth and cable mould¬ 
ings. Close to this is the Palazzo 
Montalto, the richest specimen of me- 
diieval architecture in Syracuse. The 
windows on the first floor are pointed, 
with 2 or 3 lights, separated by twisted 
shafts with bossed capitals and adorned 
with the chevron and dog-tooth mould¬ 
ings. Over the doorway, which is 
pointed and plain, and surmounted by 
a pointed hood, resting on twisted 
shafts, is an inscription in Gothic cha¬ 
racters, giving 1397 as the date of the 
palace. 

History .—Before conducting the tra¬ 
veller to the remains of ancient Syra¬ 
cuse without the walls of the modern 
town, it will be well to refresh his 
memory with the leading events con¬ 
nected with that city, which played so 
prominent a part in the history of the 
ancient world. 

The foundation of Syracuse dates but 
one year later than that of Naxos, i. e. 
it was, with one exception, the earliest 
Greek colony in Sicily. In 734 b.c. a 
colony of Corinthians, under Archias, 
landed on these shores, drove out the 
Siculi who then inhabited Ortygia, 
and laid the foundation of the mighty 
Syracuse. For many years the colony 
was confined to the limits of the 
island, but it increased so rapidly in 
power and population that 70 years 
after her own settlement Syracuse 
sent out a colony and founded Acrae, 
20 years later Casmenae, and 45 years 
afterwards Ca marina. At an early 
period of her history Syracuse was 
torn by internal dissensions. About 
the commencement of the 6th cent. 
b.c., the government was in the hands 
of the Geomori, an oligarchy com¬ 
posed of the descendants of the origin¬ 
al landholders, who were eventually 
expelled by the Cyllyrii, or democracy, 
but were re-established in 485 b.c. by 
the aid of Gelon, the Tyrant of Gela, 
who soon contrived to obtain the su¬ 
preme authority in Syracuse. Gelon, 


though wielding despotic power, was 
a mild and excellent ruler, consulting 
in all things the welfare of his people, 
and raising Syracuse to a pitch of 
prosperity she had never before at¬ 
tained, so that she became indisput¬ 
ably the most powerful city in Sicily. 
When the alliance of Persia and Car¬ 
thage threatened at the same time 
Greece and her colonies, Gelon offered 
to assist the Greeks with 20,000 
heavy-armed men, 6000 light troops, 
2000 horsemen, and 200 triremes ; but 
his conditions were not accepted, and 
he was thus enabled to turn his whole 
power against the Carthaginians in 
Sicily, where he made as successful 
a resistance as the Greeks did at 
Marathon and Salami's, giving the 
Carthaginians that signal defeat at 
Himera, 480 b.c., which crushed the 
Punic power in the island for a long 
series of years. At his death, 478 
b.c., he received heroic honours, which 
were continued to the latest days of 
Syracusan independence. He was suc¬ 
ceeded by his brother Hieron, re¬ 
nowned as an enlightened patron of 
letters and the arts at a time when 
he rather set an example to Athens 
than followed in her steps. His court 
became the resort of distinguished 
men—AEscliylus, Pindar, Simonides, 
Sophron, Bacchylides, and Epicliar- 
mus. The principal event in his 
tranquil reign was a victory obtained 
in 474 b.c. by his fleet, in alliance with 
that of Cumae, over the Etruscans, 
at that time the first naval power in 
the world. A bronze helmet, bearing 
an inscription that it was among the 
spoils of that victory, is preserved in 
the British Museum. Hieron was 
succeeded at his death, 467 b.c., by 
his brother Tiirasybulus, whose reign 
was marked by so much tyranny that 
after one year the citizens deposed 
him, and established a democracy 
which flourished for 60 years, during 
which period Syracuse made rapid 
progress in wealth and power, as is 
evident from the successful resistance 
she was now enabled to offer to 
Athens, then in the very plenitude of 
her glory. 

It was in the year 415 b.c. that 



337 


ROUTE 18 . — SIEGE 

the Athenians commenced that expe¬ 
dition against Syracuse which ended 
in their signal discomfiture, and 
led eventually to the capture and 
downfall of Athens herself. But it 
was not till the spring of the 
following year that they laid siege 
to Syracuse, succeeding, after much 
opposition, in running a double line 
of wall across Epipolse down to the 
Great Harbour, which they occupied 
with their fleet. At this time Syra¬ 
cuse received succours from Sparta, 
under the command of Gylippus, who 
! at once changed the aspect of affairs, 
enabling the Syracusans to assume 
the offensive. He captured the 
Athenian fort at Labdalum, rail a 
counterwork across their lines of cir- 
cumvallation on Epipolse, so as to 
prevent their completion; took by 
assault 3 forts Nicias had erected on 
Plemmyrium to command the entrance 
of the harbour; and even dared to en¬ 
counter the Athenians on their own 
element the sea, and not without suc¬ 
cess. Reinforcements, under the com¬ 
mand of Demosthenes, in the spring 
of 414 b.c., gave the Athenians again 
the superiority; but they soon lost it 
in a desperate attack on the Syracusan 
lines, in which they were repulsed 
with such loss that the new general 
advised the raising of the siege, and on 
the arrival of fresh foes from Sparta 
their case appeared so hopeless that 
Nicias resolved to retreat. But, in¬ 
stead of besieging, he was now be¬ 
sieged ; the Syracusans and their allies 
attacked his fleet and destroyed one 
entire wing of it, shutting up the mouth 
of the Great Harbour to prevent the 
escape of the rest. One last des¬ 
perate attempt did the Athenians make 
to effect their escape by sea, and this 
final struggle in the Harbour termi¬ 
nated in their discomfiture and utter 
despair. They then endeavoured to 
escape into the interior of the island, 
but their victorious foes had already 
seized all the passes, and wherever 
they attempted to force a passage 
they were driven back, and, after a 
series of reverses, met their final over¬ 
throw on the banks of the Asinarus (see 
p. 323). 

[Sicily.'] 


BY THE ATHENIANS. 

The next events of importance in 
the history of Syracuse are the rise of 
Dionysius to despotic power (406 b.c.\ 
his fortifying Ortygia and enclosing 
Epipolae with walls, and the siege of 
the city by the Carthaginians under 
Himilcon (396 b.c.), who encamped on 
the Olympieum and on Plemmyrium, 
while his fleet occupied the Great 
Harbour. Dionysius, taking advan¬ 
tage of a pestilence which had greatly 
enfeebled liis foes, made a sudden 
attack by sea and land, burnt the 
Punic fleet, and gained a most decisive 
victory, which resulted in the entire 
destruction of the Carthaginian arma¬ 
ment, and eventually led to a peace 
with that people. This enabled him 
to consolidate his power at home and 
extend it abroad, and he raised it to 
such a height as had never been be¬ 
fore attained by any Greek despot. 
Though his cruelty and tyranny have 
passed into a proverb, he had some 
redeeming points, among which stand 
prominent' his encouragement of the 
arts and letters, his patronage of dis¬ 
tinguished men, and his literary am¬ 
bition. Though the people hissed his 
verses, he persevered till he obtained 
the prize at Athens for one of his tra¬ 
gedies. To him Syracuse was greatly 
indebted for its enlargement and em¬ 
bellishment, so that it became one 
of the most beautiful as well as the 
largest of Greek cities. It has been 
truly said, “ he was the second founder 
of Syracuse, almost as much as Pericles 
was of Athens.” At his death, which 
happened 367 b.c., he was succeeded 
by his son Dionysius II. who had all 
the vices and faults of his father, with 
few of his good qualities. His tyranny 
at length reached such a height that 
Dion, his uncle, whom he had ba¬ 
nished, resolved to free Syracuse from 
his yoke, and drove out the despot, 
356 b.c. : but, after an exile of 10 
years, Dionysius regained possession of 
the city, which he held till he was 
expelled a second time by Timoleon, 
the Corinthian, who restored republi¬ 
can institutions ; and after conquering 
the Carthaginians, expelling the do¬ 
mestic tyrants of Sicily, and opening- 
out a new career of peace and pros- 

Q 








338 


ROUTE 18 . -SYRACUSE—HISTORY. 


polity, he laid down liis power and 
ended his days as a private citizen, 

“ the Washington of the ancient 
world.” In 317 b.c., Agathocles, a 
potter of Thermal (now Sciacca) ob¬ 
tained supreme power in Syracuse; 
and in 310 b.c., after a defeat by the 
Carthaginians at the river Himera, 
and when the city was besieged by 
Hamilcar with a powerful force, he 
conceived the bold scheme of invading 
the Punic territory in Africa, and thus 
drawing the Carthaginians from Sicily. 
This project succeeded for awhile, 
Agathocles meeting with extraordinary 
success; but the following year Syra¬ 
cuse was again invested, when a night 
assault on the city failing, Hamilcar 
was captured, and his host utterly 
destroyed. Agathocles even surpassed 
Dionysius in vice and cruelty, though 
rivalling his skill in the arts of govern¬ 
ment, and his wisdom and courage in 
enterprises of difficulty and danger. 
“ It is evident,” says Polybius, “ that 
Agathocles was endowed by nature 
with very extraordinary talents. To 
leave the wheel, the kiln, and the 
clay, and to come to Syracuse at the 
age of 18 years; to follow his designs 
with such success as in a short time to 
become master of all Sicily ; to render 
himself formidable and dangerous to 
Carthage; and lastly, to grow old in 
the sovereignty he had gained, and to 
die with the title of king; are not 
these most signal proofs that he was 
born with vast abilities, and possessed 
all the powers that are requisite for 
the administration of great affairs ? ” 
In 289 b.c. he met his death by 
poison, when the Syracusans returned 
for a short time to democratic insti¬ 
tutions ; but in 288 b.c. they again 
fell under the despotic sway of 
Hicetas, who, after 9 years, was 
driven out, and the city was for two 
years (278-276 b.c.) ruled by Pyrrhus, 
King of Epirus, who had married a 
daughter of Agathocles. On the return 
of that prince to Italy the power fell into 
the hands of Hieron II., who, after a 
few years was proclaimed king. This 
wise and enlightened prince, after hav¬ 
ing tried his strength against Rome, en¬ 
tered into an alliance with that power 


(263 b.c.), which he steadfastly main¬ 
tained until his death in 216 b.c. 

“ His wisdom and moderation proved 
a striking contrast to the despotism 
of several of the former rulers of 
Syracuse. Notwithstanding the small 
extent of his territory, Hieron was 
undoubtedly a powerful prince, and 
Syracuse seems to have risen, during 
this long period of peace and tran¬ 
quillity, to a high state of wealth and 
prosperity. Its commercial relations 
with foreign countries, especially with 
Egypt, were assiduously cultivated 
and extended ; while the natural re¬ 
sources of its fertile territory were 
developed to the utmost by the wise 
and judicious regulations of Hieron, 
which, under the name of the Lex 
Hieronica, were subsequently intro¬ 
duced into all parts of Sicily, and 
continued to be observed by the 
Romans in their administration of 
that province. At the same time, the 
monarch adorned the city with many 
public works and buildings, including 
temples, gymnasia, &c., while he 
displayed his wealth and magnificence 
by splendid offerings, both at Rome 
and the most noted sanctuaries of 
Greece. On the whole, it may pro¬ 
bably be assumed that the reign of 
Hieron II. was the period when Syra- 
racuse attained its highest degree of 
splendour and magnificence, as well as 
of wealth and splendour.”— E. II. Bun- 
bur y. He was succeeded by his grand¬ 
son Hieronymus, who forsook the 
long-tried policy of Hieron, and allied 
himself with Carthage; and though he 
was soon murdered at Leontini by the 
republican party, the Syracusans main¬ 
tained their hostility to the Romans, so 
that Marcellus marched against them 
and invested the city by sea and land 
in 214 b.c. But all his attacks, how¬ 
ever well planned and vigorously 
executed, were fruitless, for “ he had 
not calculated,” as Polybius observes, 
“ that the mind of one man is on 
some occasions superior to the force of 
many.” Archimedes, who had for 
years been employed by Hieron in 
strengthening the defences of Syra¬ 
cuse and in the construction of war¬ 
like engines of every description, by 




ROUTE 18 . -SIEGE BY THE ROMANS. 


339 


liis superior skill and science baffled 
all the assaults of the Romans. He 
had provided catcipeltai for every dis¬ 
tance, and so annoyed the Romans 
with his missiles that they could not 
approach the walls. Marcellus tried 
a night attack, hut his ships were 
driven back by other machines before 
concealed, which either crushed them 
beneath vast masses of rock or lead, 
or, seizing them by the prow, lifted 
them out of the water and suddenly 
dropped them again with a run. On 
the land side the Romans met with 
no better success ; showers of missiles 
were discharged against them through 
openings in the battlements; vast 
weights were hurled down upon them ; 
and the soldiers were caught up by 
grappling-irons and dashed violently 
to the ground. Marcellus was conse¬ 
quently compelled to abandon all at¬ 
tempts at assault, and to turn the 
siege into a blockade. In the spring 
of 212 b.c., the Romans, by a night 
assault, got possession of the upper 
part of the city, and ultimately of the 
remaining portions, which were given 
i up to pillage. In the confusion, 

I Archimedes was slain by a Roman 
! soldier, while he was drawing dia¬ 
grams in the sand. Thus fell Syracuse 
j after an independent existence of 522 
I years. In this city, as Floras observes, 

! fell the whole of Sicily. The booty 
| was enormous, and the statues, pic¬ 
tures, and other works of art carried 
to Rome to adorn the triumph of 
Marcellus, first induced that love of 
Greek art among that warlike people, 
which was reprobated by Cato as de¬ 
structive of the simplicity and fru¬ 
gality of their ancestors. 

From this period Syracuse sank to 
the condition of a Roman provincial 
town, but it continued to be the 
capital of Sicily and the residence of 
the Roman praetors, as well as of one of 
the two quaestors, or financial governors 
of the island. In Cicero’s time it had 
lost little of its prosperity or popula¬ 
tion, and the temples and other public 
buildings which existed under Hieron 
were still extant. But Sextus Poni- 
peius, during his occupation of Sicily, 
some 30 years later, inflicted on Syra¬ 


cuse severe injuries, so that Augustus 
found it necessary to send a Roman 
colony to repeople the city. It was 
still a respectable city when St. Paul, 
on his way from Melita to Puteoli, 

“ landed at Syracuse, and tarried there 
three days,” bringing probably the 
first tidings of Christianity to Sicily. 

Throughout the middle ages and 
all the vicissitudes to which Sicily 
was subjected, Syracuse continued to 
retain her importance, which she - 
owed mainly to the natural strength 
of her position. On the fall of the 
Western Empire she fell under the 
dominion of the Goths, but was re¬ 
taken by Belisarius a.d. 535, and 
annexed to the Eastern Empire, from 
whicli she was torn by the Saracens 
in 878, after a siege of 9 months, who 
put all the inhabitants to the sword 
and fired the city. In 1038 Syracuse 
was recovered by the Greeks under 
Maniaces, assisted by the Normans, 
but in two years they were driven out 
again by the Saracens, who were not 
finally dispossessed till the year 1085, 
when, after a siege of 4 months, it was 
compelled by famine to open its gates 
to Roger, the Norman. 

The description Cicero has left us of 
ancient Syracuse, where he resided as 
qutestor, is too valuable to the tourist 
to be omitted. “ You have often heard 
that Syracuse is the largest of Greek 
cities, and the most beautiful of all 
cities. And it is so in truth, as it is 
reported. For it is both strong by 
natural position, and striking to behold 
from whatever side it is approached, 
whether by land or sea. Its ports are 
almost enclosed by buildings, and 
form part of every general view of the 
city; they have separate entrances, 
but communicate at the opposite ex¬ 
tremity. By their junction that part 
of the city called the Island is separated 
from the rest by a narrow strait, but is 
reunited by means of a bridge. So 
vast is the city that it may be said to 
consist of 4 very large cities. One of 
these is the Island, already mentioned, 
which is embraced by the 2 ports, and 
projects towards the mouthy and en¬ 
trance of each of them. In it is the 

Q 2 







340 


ROUTE 18 . —SYRACUSE—ACRADINA. 


palace, which was formerly that of 
King Hiero, but is now the residence 
of our praetors. In it are also several 
sacred edifices; but two of them far 
surpass the rest; one, a temple of 
Diana, the other of Minerva, which 
before the arrival of this man (Verres) 
was most richly adorned. At the ex¬ 
tremity of the island is a fountain of 
sweet water, named that of Arethusa, 
of incredible size, and abounding in 
fish. It would be entirely covered by 
the sea, were it not separated from 
it by a massive rampart of stone. 
Another of the cities of Syracuse is 
called Achradina, in which are a 
forum of very large size, most beau¬ 
tiful porticoes, a highly ornamented 
Prytaneium, a most spacious Curia, 
and a magnificent temple of Jupiter 
Olympius; the other parts of this city 
are occupied by private buildings laid 
out in one continuous wide street, with 
many cross ones. The third city is 
that called Tyche, from an ancient 
temple of Fortune, which it contained. 
In it is a very spacious gymnasium, 
with many sacred edifices; and it is 
the part of the city most densely in¬ 
habited. The fourth city is that which, 
from having been built the last, is 
called Neapolis; at its upper part is a 
theatre of very large size, besides two 
splendid temples, one of Ceres, the 
other of Libera, and a statue of Apollo 
surnamed Temenitis, of very great 
beauty, and colossal size, which this 
man would not have hesitated to carry 
off, if he had been able to remove it.’’ 
(In Verr., iv. 52-53.) 

Cicero, it is seen, speaks only of 4 
cities, but in its better days Syracuse 
consisted of 5, Epipola) being included ; 
whence Strabo speaks of it as a Penta- 
polis. “ The ruins and vestiges of Syra¬ 
cuse,” observes Col. Leake, “ are monu¬ 
mental confirmations of the truth of 
history as to its magnificence and im¬ 
portance, and justify the belief that it 
was truly reported to have been the 
greatest of Greek cities ; for although 
Athens, including the Long Walls, had 
a greater periphery by about 2G stades, 
its superficial measurement was not so 
great as that of Syracuse. Strabo, 
however, is not correct in assigning to 


this city a circumference of 180 stades 
(20§ m.). The entire circuit, including 
Neapolis, is not more than 14 English 
miles, or about 122 stades.” 


Acradina. 

The growth of the city to these 
dimensions was very gradual. As 
the population of Ortygia increased, 
it overflowed the island, and spread 
itself over the rocky plain adjoining, 
which lay between the heights and the 
shores of the Great Port, and eventually 
over that portion of the table-land to 
the N., which was nearest the sea. This 
is thought to have taken place in the 
time of Gelon, or in the beginning of 
the 5th cent. b.c. The height thus 
occupied was called Acradina, or 
Achradina, probably from the wild 
pear-trees, which may then have over¬ 
ran the site, and of which some are 
still to be seen. It was also known 
as the “Outer City,” to distinguish 
it from the original one within the 
walls of Ortygia. Before the Athe¬ 
nian siege, the two cities were en¬ 
closed by a common wall; and Acradina 
became eventually the strongest and 
most populous quarter of Syracuse. 
Its limits are in most parts clearly 
marked out by the nature of the 
ground, and by fragments of its 
ancient walls. To the S.W. alone 
they are undefined; some antiquaries 
considering that Acradina was con¬ 
fined to the high ground; others that 
it originally extended to the shores of 
the Great Port, including thus the low 
ground outside the gates of Ortygia, 
as it certainly did in Cicero’s time. It 
seems probable, however, that this low 
ground, whether originally enclosed 
or not by a wall, was not inhabited, 
but served for monuments, for build¬ 
ings of a public character, as the 
theatre and forum, for games, for re¬ 
ligious processions, and partly for the 
burial of the dead. Of the public 
buildings of Acradina, mentioned by 
Cicero, few traces are now extant. 

As you enter on the grassy level 
immediately outside the gates of the 




341 


ROUTE 18 . — SYRACUSE—SANTA LUCIA. 


modern town, and now called Piazza 
del Pozzo Ingegnieri, you have before 
you a solitary column of red veined 
marble, without a capital, but stand¬ 
ing on an Attic base. The bases of 
7 others are also buried in the soil. 
To what building they belonged is 
uncertain, perhaps to one of the beau¬ 
tiful porticoes mentioned by Cicero. 
On this plateau once stood the Forum , 
remarkable for its large size, as it was 
directly in front of the Pentapyla, or 
fortified entrance to the island. Here 
Gelon was proclaimed king, when, after 
the victory of Hirnera, he convoked an 
assembly of the people to render an 
account of his government. The Timo- 
leonteium, or monument erected to 
Timoleon, with its portico and pa- 
hestra, where annual games were held 
in his honour, was close to the Forum. 
Here also stood the Temple of Jupiter 
Olympius, built by Hieron II., and not 
to be confounded with that of the same 
name on the other side of the Anapus. 
The magnificent Prytaneium, described 
by Cicero as most richly decorated, and 
containing an inimitable statue of Sap¬ 
pho, the clief-d'oeuvre of Silanion, stolen 
by Verres, appears to have stood near 
this Forum. In this part of the city 
probably stood the Curia , which con¬ 
tained statues of Marcellus and Verres. 
Immediately in front of the Pentapyla 
was also the magnificent sepulchre of 
Dionysius the Elder, erected by his 
son and destroyed after his expulsion ; 
and here also stood the lofty sun-dial of 
Dionysius I., which Dion mounted to 
harangue the citizens when he urged 
them to throw off the yoke of the 
younger tyrant. On the shores of the 
Great Harbour adjoining must have 
been the arsenal which Dionysius con¬ 
structed with its ICO sheds to accom¬ 
modate double that number of ships. 
And on those of the Lesser Port, or 
Portus Lacceius, stood another smaller 
arsenal with 60 sheds, or slips, close to 
the fortress of Dionysius. 

Casa (V Agatocle. —On the road from 
the Piazza del Pozzo Ingegnieri east¬ 
ward to Sta. Lucia and the Capuchin 
Convent, you can leave the avenue 
of elms and mulberries and visit the 


ruins bearing the above name, which 
lie in the Orto di Buon Iiiposo, on the 
higher ground of Acradina. These re¬ 
mains are also known as the Casa 
di Sessanti Letti; but the wonderful 
Ilexecontaclinus of Agathocles, which 
surpassed in magnitude and magnifi¬ 
cence every building in Sicily, and was 
so lofty that the gods destroyed it by 
lightning, because it soared above 
their temples, stood within the walls 
of Ortygia. The ruins in question are 
of Roman date, and seem to have 
formed part of a bath. They consist 
of a long subterranean passage of opus 
incertum, or rubble-work, vaulted with 
bottle-like tiles of a singular descrip¬ 
tion, with arches of masonry at the 
ends, and several small passages open¬ 
ing at right angles. Of the upper floor, 
nearly on a level with the ground, few 
vestiges remain. 

Santa Lucia. —More to the E. and 
opposite the mouth of the Little Port, 
a path turns northward to this convent 
of Franciscan monks. The ch. is of 
Norm, construction, but lias been much 
restored. The W. portal has a round, 
re-entering arch of a single order, with 
a broad label enriched with acanthus 
foliage, and its imposts rest on marble 
shafts, whose capitals are Norman or 
Byzantine imitations of the Corinthian. 
Over the abacus on each side projects 
the figure of a lion or leopard of life- 
size. The portal is surmounted by a low 
pediment. It cannot be later than the 
12th cent. The wheel window above 
it is some 2 centuries later. A square 
tower of the same date adjoins the ch. 
This portal stands beneath a portico 
of Italian Doric, never finished, which 
fronts the ch. to W. and S. The in¬ 
terior has been modernised. It con¬ 
tains a picture of the burial of Sta. 
Lucia, the virgin - martyr who has 
succeeded Diana in the patronage of 
Syracuse, by Caravaggio, more remark¬ 
able for size than merit. This ch. is 
raised over the scene of the virgin’s 
martyrdom, and a granite column by 
the altar is pointed out as that to 
which she was tied on that occasion. 
A subterranean octagonal chapel of 
ornate Italian architecture contains 





342 ROUTE 18 . —SYRACUSE-CAPUCHIN CONVENT—THE QUARRIES. 


her tomb, or rather cenotaph, cut in 
the rock, for her remains are at 
Venice; and here is also a marble 
statue of the saint in a reclining posi¬ 
tion, attributed to Bernini. 

From this spot a narrow lane, tra¬ 
versing vineyards fenced by stone walls, 
leads northwards to the convent of 

Sta. Maria di Gesii, in front of which 
is a cross composed of mediaeval frag¬ 
ments. Beneath this ch. are cata¬ 
combs, similar to those at San Gio¬ 
vanni, presently to be described, and 
with which they are said to com¬ 
municate. At the back of the ch. is 
the new Campo Santo, where all mo¬ 
dern Syracuse is, or will be, interred. 
To the 1. of the road to the Capuchin 
Convent, and near this cemetery, is 
an ancient aqueduct, discovered long 
since, but only cleared out during the 
last few years. 

The Capuchin Convent stands about 
h m. from Sta. Lucia, and on the 
way you pass low cliffs full of tombs, 
now almost shapeless. The convent is 
a small fort, with fosse and draw¬ 
bridge, and macliicolated battlements 
at one angle, recalling the days when 
such defences were necessary for all 
isolated buildings on the coast, for pro¬ 
tection against the Barbary corsairs. 
There is nothing within the building 
worthy of notice, unless the traveller 
has a taste for mummied monks, so 
abundant in convents of this order 
throughout Sicily. A door by the side 
of the ch. leads down a slope into one 
of the vast latomie, or quarries, from 
which materials were drawn for the 
construction of the ancient city, and 
which form so singular a feature in the 
scenery of this site. 

Lcitomia de Cappuccini. — This is 
the largest and most picturesque of 
all the numerous latomie of Syracuse, 
and, being full of vegetation, is’ com¬ 
monly known as “La Selva” It is 
a vast pit, from 80 to 100 ft. in 
depth, and of some acres in extent, 
planted with oranges, pomegranates, 
and cypresses, with an undergrowth 
of roses, arums, and acanthi, mingling 


with huge masses of rock fallen from 
above and overrun with ivy and wild 
vines, olive and fig-trees. The whole 
is walled in by lofty grey cliffs hung 
with creepers, and from the midst of 
the luxuriant foliage rise 2 tall insu¬ 
lated piers of rock, to the height of 
the surrounding cliffs, draped and 
crested with foliage. On the top of 
one you observe a flight of steps, cut 
in the rock of old, and now inacces¬ 
sible. The cliffs in parts are hollowed 
into vast halls, with flat roofs, the 
walls still bearing traces of the chisel. 
Here and there arched niches in the 
walls prove that in ancient times the 
dead were sometimes here interred, 
and Protestant epitaphs on the rock 
in one comer show the application of 
the quarry to the same purpose in our 
own days. 

Westward from this quarry, at the 
back of Sta. Maria di Gesii, is a 
smaller one, called the Latomia Lan- 
dolina. Still further to the W. is the 
picturesque Latomia del Marchese 
Ccisale, alias L. de' Greet, alias L’ In - 
tagliatella. It is very similar to that 
of the Capuchins, though not sunk 
to so great a depth. It lias the same 
rich vegetation, with more floral 
beauty: similar isolated piers of 
rock, two with ruins on the top> 
shrouded with ivy; the third retain¬ 
ing a fragment of the rock-hewn steps 
by which it was once ascended. Bound 
the verge of this quarry are traces 
of an ancient road, which are most 
prominent where it crosses the cliff 
which separates this from a smaller 
quarry to the W. Here are also many 
sarcophagi sunk in the rock at the 
verge of the cliff. A huge mass of 
rock which lias fallen from above into 
the quarry is also full of these traces 
of ancient sepulture. 

Just to the S. of this Latomia is 
another, comparatively shallow, de¬ 
voted by the Cavalier Landolina, the 
proprietor, to the burial of Protestants, 
and known by the name of Campi 
Elisi. In the road just outside it are 
three wells of ancient construction, 
sunk in the rock, and lined with 
stucco. 

There can be no doubt that these 




343 


ROUTE 18.-S. GIOVANNI-SAN MARZIANO. 


quarries are of very ancient formation. 
It is probable, indeed, that they were 
commenced in the earliest days of Syra¬ 
cuse before the heights of Acradina 
were inhabited, and that hence were 
drawn the materials for the construc¬ 
tion of the walls and buildings of the 
original city on Ortygia. They were 
doubtless enlarged and deepened in 
succeeding ages, as the increase of 
population made fresh demands for 
habitations. It is certain that they ex¬ 
isted before the celebrated siege by the 
Athenians, 415 n.c., and that some one 
of them was then deep enough to serve 
for a prison, and extensive enough to 
hold the unhappy 7000, the relics of 
the great Athenian host, who were 
captured at the Asinarus. There is 
every probability that that of the Ca¬ 
puchins is the one described by Thucy¬ 
dides, who gives a touching picture 
of the misery the Athenians were made 
to endure from close confinement, 
hunger and thirst, filth, exposure, and 
disease. Certain holes in the angles 
of the rocks are still pointed out by 
tradition as the spots where some of 
the Athenians were chained. The 
greater part of them perished here, 
but Plutarch tells us that some among 
them who could recite the verses' of 
Euripides were liberated from capti¬ 
vity 

“ When Athens’ armies fell at Syracuse, 

And fettered thousands bore the yoke of war, 
Redemption rose up in the Attic Muse— 

Her voice the only ransom from afar. 

See ! as they chaunt the tragic hymn, (he car 
Of the o’ermastered victor stops; the reins 
Fall from his hands; his idle scimitar 
Starts from his belt: he rends his captive’s 
chains, 

And bids him thank the bard for freedom and 
his strains.” 

Childe Harold. 

In Cicero’s time these quarries were 
used as prisons for criminals from all 
parts of Sicily. He speaks of them, 
indeed, as having been constructed for 
this purpose by Dionysius; but this 
can only refer to some particular addi¬ 
tions made by that tyrant. Truly has 
he said of these quarries, “Nothing 
can be made or conceived so closed 
against all escape; so fenced in on all 
sides; so secure as a place of custody.” 


San Giovanni .—To the W. of the 
Campi Elisi stands the old cli. of this 
name, built over the very early ch. of 
S. Marziano, and covering the entrance 
to the subterranean wonders of the 
Catacombs. The ch. of San Giovanni 
was founded in 1182, but, as it now 
stands, is of much later date ; though 
the three round arches of the portico 
which front it on the S. are apparently 
coeval with the original structure. 
The central arch rests on twisted 
shafts, with capitals adorned with 
heads mingling with vine foliage: the 
side arches are simpler, with bossed 
capitals. The door of the Chapel of 
the Sacrament at the back of the ch. 
is pointed ; and above it is a small 
circular window, witli c-usped lights. 
The west portal, now blocked up, has 
a square head, with a low pediment; 
above which is a circular window, 
enriched with cusped fights, in the 
flamboyant style of Northern Gothic. 
The ch. contains nothing but an eagle 
in high relief, as the emblem of the 
Evangelist, and a bad fresco of the 
Virgin and Child. Beneath this ch. 
is the 

Crypt of San Marziano, the primitive 
ch. of Sicily, constructed on the spot 
where St. Paul is said to have preached 
during his three days’ sojourn at Syra¬ 
cuse. It is of massive, simple archi¬ 
tecture, on the plan of a Greek cross, 
with an apse at each end, save on 
the W., where is the staircase by which 
you descend. In the centre was origin¬ 
ally a tower, supported by massivo 
piers, in which are engaged columns 
with Ionic capitals, and heavy abaci, 
bearing the emblems of the Evange¬ 
lists, with Latin inscriptions and By¬ 
zantine foliage. These piers, as well 
as the walls of the chapel, are covered 
with frescoes, some of very early date. 
An Ionic capital inverted is pointed 
out as the first episcopal seat in Sicily, 
and called the “ Chair of St. Martian.” 
Here is also shown the sepulchre of 
the saint, who was the contemporary 
of the Apostles, and the protomartyr 
of Sicily, said to have been made a 
bishop by St. Peter himself. It is but 
a cenotaph, his remains on the invasion 








344 


ROUTE 18 . -SYRACUSE-THE CATACOMBS. 


of the island by the Saracens having 
been carried off to Gaeta. Close to 
the tomb is a rude stone altar, where 
St. Paul is believed to have said mass. 
A column of grey Egyptian granite is 
shown as that to which St. Martian 
was tied at his martyrdom ; and it is 
believed to have acquired its reddish 
tinge from his blood. This crypt is 
regarded as a very sacred spot. Here 
the Apostles Peter and Paul, and the 
Evangelists Mark and Luke, are said 
to have been received by St. Martian : 
here St. Mark is believed to have been 
martyred; and the very earth is looked 
on as holy, because bathed in the 
blood of these Fathers of the Church. 
The curious baptismal font, now in the 
cathedral of Syracuse, was found in 
this crypt. 

Le Catacombs. —Close to the ch. of 
San Giovanni is the entrance to the 
Catacombs, those wonderful sepulchral 
vaults, among the most interesting 
monuments of ancient Syracuse, and 
far more extensive and of more regular 
construction than those at Rome or 
Naples. They are vulgarly believed 
to be 8 miles in length: some even 
assert that they extend to Catania ; 
the truth being that they have never 
been thoroughly explored. Torches 
are necessary for the guides; and 
each visitor should also be provided 
with a taper. The principal gallery, 
which you first enter, is about 10 or 
12 ft. wide, and runs in a straight line 
for a long distance, till it is choked by 
fallen masses of rock. In each wall are 
large arched openings, extending far 
into the rock, and containing nume¬ 
rous sarcophagi, sunk side by side, all 
once covered by slabs, but now open. 
Multitudes of small niches, arched or 
square-topped, are hollowed in the 
walls of the vaults as well as of the 
passages, many having been con¬ 
structed for infants. The walls, and 
roofs of the vaults and niches, are 
covered with fine stucco, in some places 
retaining traces of paintings ; here, of 
the Virgin and Child; there, of crosses, 
palm and olive branches, doves, and 
other symbols of the Christian faith. 
Monograms, and even inscriptions in 


Greek, are in places visible. A num¬ 
ber of similar passages cut this at 
right angles, while others run parallel 
to it. At intervals are large chambers, 
circular or square, lighted from above 
by shafts, and containing tombs similar 
in form to those in the passages. All 
the sepulchres have been rifled ages 
since ; and nothing but the ashes of 
the dead is left to reward research. 

Various and discordant have been 
the opinions held respecting the origin 
and primary use of these extraordi¬ 
nary constructions. They have been 
ascribed to the early Greek inhabitants 
of Syracuse ; to the Romans, pagan and 
Christian; to the Greeks of the Low 
Empire, and even to the Saracens; 
and they have been supposed to have 
been constructed for prisons, for dens 
for the wild beasts of the amphitheatre, 
for quarries, for barracks, and as a re¬ 
fuge for persecuted Christians. Rut 
there can be no doubt that they were 
formed for sepulchral purposes. The 
question is, in what age were they 
commenced? Serradifalco refers their 
origin to a very remote period, even 
before Acradina had become the second 
city of Syracuse. Colonel Leake also 
regards them as principally of the Hel¬ 
lenic age, on account of the much 
larger population of those times, but 
thinks that they were continued under 
the Roman government. Hughes 
ascribes them to the interval between 
the colonisation of S} r racuse by Augus¬ 
tus and the division of the empire. 
We will merely observe that there 
is evidence on the spot not only that 
excavations on this site were formed 
prior to the construction of the Cata¬ 
combs, properly so called, and for dif¬ 
ferent purposes, but that the sepulchral 
chambers and niches which give their 
peculiar character to the excavations, 
if in construction dating from the Hel¬ 
lenic days of Syracuse, were appro¬ 
priated as sepulchres in late Roman 
and Christian times, to such an extent, 
as to have obliterated all traces of an 
earlier occupation by the Greeks. 

Stanza del Locido .—At the end of 
the lane in front of the ch. of San Gio¬ 
vanni, is a small Roman tomb, bear- 



ROUTE 18 . —BAGNO DI VENERE—WALLS OF ACRADINA. 


iiig this name. Its walls are frescoed 
with foliage and flowers, with pea¬ 
cocks and peahens. In the centre of 
its vaulted roof are 2 genii in a wreath 
of myrtle-leaves. The key of this 
tomb is in the keeping of D. Manuel 
Rossano, the custode of the Ear of Dion¬ 
ysius. 

Bagno di Venere. —To the S. of this 
tomb a path through a cactus-lane 
leads to the Orto di Buonavia, where 
are the ruins of an ancient bath, exca¬ 
vated in 1803 by the Gavaliere Lan- 
dolina, who found therein the statues 
of Venus and iEsculapius, which now 
adorn the Museum of Syracuse. “ A 
descent of 30 steps led us past several 
chambers to a narrow passage, out of 
which entrances led into rooms on 
each side, in one of which we observed 
a number of cells or troughs for the 
accommodation of bathers. I take this 
to have been a sudatorium, or sweat¬ 
ing-room, as the walls still retain 
marks of the flues which conducted 
heat into the apartment. Having 
passed a spacious corridor, our progress 
was at last stopped by a large cham¬ 
ber, in which a spring of clear water 
rises ; and niches have been made for 
the reception of statues.— Hughes. 

Walls of Acradina. —Between this 
spot and the church of San Giovanni 
is a hollow, which some take to be 
the Via Lata, the continuous wide 
street mentioned by Cicero as travers¬ 
ing Acradina; but it is rather the 
natural depression which divided 
Acradina from Neapolis and Tyche, 
the walls of the former lying to the 
E. of it. The foundations of these 
walls, which were the outer walls of 
Syracuse before the time of Diony¬ 
sius, may be traced for 1J m. on the 
edge of a low cliff, which extends in 
a direct line southwards from the 
creek of Sta. Panagia. In this same 
hollow you may observe many ruts of 
ancient wheels, for this was the main 
road from Ortygia into the outer city. 
Along the sea-clitfs of Acradina, from 
the Capuchin convent to the creek of 
Sta. Panagia, you meet with many 
fragments of ancient wall. Behind 


345 

the convent are sepulchral chambers 
and niches hollowed in the lines of 
low cliffs inland. The cliffs below 
the convent seaward have been worn 
by the waves into vast caverns, into 
which the sea breaks with tremendous 
violence, so as to render access to 
them in a boat unsafe, save in very 
calm weather. The second cave be¬ 
yond the Capuchin Rocks is called 
the Cave of Diocles, who is vulgarly 
believed to have here framed his cele- 
rated code of laws ; its alias of Grotto 
of Neptune is a more appropriate appel¬ 
lation. It is one of the lions of Syra¬ 
cuse ; its roof being hung with sta¬ 
lactites, and its walls tinged with the 
richest and most varied hues that 
rocks can assume. A little beyond, 
an isolated rock, perforated and sur¬ 
mounted by a cross, is a picturesque 
object. It is called Scoglio di Grotta 
Santa. At the back of the point here 
are the substructions of some build¬ 
ing, sometimes called the Temple of 
Juno. Here the coast sinks in a 
rocky hollow, the only spot in the 
line of Acradina where a landing 
could be effected, and here must have 
been the Sea-Gate, for there are 
traces of a gate, and of roads branch¬ 
ing from it into the city. Here, on 
the points of the cliffs on either hand, 
you come upon the first remains of 
the ancient walls, which may be traced 
in fragments from this spot all round 
the cliffs to the creek of Sta. Panagia. 
In no spot do more than 3 courses re¬ 
main ; most frequently the substruc¬ 
tions alone are seen above the ground. 
Even where these are gone, the line 
of walls can often be traced by the 
levelling of the rock. The walls were 
8 or 9 ft. thick, and the blocks of irre¬ 
gular size and arrangement. Just 
beyond the site of the Sea-Gate is a 
little cove, called Buon Servizio, from 
the “ good service ” Archimedes is 
supposed to have rendered his country 
on this spot; for here he is believed 
to have planted the engines which 
crushed or lifted up the Roman ships, 
and to have set them on fire with his 
wonderful lens. Passing this, and a 
spacious cavern in the cliffs, called the 
Second Grotto of Neptune, you reach 

<4 3 



346 


ROUTE 18 . —SYRACUSE—NEAPOLIS 


the headland called Capo di Sta. 
Panagia, beyond which, to the Cava 
di Sta. Panagia, the cliffs are very 
low, till at the Cava itself the ground 
sinks in a slope to the sea. The walls 
on this side the city recede from the 
verge of the cliffs, and crown the top 
of the ridge some little distance in¬ 
land. The Cava is a narrow ravine 
sunk between steep white cliffs, and 
here is a tonnara , in full activity in 
the tunny season between May and 
August. From the inner end of this 
Cava, as already stated, you can trace 
the eastern walls of Acradina by frag¬ 
ments along the ridge southwards 
almost to S. Giovanni. The space 
enclosed by these walls, once the 
most populous and best built quarter 
of Syracuse, is now a desert,'—a bare, 
rocky plain, destitute of vegetation, 
and with hardly a vestige remaining 
to show it had ever been inhabited. 
“ The quarter of Acradina, and indeed 
the whole ancient site, is remarkable 
for the ruins it does not contain, 
namely, those of the private houses, 
which seem to have vanished utterly 
away, while the rugged rock which 
preceded and supported now also 
survives and mocks them.”-— W. E. G. 
The site of the Porta Agragiana, 
or the gate leading to Agrigentum, 
which opened in the walls of Acra¬ 
dina to the S.W., cannot now be 
determined. It was just outside this 
gate that the tomb of Archimedes 
stood, which, in less than 150 years, 
had been utterly forgotten by the 
Syracusans, and was discovered and 
pointed out to them by Cicero (see 
p. 350). 

Few tourists will have the time or 
inclination to make this tour of Acra¬ 
dina. The usual thing is to proceed 
from S. Giovanni and the Bagno di 
Venere to the Ear of Dionysius and 
the Theatre. 

Neapolis. 

The third quarter of Syracuse men¬ 
tioned by Cicero is Tyche, which 
occupied that part of the wide table¬ 
land lying to the W. of Acradina, 
and on the edge of the northern 


cliffs looking towards Megara, and of 
which we will presently speak. No 
mention is made of this quarter during 
the siege by the Athenians, when 
Syracuse was limited to Ortygia and 
Acradina, or the “ Inner ” and “ Outer 
City,” whence we must conclude it 
was of subsequent formation. There 
was a suburb, however, of Acradina 
called Temenitis, which had grown up 
round the temenos, or sacred enclo¬ 
sure of the altar of Apollo, which was 
included within the defences raised 
by the Syracusans in the winter of 
415 b.c. This suburb subsequently 
formed part of Neapolis, which could 
not, therefore, as its name implies, 
have been in its every part the latest 
quarter of Syracuse that was inha¬ 
bited. We do not, then, greatly 
offend chronological order when we 
lead the traveller through this portion 
of the ancient city before taking him 
to the more distant quarter of Tyclie. 
The colossal statue of Apollo, whose 
vast size alone preserved it from the 
rapacious hands of Yerres, but which 
was eventually carried to Rome by 
Tiberius, must have stood on the 
heights above the theatre, and pro¬ 
bably near the edge of the cliffs, 
where it could be seen from Ortygia. 
The two beautiful temples of Ceres 
and Proserpine, described by Cicero 
as adorning Neapolis, and which had 
been built by Gelon with the spoils 
taken from the Carthaginians at 
Himera, 480 b.c., stood in the same 
suburb of Temenitis, and probably on 
the line of cliffs to the west of the 
altar of Apollo. The precise sites of 
these buildings cannot now be de¬ 
termined. Neapolis appears from its 
remains, as well as from the descrip¬ 
tions we have of it, to have been one 
of the most splendid quarters of the 
city. It occupied not only a consider¬ 
able portion of the great table-land, 
but also the lower plateau to the S., 
lying between the cliffs of Temenitis 
and the marsh, where stand the spa¬ 
cious theatre, described by Cicero, and 
other monuments of ancient magnifi¬ 
cence. We have no notice of the date 
of the fortification of Neapolis, but it 
is probable that it was enclosed by 




347 


ROUTE 18 . —riSCINA- 

Dionysius, when in 385 b.c. lie sur¬ 
rounded Syracuse with walls of sueli 
extent that it became the greatest of 
Greek cities. Of the walls of Neapo- 
lis few vestiges remain save towards 
the W., where they follow the line of 
cliffs which bound the lower plateau 
immediately above the marshy plain, 
and they can be traced in this direction 
almost to Tremiglia, forming an acute 
angle with the cliffs of Epipolaa above 
them. 

To see the monuments of Neapolis, 
on leaving the green Largo del Pozzo 
Ingegniere, with its solitary column, 
you follow the high road to Catania 
for about a mile, till you reach a 
small white house by a cross-road. 
The turn to the rt. leads to the Bagno 
di Venere and San Giovanni; that to 
the 1. to the Ear of Dionysius and the 
Greek Theatre. Taking the latter 
through vineyards and cornfields, and 
passing the Latomia di Santa Venera, 
at the distance of a furlong, you 
reach the small chapel of S. Niccolo. 

Piscina di S. Niccolo. — Beneath 
this chapel is a subterranean reservoir, 
64 ft. by 25, divided into 3 aisles by 
rows of square pillars 12 or 15 ft. 
high. The side walls are the natural 
rock, but the ends are blocked tip 
with masonry. The whole is of Ro¬ 
man construction, and was probably 
formed to supply with water the 
Amphitheatre, which lies just below 
it, for there are aqueducts leading to 
the reservoir from above, and channels 
running from it towards the Amphi¬ 
theatre. Leaving the chapel of S. 
Niccolo, you pass beneath the arches 
of the aqueduct, having on one hand 
the Latomia del Paradiso with the 
celebrated Ear of Dionysius, and on 
the other the Amphitheatre and Ara. 

Anfiteatro. —On the slope of the 
hill immediately below the S. Niccolo 
lies the Amphitheatre, the principal 
monument of Roman Syracuse. As 
it is not mentioned by Cicero, but is 
alluded to as existing in the times of 
Tiberius and Nero, it was probably 
constructed by the Roman" colony 
established by Augustus. In -1839- 


- AMPHITHEATRE-ARA. 

40 it was cleared of the rubbish 
which had choked it. Throughout 
the greater part it is excavated in the 
rock, but on the S., where the ground 
sinks to the plain, it is built up with 
masonry. Its form is that of a long- 
ellipse, the greater axis being 272 10 
Sicilian palms, the lesser 154; thus, 
though greatly inferior in size to the 
Coliseum and the amphitheatre of 
Tarragona, it approaches those of 
Capua, Catania, and Pola, and exceeds 
those of Verona, Otricoli, and Puz- 
zuoli. The arena is surrounded by a 
podium of masonry 6 or 7 ft. high, on 
whose cornice are Latin inscriptions 
marking the seats of the privileged 
persons who occupied the lower divi¬ 
sion. Under the podium is a vaulted 
corridor opening on the arena by 8 
gates, probably for the entrance of the 
wild beasts and gladiators. Two prse- 
cinctiones divide the cavea into 3 tiers ; 
the seats of the two lower tiers being- 
hewn from the rock, remain on the 
eastern half, but on the opposite side 
they are almost obliterated, and of 
the upper tier hardly a vestige ex¬ 
ists. In the middle of the arena is 
sunk a vast cistern, in which still 
stand the piers that supported the 
beams which covered it. 

Returning again to the road, just 
where it is crossed by the aqueduct, 
you have, close to the S., the ruins of 
the 

Ara.— This singular relic of anti¬ 
quity was brought to light in 1839. 
Diodorus tells us that Hieron II. 
erected an altar near the theatre, 
which was a stadium in length and 
of proportionate breadth and altitude. 
An altar of such a length so far ex¬ 
ceeds in size all other‘monuments of 
the kind either extant or described 
by the ancients that we might have 
doubted the correctness of the text 
had not the truth been established by 
these remains. The length of the 
monument is 640 ft., or 33 ft. more 
than a Greek stadium, which was 
equal to 606 ft. 9 in. English, and its 
breadth was 61 ft. It certainly had 
not the usual proportions of altars, 
and did not resemble the great altar 







348 


ROUTE 18 . —SYRACUSE—EAR OF DIONYSIUS. 


of Jupiter at Olympia, which was a 
square of 80 ft. Its dimensions are 
vast, but not out of character with the 
people who could institute a yearly 
sacrifice to Jupiter of 450 oxen for 
their delivery from the tyranny of 
Thrasybulus. This monument is partly 
cut in the rock and partly constructed 
of rude masonry, adorned with mould¬ 
ings, resting on 3 steps, and covered 
in parts with stucco. It runs due N. 
and S. 

Lcdomia del Paradiso .—This spa¬ 
cious quarry receives its name from 
its picturesque beauty. It is hollowed 
just at the verge of the table-land, so 
that while on the N. and E. the cliffs 
rise some 100 ft. above its bottom, on 
the opposite it is almost open to the 
slope. The hollow is covered with a 
luxuriant growth of fruit-trees, with a 
variety of shrubs and flowers mingled 
with the fallen masses of rock. A 
tall, insulated pier of rock, capped 
with mediaeval ruins, now inaccessible, 
rises in the centre of the hollow. 
Tradition says that a bridge once 
spanned the gulf between the clifts 
and these ruins, though the distance 
is too great to have been bridged over 
by the ancients. The cliffs around 
the quarry are excavated into vast 
caverns, hung with ferns, whose walls 
and roofs show the marks of the an¬ 
cient chisel. Here are rope-walks and 
nitre-works, and the caverns are black 
with the smoke of the furnaces. In 
the face of the cliff above these 
caverns you may perceive a long line 
of terracotta pipes. But the most 
interesting feature in this Latomia is 
the celebrated grotto called Orecchio 
di Dionisio. 

Ear of Dionysius. —By some this 
name has been applied to the entire 
quarry, which in plan does bear some 
resemblance to a human ear, of which 
the said grotto might then represent 
the meatus. But the more current 
tradition attaches that name to the 
grotto alone. The story goes that 
the cavern was excavated by the 
tyrant for a prison, and was so 
planned that the smallest whisper 


uttered at its remotest extremity 
could be heard in a chamber high in 
the innermost wall, where the tyrant 
is supposed to have sat listening to 
the conversation of his victims. It is 
a fact recorded in history that Dio¬ 
nysius excavated some of these la- 
tomie, and confined his captives in 
them. But the tradition attaching to 
this particular cavern dates only from 
the 10th cent., when the painter Cara¬ 
vaggio, visiting it, remarked its simi¬ 
larity to an ear, and suggested that it 
might have been constructed for the 
purpose stated above. The sugges¬ 
tion pleased his hearers, and passed 
from mouth to mouth, till it came to 
be implicitly believed. The cavern 
is a high narrow ojiening in the rock, 
tapering upwards; and, if it bear in 
outline anv resemblance to an ear, it 
is to the ear of an ass. It winds in¬ 
wards in the form of an S for about 
200 ft., is about 70 ft. high, and 
varies in width from 15 to 35 ft. 
Along the roof is a square channel, 
formed, say the guides, to collect the 
sounds and convey them to the 
chamber within. The said chamber 
was till of late inaccessible, but a way 
has been broken into it from the 
ground above, and travellers may 
now test the truth of the acoustic 
marvels reported of it. The echo at 
the mouth of the cavern is very loud. 
The guides are in the habit of singing- 
songs, tearing paper, or firing a small 
cannon, to test it. The whisper of a 
person at the inner end is heard dis¬ 
tinctly at the entrance, provided he 
put his mouth to the wall; otherwise 
it is heard only as an indistinct 
murmur. “ The full voice is drowned 
in the confusion of echoes. The 
voices of several persons speaking at 
once are no more intelligible than 
the cackling of geese. The most 
agreeable effect produced was by the 
notes of a German flute; the finest 
by a bugle-liorn; the sound in both 
instances being multiplied till it ap¬ 
peared almost like a band of music.”— 
Hughes. The echo is heard to great 
advantage from a small chamber just 
over the mouth of the cavern, to be 
hauled up into which, or to be let 



349 


ROUTE 18 . —SYRACUSE—GREEK THEATRE. 


down from above, used to be con¬ 
sidered “ the thing ” by travellers of 
the last generation. The English 
tourist of to-day may perhaps desire to 
accomplish this feat when he is told 
that the Prince of Wales, on his 
recent visit to Syracuse, did not hesi¬ 
tate to be let down in a chair from the 
brow of the cliff. 

On the slope just below the Latomia 
del Paradiso lies the 

Teatro Greco. —This is one of the 
finest relics of Hellenic Syracuse. 
We have no record of the date of its 
construction, but, as Col. Leake ob¬ 
serves, it may with great probability 
be ascribed to that period of advanc¬ 
ing wealth and civilisation which fol¬ 
lowed the victory gained over the 
Carthaginians at Himera, 480 b.c. 
Though its commencement may be 
attributed to the reign of Hieron I. 
''478-407 b.c.), it can hardly have 
been completed till many years later; 
the first mention we find of it in his¬ 
tory is in 406 b.c. We also know that 
the name of the architect who com¬ 
pleted it was Democopus. This theatre 
is, as Cicero describes it, of vast size— 
the largest of Greek theatres in Sicily, 
according to Diodorus. It is calcu¬ 
lated that it would accommodate more 
than 24,000 spectators, and that it 
rivalled in size some of the largest 
theatres of Greece. Like the gene¬ 
rality of such structures it is hollowed 
in the rock, in the highest part of the 
slope, commanding a beautiful view 
over the Great Port and Ortygia to 
the sea. The plan is, as usual, more 
than a semicircle, the 2 sides of the 
arc being prolonged 17 ft. beyond the 
diameter. There are now to be counted 
42 successive rows of seats above the 
orchestra, divided by 8 flights of steps 
into 9 cunei. But above these, at the 
top of the slope, are 3 more seats, at 
such an elevation that there must have 
been at least 61 tiers of seats in all. 
There are but 2 prxcinct tones, or cor¬ 
ridors, one about 3 ft. wide, above the 
loth row of seats ; the other 7 ft. 9 in. 
wide, above the 23rd row. The outer 
side of this corridor is a podium, nearly 
oft. high, with a moulded base and 


cornice, and a fascia bearing Greek 
inscriptions, carved in the rock, appa¬ 
rently the distinguishing titles of the 
cunei into which the seats were di¬ 
vided. The central division bears 
the name of Jupiter Olympius; on 
that next to it to the W., is the name 
of King Hieron; on the next, that of 
Queen Philistis; and on the next, that 
of Queen Nereis ; on that to the E. of 
the central cuneus the inscription is 
quite effaced, but on the adjoining 2 
there are fragments, now too much 
worn to be intelligible. Nereis was a 
daughter of Pyrrhus King of Epirus, 
and wife of Gelon, son of Hieron II., 
and mother of Hieronymus, the last 
tyrant of Syracuse. The Philistis here 
recorded is doubtless the same whose 
head appears upon the beautiful silver 
coins of Syracuse, called from her 
“ Philistidia.” But as no mention is 
made of her in history, we are left to 
conjecture who she was. The most 
probable view is that she was one of 
the queens of Hieron II., who in the 
course of his long life may have had 
more wives than are recorded in his¬ 
tory. It is no wonder that these in¬ 
scriptions are now scarcely legible, as 
for ages a water-mill stood on the slope 
of the theatre, in a grove of trees, and 
the water poured down the seats in a 
long cascade. The spot is still vul¬ 
garly known as “ I Molini di Galerme." 

Little remains, of the scena, and not 
a vestige of the stage; but there are 
2 square hewn masses of rock, which 
must have stood at the angles of the 
scena. A long pit in front of the 
stage, lined with op>us incertum, may 
have served to contain the siparium 
or curtain. In the excavations made 
here in 1839 many fragments of 
statues and bas-reliefs, as well as of 
architectural adornments were disco¬ 
vered among the debris. Beneath the 
outer cuneus on each side, is a vaulted 
passage, or parodos, cut in the rock. 

In the cliff above the theatre are a 
reservoir and several sepulchral cham¬ 
bers. Here is also a long flight of 
rock-hewn steps, just over the Ear of 
Dionysius, which probably formed the 
approach to the theatre from the upper 
part of the city. 








350 


ROUTE 18 . —SYRACUSE—SEPULCHRES. 


Ninfeo .—This reservoir, commonly 
called the “Nymphseum,” is a large 
vaulted recess, hollowed in the cliff, 
and surrounded by seats hewn from 
the rock ; it is supplied with water by 
2 aqueducts, which open upon it at 
different elevations. The sepulchres 
adjoining it are some evidently Greek, 
and others of Roman adaptation, if 
not construction. The cliff here lias 
been scarped, and carved into archi¬ 
tectural forms. At the VV. end of this 
cliff opens a 

Sepulchral road, sunk in the rock, 
and winding up to the level of the 
city above. “ In the whole of its curvi¬ 
linear ascent, a distance of about 200 
yards, the perpendicular sides are 
lined with sepulchral crypts, each 
consisting of one or more small 
chambers, varying in form and mag¬ 
nitude, containing mural niches for 
cinerary urns. Down this road, ac¬ 
cording to tradition, the lectica of 
Timoleon descended to the public 
assembly upon the shoulders of Syra¬ 
cusan citizens. There is no spot in 
Syracuse where the religio loci can 
be more strongly felt, or where 
the ground appears more sacred.”— 
Hughes. At an angle of the road are 
some figures on foot and on horseback, 
carved on the cliff in relief. The two 
entrances to this road from the plain 
above are supposed to have been the 
Temenitid Gates, which led from Te- 
menitis to the lower part of Neapolis. 

A little to the W. is another se¬ 
pulchral road, cut through the cliffs, 
and leading straight down from the 
city into the plain. Its walls are 
hollowed into numerous small niches, 
in several rows, of various sizes and 
forms. At the lower part of the road 
are a few sepulchral chambers; and 
in the cliffs of the city, beyond this, 
are tombs of the same description. 
The tombs in these roads probably 
date from the earliest days of Syracuse. 
Till the 4th cent, b.c., when the city 
was confined to Ortygia and Acradina, 
these tombs must have been outside 
the walls, and just in the position the 
Greeks of Sicily generally chose for 
their sepulchres. At a later date they 


were included within the fortifications 
that enclosed Neapolis, Tyche, and 
Epipoke; but it would appear from 
the character of some of these monu¬ 
ments that the dead continued to be 
interred here even in Roman times. 

The rocky surface of the plain 
above the theatre is in many parts 
furrowed with the ruts of ancient 
cars. The plain is here crossed also 
by aqueducts, both ancient and mo¬ 
dern ; the former sunk deep in the 
rock, and covered with slabs. These 
aqueducts can be traced from this 
spot for several miles, to the higher 
part of Epipolte, sunk deep below 
the surface of the rocky plain. 

It is but a short distance across the 
city plain to the N. of the great Latomia 
del Paradiso to another portion of the 
ancient necropolis, on the high road 
from Syracuse to Catania. Here the 
ground is much broken, and the Ioav 
cliffs are hollowed into tombs, either 
chambers or niches. Among them 
two with architectural facades are 
prominent. Being too striking to bn 
left nameless, the Syracusans have 
conferred on these monuments the 
titles of the Tombs of Timoleon and 
Archimedes. 

Sepolcro d’ Archimede. — This is a 
square chamber, hollowed in the rock* 
with a large recess for a body, and 
9 upright niches in the walls. The 
rock in front is hewn into a Done 
fagade, in the Greek style, though not 
of Greek proportions, betraying the 
decadence of art. It probably dates 
from the interval between the capture 
of the city by Marcellus and the 
establishment of the Roman colony 
by Augustus. The tomb of the illus¬ 
trious Syracusan, whose death was 
lamented even by the foe he had so 
often baffled, lay outside the city, 
beyond the Agragian Gate; and we 
have so minute an account of it that 
it is surprising that either of these 
monuments can have been mistaken for 
it. Archimedes, when dying, charged 
his friends to place on his tomb a 
sphere and cylinder, and dictated the 
epitaph to be inscribed on his monu¬ 
ment. Only 137 years later, Cicero, 



ROUTE 18 . —TOMBS OF ARCHIMEDES AND TIMOLEON. 351 


then quaestor of Sicily, discovered the 
monument by means of a copy of the 
epitaph in his possession ; its very site 
having been forgotten by the Syra¬ 
cusans. These are his words : “ When 
quaestor, I discovered the sepulchre of 
Archimedes, surrounded and overrun 
with thickets and brambles, and quite 
unknown to the Syracusans, who even 
denied its existence. For I possessed 
certain verses which I had heard were 
inscribed on his monument, and which 
declared that on the top of his tomb 
were placed a sphere and a cylinder. 
But as I was scanning all the sepul¬ 
chres with my eyes (for there is a 
great abundance of them at the 
Agragian Gates) I remarked a small 
column rising but slightly above the 
brambles, which bore the figures of a 
sphere and a cylinder. Turning im¬ 
mediately to the Syracusan nobles 
who were with me, I exclaimed that 
I thought this was the very monu¬ 
ment I was seeking. Many persons 
were sent in with sickles to clear 
away the thickets and open a way to 
it. As soon as a passage was made 
we went to it, and there, on the fur¬ 
ther side of the pedestal, appeared 
the inscription, with nearly the latter 
half of the verses eaten away. Thus 
would the most noble and once the 
most learned of Greek cities have 
remained in ignorance of the tomb of 
her most ingenious citizen, had she 
not learned it from a man of Arpi- 
num.”— Tusc. Quxst v. 23. 

“ So Tully paused, amid the wrecks of time, 

On the rude stone to trace the truth sublime, 
When at his feet, in honoured dust disclosed, 
The immortal Sage of Syracuse reposed! ” 

Rogers. 

Tomha di Timoleone. — The upper 
tomb, which is known by this appel¬ 
lation, is very similar to the last, but 
not in such good preservation. One 
side of the chamber is broken away, 
as well as half the fa§ade, which 
shows the same meagre Doric, with 
the same Roman pediment, as the 
sepulchre below it. It can claim no 
higher antiquity, and is assuredly of 
much subsequent date to r Iimoleon. 
Besides, as we have already shown, 
the monument of the great Corinthian 


liberator stood in the Forum, near the 
gates of modern Syracuse. The entire 
neighbourhood of these monuments 
swarms with tombs : every cliff, every 
rock, is hollowed for sepulture; the 
very ground is sunk into sarcophagi, 
or into holes for cinerary urns, which 
retain the grooves for the lids which 
once covered them. The chambers 
are often spacious, with lofty arched 
roofs, and niches for bodies or urns 
in the walls, and with doorways of 
Egyptian form. Some of the cliffs 
are honeycombed with small niches 
for urns, probably of Roman date ; 
and there is one tomb, close to the 
road, which contains paintings of 
Christian times. In several places 
may be observed flights of steps cut in 
the rock, for access to the higher tier 
of tombs. Winding up among these se¬ 
pulchres is an ancient road, sunk deep 
in the rock, and ribbed transversely 
to facilitate the ascent up the steep. 
It seems probable from the character 
of the tombs that this was the necro¬ 
polis of Syracuse in days subsequent 
to her autonomous existence, when 
the greater part of the vast plateau 
had ceased to be inhabited. This 
spot is little more than one mile from 
the modern city, and is close to the 
high-road to Catania. 


EriPOLiE. 

When Syracuse was limited to the 
“ Inner and Outer City,” the upper 
part of the table-land, on which the 
latter was built, was called Epipolae, 
correctly described by Thucydides as 
“ a rocky ground lying just over the 
city, high and steep but sloping down 
to the city by degrees, so that every¬ 
thing within the city was visible from 
it. And it is called Epipolae, because 
it lietli above the level of the rest.” 
This term was then applied to the 
whole of the platform W. of Acradina; 
but as the suburbs of Temenitis and 
Tyche grew into the separate cities of 
Neapolis and Tyclie, the name of 
Epipola) was limited to the higher 
portion of the triangle, where a con¬ 
siderable town is supposed to have 








352 


ROUTE 18 . —SYRACUSE—EPirOL^ —TREMIGLIA. 


sprung up, wliicli was the fifth city 
alluded to by Strabo and others who 
speak of Syracuse as a Pentapolis. 
This part of Syracuse was not enclosed 
by fortifications until the time of 
Dionysius I., who, 402 n.c., collecting 
a number of architects and 60,000 
labourers, with numerous masons to 
quarry the blocks, and 6000 yoke of 
oxen to transport them, finished in 20 
days a wall of 30 stadia in length 
(about 3J m.), with lofty towers at 
short intervals. These walls were on 
the N. side only of the city, extending 
from the walls of Acradina to the 
apex of the triangular plateau, at 
Mongibe'llisi. The wall along the 
southern clifis cannot have been con¬ 
structed at the same time, as is evi¬ 
dent from the ease with which Hi- 
milcon in 396 b.c. penetrated into this 
part of city, and plundered the temples 
of Ceres and Proserpine. It must 
have been constructed subsequently, 
at what period we are not informed, 
but probably by Dionysius, who in 
385 B.c., we are told by Diodorus, 
surrounded the city with a wall of 
such extent that it surpassed all other 
Greek cities in circumference. 

In the vast space once enclosed by 
the walls of Epipolse and Tyclie there 
are very few relics of ancient days; 
but the walls themselves are traceable 
almost in their full extent; and at the 
upper extremity there are extensive 
remains of a Greek fortress, the most 
complete and best preserved specimen 
of ancient military architecture extant. 
It is a good day’s excursion to visit 
this castle aud the Belvedere beyond,, 
and to return by the northern walls 
of the city, meeting the high-road 
from Catania at the Scala Greca. The 
distance is some 12 or 14 m. : the 
ground is very rugged, there being no 
road for the greater part of the way. 
For ladies and invalids asses are in¬ 
dispensable, and can be hired at 4 tan 
each for the excursion. 

For some little distance from Syra¬ 
cuse you can pursue the high-road to 
Floridia, at the foot of the heights of 
Neapolis. Some 3 furlongs beyond 
the theatre is an ancient roadway, run¬ 
ning obliquely into Epipolse. This is 


now called Portella del Fusco. On the 
steep cliff that overhangs the road are 
sunk the foundations of a large build¬ 
ing, probably a tower for the defence 
of the gate. Half a mile beyond this, 
where the cliff rises highest, at a spot 
called Palazzelli, are many vestiges of 
ancient buildings; and here Leake sup¬ 
poses the Temple of Hercules to have 
stood. Hereabouts also he places 
Syke (the “ fig-tree the spot where 
the Athenians pitched their camp 
after their second lauding, 414 b.c., 
and constructed a circular fort, as a 
centre from which to commence their 
lines of circumvallation northward and 
southward; though Grote, Arnold, and 
others, with more probabilit}^ place 
Syke in the centre of the great plat¬ 
form of Ejnpolse, nearty a mile more to 
the N. About a mile W. of the Por¬ 
tella del Fusco is another similar 
opening in the cliffs, and apparently 
serving as a gateway between Nea¬ 
polis and Epipolse. Opposite this, to 
the N., a little way in from the clifis, 
is a farm called Podere di. Mira, where 
are many vestiges of ancient buildings 
and roads. Still further W., beneath 
the cliffs, is the Villa Tremiglia, so 
called from its distance from the gates 
of Syracuse. This is conjectured to 
mark the site of the estate given by 
the Syracusans to Timoleon, in reward 
for the great services he had rendered 
them. It is but a conjecture, though 
some travellers speak of it as an 
ascertained fact. “ Here, after he had 
given liberty to Syracuse, revised its 
laws, and restored its population, did 
that great man retire from the envy 
of exalted station to practise the 
humble virtues of a private life. The 
joy of the citizens is said to have been 
unbounded when he declared his in¬ 
tention of ending his days among them. 
This beautiful spot was selected for 
his retreat; adorned with a noble 
villa, and enriched with an ample 
domain. When he laboured under 
the infirmities of old age, and the loss 
of sight, lie was borne on the shoulders 
of the citizens to the theatre; and 
whenever any illustrious strangers 
visited their city, the inhabitants, wish¬ 
ing to show them its greatest orna- 




ROUTE 18 . -AQUEDUCTS— 


ment, carried them to the house of 
Timoleon to behold that great man in 
the bosom of his family.”— Hughes. 
From this spot westward to the Greek 
fort the ancient walls may be traced 
almost without a break. On the brow 
of the cliff above the villa a large 
quadrangular sinking seems to mark 
the site of a temple, for a succession of 
magnificent structures seems to have 
bordered the brow of the southern 
cliffs of Syracuse, rivalling that similar 
chain of monuments at Agrigentum, 
the remains of which still attest the 
admirable taste and intelligence of 
the Greeks in the position and ar¬ 
rangement of their public buildings. 

Ancient Aqueducts .—On the height 
of Epipolae, a little within the walls, 
you observe one of the ancient aque¬ 
ducts which intersect the rocky plat¬ 
form, flowing through a narrow chan¬ 
nel of rock vaulted over with Kornan 
work. The water is that of the Anapus, 
brought from near Sortino, 18 m. dis¬ 
tant, and crossing Epipolae in the 
direction of lower Acradina. From 
the point where it enters the city it is 
to be traced in a straight fine parallel 
with the southern cliffs all the way 
to the Latomia del Paradiso, where it 
branches to supply the Ninfeo, and is 
carried down the slope till it reaches 
the Great Harbour. On entering the 
city it branched into an upper and 
lower channel to allow of distribution 
at different heights ; and it threw 
off numerous branches in its course 
across the plateau. Its mode of con¬ 
struction throughout is similar to 
that of the aqueducts of some of the 
ancient cities of Greece ; and there is 
no doubt, says Colonel Lealce, that “ it 
is a work of autonomous Syracuse, and 
older probably than the Peloponne¬ 
sian War; for we are told by Thucy¬ 
dides that the Athenians, when they 
had established themselves on Epi- 
polse, destroyed the subterraneous 
channels which supplied the city with 
water.” 

Colie Buffalaro .—About half a mile 
from Tremiglia to the W. you reach 
the heights of Buffalaro, by some sup- 


-LATOMIA DEL FILOSOFO. 353 

posed to be the Lcchdalum, where the 
Athenians built a fort on their first 
occupation of Epipoke; but Mr. Grote 
gives good reasons for placing that 
fort on the verge of the cliff, N. of 
Buffalaro. Close to the Colle is a 
quarry called 

Latomia del Filosofo. — It derives 
this name from the fact that Pliilox- 
enus of Cytliera, the ditliyrambic poet, 
was here confined by Dionysius the 
Elder, for giving his candid opinion of 
that tyrant’s verses. It is not so deep 
as the Latomia del Paradiso or L. tie’ 
Cappucini, though hardly inferior in 
size. A particular description of the 
quarries on Epipolte is given by JElian, 
who says, “ In these quarries certain 
men were imprisoned so long that 
they married there and begat children; 
and these children when they first 
went to Syracuse, and beheld the 
horses drawing the chariots, were so 
terrified that they fled away shriek¬ 
ing. The finest of the caverns re¬ 
ceived its name from Philoxenus, the 
poet, in which, they say, while de¬ 
tained there, he wrote ‘ The Cyclops,’ 
the most beautiful of his poems; 
esteeming as nought the vengeance 
and condemnation of Dionysius.” 
There can be little doubt that from 
these quarries Dionysius drew the 
materials for his celebrated fortifica¬ 
tions. From this point the city walls 
continue in an unbroken line on the 
southern cliff to the extremity of the 
hill westward : they are from 9 to 
11 ft. wide, and are composed of large 
blocks of irregular masonry, without 
cement. After 300 yds. the wall 
joins a square tower which stands 
at the eastern angle of the ancient 
castle. 

Fort Euryalus. —“These ancient 
works at Mongibellisi are extremely 
interesting, as affording one of the 
best examples of a Greek fortress, and 
of the modes adopted by the Greeks 
for protecting the entrance of a great 
city on one of its most important points. 
This entrance was by two contiguous 
gates at the end of an approach, be¬ 
tween two converging walls, the access 





354 


ROUTE 18 . -SYRACUSE-FORT EURYALUS. 


to which was exposed, on the right or 
unshielded side of the enemy, to the 
northern long side of the fortress. 
The fortress had a double enclosure, 
the inner being of an irregular 
shape, the outer a long quadrangle. 
The western, or outer front of the 
fortress consisted of 4 towers of solid 
regular masonry, connected by walls 
of equal breadth, but lower than the 
towers; so that balistic or cata- 
peltic engines might be mounted 
between the towers, like cannon in 
embrasures.”— Leake. In the base of 
the cliff, upon which this front of the 
castle was founded, is a subterranean 
passage, communicating by 12 open¬ 
ings, with a fosse sunk in the rock, 
25 ft. in depth. Within the fortress 
are several entrances leading down to 
this passage. At the S. end of the 
fosse stands an isolated pier of ma¬ 
sonry, between corresponding piers, 
projecting from each wall of the fosse : 
the whole proving that the en¬ 
trance to the fort from the W. was 
by means of a drawbridge. The fosse 
is closed at the N. end by a wall of 
irregular masonry, with a narrow gate¬ 
way. The fosse is also entered by a 
flight of steps sunk through the rock 
from the cliff above it, to the W. This 
has recently been cleared out. Four 
long vaults, excavated in the base of 
this cliff, and approached by steps 
sunk in the floor of the fosse, have 
also of late been brought to light. 
They are supposed with probability to 
have served as magazines. On the 
wall at the entrance of each is an in¬ 
scription carved in the rock, but not 
intelligible. The subterranean pas¬ 
sage, after running parallel with the 
fosse, turns to the E., and continues 
underground, outside the castle, in a 
direction parallel to that of the route 
by which the double gate was ap¬ 
proached, till it meets the western 
walls, when it turns to the N. and 
issues on the slope within the city. 
In the roof of this passage is a suc¬ 
cession of apertures or shafts, with 
steps cut in the rock, so that in an 
instant a complete rank of hoplitee 
might issue from the fortress, and 
make their appearance on the right 


flank of an enemy approaching the 
gate, and, if overpowered, might re¬ 
treat with equal rapidity, protected 
from pursuit by the narrowness of 
the openings, and by the construction 
of the stairs, which, terminating in 
the roof of the passage, required to be 
completed by short wooden ladders, 
which might be withdrawn in a re¬ 
treat. These shafts are now covered 
with large slabs of stone ; and it is 
probable that they were always so 
covered, except when removed for a 
sally. The passage, where it opens 
within the city, terminates in a double 
gateway, one for foot, the other for 
horse soldiers ; but both so narrow as 
to admit but one at a time. The 
western front of the castle was pro¬ 
tected beyond the fosse by an outwork 
and a second deep ditch sunk in the 
rock. A similar fosse also protected 
the southern wall of the fortress. 
“As these remains,” says Col. Leake, 
“evidently belong to a period when 
the attack and defence of fortified 
places were in perfection among the 
Greeks, they may with great proba¬ 
bility be considered as having been 
constructed during the long and flour¬ 
ishing reign of Hieron II., who spared 
no care or expense in improving the 
defences of Syracuse, under the super¬ 
intendence of Archimedes; and there 
is a great probability that these are 
some of the works of that celebrated 
engineer.” There are peculiarities, 
however, about the structure which 
make it probable that parts at least 
date from a much earlier period; 
belonging, perhaps, to the fort which 
was erected here by Dionysius I., and 
was captured by Dion when he came 
to free Syracuse from the younger 
tyrant of that name. 

The name of this fortress was Eury- 
alus (“ broad nail or knoll ”), which 
is, indeed, applicable to the whole 
ridge that terminates Epipolm to the 
W., including the Celle Buffalaro. 
Some, indeed, have taken Belvedere 
to be Euryalus ; but that was far out¬ 
side the city, and could not have been 
the key of Epipolse, as Euryalus is 
plainly shown by Thucydides and 
Livy to have been. 





ROUTE 18 . —BELVEDERE—WALLS OF DIONYSIUS—TYCHE. 355 


Belvedere. —On a steep rock, the 
termination of a narrow ridge, which 
extends 1^ m. westward from Fort 
Euryalus, is the miserable hamlet 
of Belvedere, dominated by a tele¬ 
graph, a most conspicuous object 
in the scenery of Syracuse. The 
spot richly deserves its name; for 
there is most truly a “ fine prospect ” 
from these heights of the ancient city ; 
of Augusta and Etna in the N.; of the 
honeyed heights of Hybla, with Sor- 
tino up the wooded valley to the W. ; 
and of the coast of Sicily to its termi¬ 
nation in Cape Passaro in the S. 
Beyond a rock-hewn cistern there are 
no remains of antiquity on the site. 

Walls of Dionysius. — Returning 
from Fort Euryalus, along the 
northern cliffs of Epipolse, you meet 
with abundant remains of the walls 
constructed by Dionysius, which ex¬ 
tend from this castle to the N.W. 
extremity of Acradina, a distance 
of 3.2 m., or 30 stadia, the length 
of the defences thrown up by that 
tyrant in 20 days. They are composed 
of large masonry, tolerably regular, 
and giving no evidences of the great 
haste with which it was constructed. 
The walls are about 9 ft. thick, and 
may be traced for a long distance, fol¬ 
lowing the sinuosities of the hill. Not 
far from the castle is a small gate, 
opening obliquely in the wall. About 
a mile to the E., where the cliff projects 
above the farm of Targia, is the pro¬ 
bable site of Labdalum, the fort which 
the Athenians erected on first gaining 
possession of Epipolm, but which was 
taken from them by Gylippus soon 
after his arrival. Here are traces of 
ancient buildings. At another mile to 
the E. is a gate in the walls, with a 
winding staircase cut in the rock, 
called Sccila della Targetta; and just 
beyond it, within the walls, are some 
sepulchres, which may mark the 
western boundary of Tyclie. In truth, 
a little further eastward, at the edge 
of the cliffs, are many traces of ancient 
habitation, in foundations sunk in the 
rock, which are the only vestiges of 
the third component city of Syracuse, 
or Tyclie. 


Tyche. 

This quarter of Syracuse derived its 
name from a temple to Fortune —Tvxy 
—around which a city was gradually 
formed, as the suburb of Temenitis 
sprung up around the altar of Apollo, 
and ultimately expanded into Nea- 
polis. It is spoken of as a distinct 
quarter of Syracuse as early as the 
year 466 b.c., during the insurrection 
of the citizens against Thrasybulus, 
yet no mention is made of it by Thucy¬ 
dides in his account of the Athenian 
siege. It occupied the northern side 
of the Syracusan platform, between 
Acradina and Epipolsc, overhanging 
the little port of Trogilus, and 
separated from Acradina by the Cava 
della Panagia and the depression in 
the hill extending from it southwards 
to the Great Port. It was separated 
from Neapolis by a wide tract of the 
rocky plateau on which Marcellus, 
after effecting an entrance to the city, 
pitched his camp. It probably grew 
up after the wall of Dionysius had 
secured it from attack; and in Cicero’s 
day had become one of the most popu¬ 
lous quarters of Syracuse, boasting, 
besides its ancient temple of Fortune, 
several other public edifices, together 
with a gymnasium. 

Esapilo .—In this quarter was also 
the fortress of Hexapylum, which 
must have been of considerable size, 
with six gates, as its name imports, 
and appears to have been constructed 
to command the pass where the road 
from Megara and Leontini entered the 
city of Syracuse. It played an im¬ 
portant part in the siege by Marcellus, 
as it was on that side that the Romans 
made their successful assault, and 
through its gates they poured in to 
take possession of Epipoke. The pre¬ 
cise site of Hexapylum is not deter¬ 
mined, though it is placed with great 
probability at a spot about \ m. east¬ 
ward of the Scala della Targetta, where 
a depression in the cliffs shows a na¬ 
tural approach to the city from the N. 

Hecatompedon .—A little within the 
Hexapylum stood a structure of this 




356 


ROUTE 18 . —SYRACUSE—PORTO PICCOLO. 


name ; but Plutarch, who alone men¬ 
tions it, gives us no clue to its cha¬ 
racter or purpose. We can only infer 
that, like the Parthenon, which bore 
the same name, it measured 100 ft. 

4 

Scala Grecci .—It is but a short dis¬ 
tance from the last-named gate to the 
Scala Greca, where the post-road from 
Catania enters the Syracusan plateau. 
Here stood an ancient gate, and the 
walls can be traced along the brow of 
the cliffs on either hand. On the 
verge of the height to the E. is a 
quadrangle sunk in the rock, appa¬ 
rently the foundations of a tower. It 
may mark the site of the 

Torre Galeagra — the spot at, or 
near which, the Romans made their 
successful assault on the city. During 
a conference held between the chiefs 
on both sides, at the neighbouring 
Portus Trogilus, a Roman soldier 
employed himself in counting the 
courses in this tower, and computing 
its height; and, on finding that its 
battlements could be reached by two 
scaling-ladders joined in the usual 
manner, he reported the discovery to 
Marcellus, who, soon afterwards learn¬ 
ing that the citizens were celebrating 
the feast of Diana, ordered an esca¬ 
lade by night. One thousand Romans 
mounted the walls, surprising the 
guards, and following the ramparts to 
Hexapylum, opened one of its gates, 
and admitted their comrades to the 
city. The sight of Syracuse spread 
out beneath him, a city which for 
magnificence and beauty was hardly 
surpassed in that age, is said to have 
so affected the stern Roman general, 
that he burst into tears; partly, says 
Livy, through delight at his achieve¬ 
ment, partly through regret at the 
departed glory of this venerable city. 

The utter destruction of the mag¬ 
nificent temples and other edifices 
that once adorned the wide platform 
of Syracuse is as complete as it is 
surprising. “No mounds, like those 
of Egypt and Assyria, cover the site 
of its palaces and temples ; its very 
dust seems swept away, and the rocky 
soil restored to the wild beauty of 


primitive nature.” — Bartlett. “ We 
traversed the entire length of what 
was Syracuse, traversing a space that 
was once crowded with houses and 
thronged with men. The whole is 
now a rocky common, only frequented 
by a few sheep and goats—nothing to 
remind you of the past, except the 
grooves here and there worn by the 
chariot-wheels in the rock, indented 
lines that trace the foundations of 
1 louses, and the occasional gurgling 
of water, when you hit upon the course 
of the stream which is brought by the 
aqueduct. Here and there, in the 
wide extent, are a few patches of cul¬ 
tivation, and one or two modern farms, 
but nothing ancient; and you puzzle 
your brains to conceive what can have 
become of the temples and the palaces, 
the vast piles of marble and stone, the 
materials, the very dust of the London 
of antiquity. ’—Gaily Knight. 


The island of Ortygia, as already 
stated, lies between two ports :— 

“ Et qua Bacchiadse, bimari gens orta Gorintho, 
Inter intequales posuerunt mcenia Portus.” 

Ovid, Met. v. 

Porto Piccolo .—The Lesser Port, 
called by the Greeks Lacceius, and by 
the Romans Portus Marmoreus, from 
the multitude of statues lavished on 
it by Dionysius and Agathocles, is 
of very small size, lying between the 
island and the heights of Acradina, so 
as anciently to have been included 
within the walls. It is said to have 
been paved with square slabs, and a 
century since slabs of marble still lay 
on its shores. Though it must have 
always been of very limited dimen¬ 
sions, it was equal to the requirements 
of ancient times. Dionysius used 
to maintain here 70 triremes always 
ready for service, and he had an ar¬ 
senal on its banks capable of contain¬ 
ing GO more. Agathocles built a tower 
on each side of this port, to guard the 
entrance; and it is said that the re¬ 
mains of one of these towers are still 
visible on a shoal or rock near the 
northern angle of the modern city ; 
though we have sought it in vain. 





357 


ROUTE 18. -SYRACUSE-PORTO MAGGIORE. 


Porto Maggiore. —The Larger Port 
is ever memorable as the scene of 
those desperate contests between the 
ileets of Athens and Syracuse at the 
close of the eventful siege, which are 
recorded in such thrilling language by 
Thucydides. “In hoc portu Atheni- 
ensium nobilitatis, imperii, gloria?, 
naufragium factum existimatur.” — 
Cicero. It is said by Strabo to have 
been SO stadia in circumference, 
though it is but half that size ; but 
even this greatly exceeds the dimen¬ 
sions of a port as understood by the 
ancients. It is in fact a noble har¬ 
bour, nearly land-locked, and capable 
of sheltering the largest fleets of mo¬ 
dern times. Admiral Smyth considers 
it for the excellence of its anchorage, 
easy access, supply of good water, and 
security, to rival any haven in Europe. 
Its mouth between Ortygia and Plem- 
myrium is from 5 to 6 furlongs wide. 
In Cicero’s time the port was sur¬ 
rounded by habitations in such a way, 
says he, “ that the city is not enclosed 
by the port; but the port is shut in 
and encircled by the city.” Now its 
shores are as desolate as when the 
Corinthian colony under Archias first 
landed on them. In early times it 
contained 150 large ship-houses or 
slips ; but Dionysius, not content with 
repairing these, constructed 160 more, 
most of them holding 2 galleys. These 
docks must have stood on the northern 
shores, not far from the isthmus. A 
little to the W. is the “ Brook of the 
Washerwomen,” Fiumicello delle La- 
vandaje, fed by the waters of the anci¬ 
ent aqueduct, which flow through the 
Theatre, and which is supposed by 
some to mark the division between Ac- 
radina and Neapolis. Between this and 
the Anapus, 1 m. distant, lies the Lysi- 
melian Marsh, originally called Syraco 
(probably a Sicilian word, for it has 
no meaning in Greek), from which the 
city received its name. Though a 
dreary, mephitic swamp, which in all 
ages has rendered Syracuse unhealthy, 
it has the honour of having been sung 
by Theocritus, who designates Syra¬ 
cuse as “ the great city by the waters 
of Lysimelia.” On its shores the 
Athenians encamped at the close of 


the siege, after they had been driven 
from Epipolse, and the proximity to 
the marsh affected the health of their 
army. Here also they had the station 
for their fleet, protected by piles driven 
into the sea. 

The road runs along these shores 
till it reaches the Anapus, which is 
crossed by a bridge of a single arch, 
called Ponte di S. Giuseppe. Just 
beyond this, on the road to Noto, a 
path to the rt. leads to the rains of 
the Temple of Jupiter Olympius. 
Another to the 1. leads again to the 
shore, to the spot where the Athenians 
landed on their first expedition against 
Syracuse in the winter of 415 b.c., 
and pitched their camp between a 
lake or marsh and steep cliffs, so as 
to be protected from the attacks of 
the Syracusan horse ; and here the 
Athenians and Syracusans encoun¬ 
tered each other for the first time, 
the former being victorious. On the 
way to this spot you pass extensive 
salt-pits. Beyond this are low cliffs, 
extending to the Punta Sferracavallo, 
the northern horn of the Bay of Mad- 
dalena, the ancient Dascon, the scene 
of the great naval combats between 
the Syracusans and Athenians. The 
southern horn of the bay is now called 
Punta di Spinazza. Beyond this, to 
the E., are 2 small sandy bays, off 
the latter of which lies the rock called 
Galera, on which the Athenians 
erected a trophy for their victory in 
the first sea-fight in the spring of 413 
b.c. It is from this it has received 
its alias of Scoglio del Trofeo. It lies 
about 1400 yds. from the lighthouse, 
at the southern point of Ortygia. In 
the little bay here, called that of 
Carrozza, those who cross from Syra¬ 
cuse to Plemmyrium must land. At 
the mouth of the harbour was fought 
the last great naval engagement be¬ 
tween the Syracusans and Athenians; 
the former having blocked up the exit 
by vessels moored in a line across ; 
and the latter making desperate but 
vain efforts to break this line and 
escape to sea. This is one of the most 
memorable combats recorded in his¬ 
tory, and required the pen of Thucy¬ 
dides to do it justice. 







358 ROUTE 18 . —SYRACUSE—PLEMMYRIUM—THE ANAPUS. 


Plemmyrium .—This peninsula, 3J 
m. long by 1J m. in its widest part, 
and now commonly known by the 
name of Isola, is a rocky table-land of 
no great elevation, and surrounded on 
all sides by cliffs more or less pre¬ 
cipitous. It is now famed for its wine, 
the choicest that modern Syracuse 
produces. It does not appear to have 
been inhabited, or even permanently 
fortified, in ancient times; yet its 
importance in a military point of view 
was perceived by Nicias, the Athenian 
general, who erected three forts upon 
it, in which he placed the stores for 
his army and fleet, which latter found 
a safe anchorage in the bay below. 
But he did not long retain possession 
of these posts, for, during the first 
naval combat at the mouth of the 
harbour, they were taken by Gylippus, 
the Spartan,—a loss, says Thucydides, 
which was the principal cause of the 
final ruin of the Athenian expedition, 
as from this time the Syracusans com¬ 
manded the entrance to the harbour, 
and the Athenians could obtain no 
supplies, save by fighting their way 
into it. There are no remains of an¬ 
cient times extant on Plemmyrium, 
and nothing to interest the traveller, 
beyond the fine view it commands of 
Syracuse and the bay. 


Excursion to the Anapus and the 
Olympeium. 

It is a pleasant boating excursion of 
3 or 4 hours from Syracuse to the 
Fountain of Cyane, up the Anapus, 
the only spot in Europe where the 
papyrus may be seen growing wild; 
and the ruins of the Temple of Jupiter 
Olympius may be visited on the way. 
A boat with 2 men may be had for 10 
tan. The boat must be small, or it 
cannot be dragged over the shallows at 
the mouth of the stream, or be forced 
up the narrow Pisma. It is better to 
land on the sandy beach of the bay, 
while the boatmen haul the boat over 
the bar, and to get in again at the 
bridge of San Giuseppe. 


A napus .—The Anapus is,, as Theo¬ 
critus describes it, but a sorry stream. 
It can hardly be 20 yds. wide, and, 
save in the rainy season, contains but 
little water, being drained for the 
irrigation of the fields on its banks. It 
takes its rise in the mountains to the 
N.W. of Syracuse, above the town of 
Sortino, whose name it takes for the 
greater part of its course, and washes 
the foot of Hybla, flowing through 
one of the most picturesque ravines 
in Sicily. Below its junction with 
the Pisma, or Cyane, it retains its an¬ 
cient name, Anapo, pronounced, how¬ 
ever, according to the accent ''Avairos, 
and not according to quantity, Anapus. 
It here flows through a plain which is 
infected in summer by malaria, and 
rendered still more unwholesome by 
the cultivation and preparation of flax, 
and the maceration of hemp. In the 
cool season it may be visited with 
impunity. Progress up it in a boat 
is very slow, being impeded by reeds 
and aquatic plants. Its banks, too, 
are overrun with a rank vegetation of 
grasses, canes, thistles, docks, and 
acanthus, the resort in winter of in¬ 
numerable wild fowl. These attract 
many sportsmen to Syracuse in March 
and April; snipe in particular are 
abundant. The stream also abounds 
in eels and trout. 

Half a mile above the modern 
bridge, at a spot called S. Andrea, are 
the remains of the ancient bridge on 
the Via Helorina, which here crossed 
the stream, and mounted the height 
of the Olympeium. Its course may 
still be traced. Just above this, where 
a date-palm overhangs the stream, 
the Anapus receives the waters of the 
Pisma or Cyane— 

Quaque suis Cyane miscet Anapus aquis.” 

Ovid. Ep. Font. 

The Syracusans used to venerate the 
2 streams under the form -of a man 
and woman, supposed by the legend 
to be married. This spot is directly 
below the height on which stand the 
remains of the celebrated Temple of 
Jupiter Olympius, which can be easily 
reached from hence. 





359 


ROUTE 18 . -OLYMPEIUM- 

Olympeium. —This temple stood on 
a rocky eminence due W. of Ortygia, 
from which it is about 2 m. distant. 
Two centuries and a half ago there 
were 7 columns still standing with a 
considerable portion of the substruc¬ 
tions ; now 2 mutilated shafts alone 
rise above the corn, and it is difficult 
from the scanty vestiges to make out 
the character and size of the ancient 
structure. Excavations made here in 
1839 proved that the temple faced 
the E. as usual, that it was liexa- 
style-peripteral, and about the size, 
though somewhat narrower, than that 
of Minerva in Ortygia ; that one of 
the two columns belonged to the 
pronaos, the other to the southern 
wing. They are both monoliths, about 
6 ft. in diameter at the base, and now 
rise to the height of 21 ft. Their 
capitals alone appear to be wanting. 
They are based on substructions of 
massive masonry, in 3 courses, the 
whole rising about 6 ft. from the 
plain. The stone of which the temple 
was built is the local calcareous rock, 
full of marine deposits. 

It is probable that this temple dates 
from the early days of Syracuse. Col. 
Leake considers that, like the temples 
of Diana and Minerva in Ortygia, this 
must have been constructed during the 
6th cent, b.c., under the government 
of the Geomori. The earliest mention 
of it in history is 493 b.c., when Hip¬ 
pocrates, Tyrant of Gela, on his way to 
besiege Syracuse, pitched his camp 
here. Gelon, his successor, conse¬ 
crated to this shrine a portion of the 
spoils taken from the Carthaginians 
at Himera, 480 b.c., in the shape of a 
golden mantle, of which Dionysius I., 
nearly a century later, with more wit 
than piety, robbed the god, saying 
that “gold was too heavy a mantle 
for summer, and too cold for winter, 
but that wool was well adapted to 
both seasons.” The Jupiter worshipped 
here bore the title of Urios, or lord of 
the winds, as well as that of Olympius. 
His statue was extolled by Cicero 
as one of the three most beautiful 
Jupiters in the world. The temple 
was also extremely rich in gold and 
silver offerings, yet Nicias, on his first 


-CYANE—THE PAPYRUS. 

landing in the harbour, refrained from 
plundering it, from religious and pru¬ 
dential motives. Here were also kept 
the registers of the citizens of Syra¬ 
cuse, whose names were recorded ac¬ 
cording to their tribes, which registers 
fell into the hands of the Athenians, 
on their first approach to the city. 

Polichne .—Around this temple there 
sprung up, at an early period, a small 
town— ttoXixvti —which does not ap¬ 
pear to have been fortified before the 
Athenian siege, when the Syracusans 
enclosed and garrisoned it in the win¬ 
ter of 415-414 b.c. Its importance 
as a military post, however, led to its 
occupation by all subsequent besiegers 
—byHimilcon in 396 b.c. ; byHamil- 
car in 310 b.c. ; and by Marcellus in 
213 b.c. The height it occupied rises 
some 40 or 50 feet from the marsh, 
and is girt by low cliffs on every side 
but the S., where it joins the upper 
plain. In its neighbourhood was a 
necropolis; but Himilcon destroyed 
the sepulchres for materials to fortify 
his camp, and among them the mag¬ 
nificent monument of Gelon and his 
wife Damareta, known by the name 
of the “ Nine Towers,” from the 
towers of stupendous size which sur¬ 
rounded it. These towers were de¬ 
molished by Agathocles, about a cen¬ 
tury later, from envy at the great 
fame of Gelon. This sepulchre pro¬ 
bably stood on the height to the W. 
of Polichne. 

Cyane .—Descending from the height 
of the Olympeium, you reach your 
boat again at the mouth of the Cyane. 
Unlike the Anapus, this is a pellucid 
stream, but very narrow, and almost 
choked with reeds and water-plants. 
Its great charm is the papyrus, grow¬ 
ing in clumps on the banks among 
flags and castor-oil plants, or in islets 
in the stream. This is the only spot 
in Europe where this delicate plant 
now flourishes in a natural state. It 
is supposed to have been sent from 
Egypt by Ptolemy Philadelphus 
among other presents to Hieron II.; 
and it is singular that in the land 
where it appears to have been indi- 






360 ROUTE 19. -TERRANOVA TO SYRACUSE, BY PALAZZOLO. 


genous, it is not now to be found, 
though it still grows luxuriantly on 
the banks of the Cyane. This rush 
(Cyperus papyrus) served the ancients 
for a variety of purposes—for fuel, 
food, bedding, clothing, medicine, 
building material, and, above all, as a 
substitute for the paper of modern 
times, to which it has bequeathed its 
name. The paper was made by re¬ 
moving the rind, and cutting the pith 
into thin slices, which, pasted together 
transversely, well pressed and dried, 
made a material which served its 
purpose tolerably well. The tourist 
may attempt the process himself, as 
described by Pliny, or may obtain 
good specimens from Salvatore Politi, 
the guide, which will take both print¬ 
ing and writing-ink. 

So dense are the thickets of papy¬ 
rus, and so choked is the rivulet with 
reeds, flags, and aquatic plants, that 
the boatmen by pushing and hauling 
can scarcely force a passage up it, 
and it is a work of time to do the 2 
miles to the head of the stream. 
Here you emerge in a beautiful cir¬ 
cular basin, fringed with papyrus and 
iris, with water as clear as crystal, so 
that, though 30 ft. deep, the fish may 
be seen gliding among the blocks 
which strew the bottom. It is now 
known as La Pisma, but of old was the 
“Fountain of Cyane”— uvaur) nyyrj — 
or “ the dark-blue spring,” which was 
doubtless the original name, though 
mythology stepped in and converted it 
into a nymph— 

“ Inter Sicelidus C’3 r ane celeberrima nymphas ” 

Ovid. Met .— 

who attempted to stay the King of 
Hades when he was bearing away the 
blooming Persephone. The god struck 
the earth with his sceptre, and opened 
a way to his fiery chariot, through 
which he descended to Tartarus, 
changing the nymph to a fountain, 
which filled the pit he had opened. 
Near the fountain was a temple to the 
nymph, which probably stood on the 
rising-ground t'o the W., where are 
some vestiges of an ancient structure. 
Henceforth the fountain was sacred 
to Proserpine, and on its banks was 


held an annual festival in honour of 
Ceres and her daughter. The stream 
that flows from this fountain is joined 
after a few hundred yards by another 
from a similar pool to the S., which is 
called La Pismotta; but the passage 
to it is so choked with rushes as not 
to be practicable for a boat. 


ROUTE 19. 

TERRANOVA TO SYRACDSE, BY CHIARA* 
MONTE AND PALAZZOLO. 


Miles. 

lerranova to Biscari.14 

Biscari to Chiaramonte .12 

Chiaramonte to Palazzolo.12 

Palazzolo to Floridia.. 

Floridia to Syracuse.| 9 


62 

This route may be accomplished in 
2 days, by making a long journey the 
first day to Palazzolo. The next day 
the tourist will have time to see the 
antiquities of that site, and to reach 
Syracuse before the gates are closed, 
which is always an hour and a half 
after the Avc Maria. 

This route, though tolerable as far 
as Chiaramonte, is extremely rugged 
where it crosses the mountains on 
whose crest Palazzolo is situated ; but 
it has the advantage of being the most 
direct, the most picturesque, the least 
trodden, and the most interesting of 











361 


ROUTE 19 . -BISCARI.—CHIARAMONTE. 


tlie many routes from Terranova to 
Syracuse. 

The first part of this route, or as far 
as the Dirillo, 8 m., is the same as that 
to Vitto*a, described in Rte. 18, p. 316. 
At that point the road branches to the 
1. to Biscari, and follows the course of 
the stream as far as that town. 

14 m. Biscari. —The inn is con¬ 
demned by those who have tried it, and 
the traveller is advised to avoid any 
arrangement which would oblige him 
to pass the night here. This little 
town, which occupies an eminence on 
the 1. bank of the Dirillo, and contains 
some 2500 inhabitants of the ragged 
and dirty class, dates only from the 
loth century. In the 17th it conferred 
the title of prince on Agatino Paterno, 
in whose family it has since remained ; 
and to one member of which, Prince 
Ignazio, the world is much indebted 
for his researches, and for the collection 
of Greek antiquities he formed in his 
native city of Catania. 

From Biscari a path runs S. to Yit- 
toria, 6 m., and another northward to 
Niscemi, 12 m. 

The country beyond Biscari is un¬ 
dulating and fertile, though but parti¬ 
ally cultivated; with no signs of 
habitation, save in the towns and 
villages crowning the distant heights. 
On approaching that on which Chiai'a- 
monte stands, the scenery improves: 
the land is better cultivated, the 
peasantry less wretched in appearance, 
and the cottages, scattered by the way- 
side, present a feature that reminds the 
traveller of more northern lands. 

26 m. Chiaramonte (population 
8616).— Inn: poor, but superior to 
that at Biscari. It is a long and 
tortuous ascent to this town, which 
stands on a spur of the mountain 
range that stretches from Castrogio- 
vanni to Noto, and on the S. side of 
that range, just where it sinks to meet 
the plain, thus commanding a most 
extensive view of the southern coast of 
the island, as far westward as Licata. 
This prospect is seen to most advan¬ 
tage from the Capuchin convent. The 
height which is crowned by the town, 


like all those in this part of the Yal di 
Noto, is of limestone in horizontal 
strata, which crop out on the slopes, 
and break into what appears, even at a 
short distance, to be masonry in ruins. 
Chiaramonte has a fine feudal castle. 
In tire church of San Salvatore is a 
figure of Our Saviour, of early Chris¬ 
tian art; and the Madonna de' Gulfi, 
on the slope of the mountain, has an¬ 
other of the same period, with an early 
baptismal font. 

From Chiaramonte a track runs 
southwards to Ragusa 8 m., and to 
Modica 15 m. Another to the S.W. 
leads to Comiso 8 m. ; a third north¬ 
ward to Monterosso 6 m., and to 
Yizzini 12 m. 

The direct path to Palazzolo is only 
12 m., but another track which makes 
a little detour to the N. passes through 
Giarratana, 6 m. from Chiaramonte, 
cresting a lofty height in which the 
Fiume di Ragusa, the ancient Ilirmi- 
nius , takes its rise. Previous to the 
earthquake of 1693 Giarratana occupied 
a hill 2 m. distant from the present 
town. King Roger gave it in fee toge¬ 
ther with Ragusa to his son Geofiroy, 
and it has since been held by several 
illustrious families. It is a small town 
of only 2800 souls. 

The road from Chiaramonte to 
Palazzolo winds among hills of the 
same singular formation as that on 
which the former is situated, the 
breaks of the strata on their slopes at 
regular intervals giving them a strange 
banded appearance. The heights are 
arid and rocky, but the hollows are 
rich with corn-fields and vineyards, 
shaded by oaks, olives, and chesnuts, 
while the aloe and cactus, the myrtle 
and oleander, the pomegranate and 
carob give a semi-tropical character to 
the vegetation. To the N. the horizon 
is bounded by a long range of level 
heights, which stretch eastward up to 
the white table-land of the ancient 
Acrse; and through the breaks in this 
range a view is occasionally obtained 
of the snowy summit of Etna. About 
halfway you cross the F. Mauli, or F. 
di Bagusa, and wind up to Palazzolo, 
over barren downs spotted with len- 
tiscus, squills, and orchids. 

R 




362 


ROUTE 19 . -PALAZZOLO-ACR2E —THEATRE. 


38 m. Palazzolo (pop. 10,138). 
Inns: “ Albergo d’Acre,” tolerable for 
a country inn. Salvatore Messina 
Belfiore, the landlord is civil, but apt 
to draw up long bills. “ II Leone,” 
kept by Donna Paola. Salvatore Mo- 
nello is not a model cicerone. 

Palazzolo is the representative of 
the ancient Acrx, founded by a colony 
from Syracuse 70 years after the foun¬ 
dation of that city, or 664 b.c. We 
know very little of its history, but it 
probably followed the eventful fortunes 
of the parent city. We know that 
Dion pitched his camp here on his 
march from Heraclea to Syracuse—that 
in the peace which Hieron II. made 
with Rome, Acrae was included within 
the territory conceded to that prince— 
and that when Syracuse fell before the 
power of Marcellus, it became, like the 
other cities of Sicily, tributary to the 
Romans. It stood on the square crest 
of the mountain, protected by preci¬ 
pices ; the site preserving its ancient 
name in its modern appellation, Acre- 
monte. The modern town lies beneath 
this height to the E., on the brow of 
the hill, just where it overhangs a 
profound valley. The position is so 
elevated that snow falls abundantly in 
winter, and is stored up in thatched 
huts for the summer benefit of Syracuse, 
Noto, and other towns in the low 
grounds. 

“ Non & tumulis glacialibus Acrse 

Defuerunt.” 

Sil. Ital. xiv. 206. 

The town is quite modern, having 
been built since the earthquake of 
1693, which destroyed the buildings 
that then occupied the site. It is inter¬ 
sected by one long dirty street of mean 
houses; the churches possess no 
beauty, and contain no works of art; 
the only object of interest within the 
town is the 

Museum of the Baron Judica. —That 
learned antiquary excavated for many 
years among the ruins of Acrae, and in 
its necropolis; and the collection of 
relics he formed has, since his death, 
been in great measure dispersed ; but 
a few articles are still preserved in 
his palace, which is in the main street. 


The principal objects are figured vases, 
some in the very earliest style, but 
most of a late period and of coarse art, 
—bas - reliefs, figures, and busts in 
terracotta, cippi and steke in stone 
with Greek inscriptions, one of which 
mentions several temples and other 
buildings which stood in ancient 
Acrse,—a fragment of a cornice with 
the name of the city in relief,— 
small figures in bronze—lamps of 
bronze and terracotta,—glass bottles 
of the style called Phoenician,—and a 
few articles in metal, with some gems. 
The Baron published a full description 
of his labours on this site in his 4 Anti- 
chita di Acre, Messina, 1819.’ 


Acr^:. 

Teatro. —To see the local remains 
of Acrse you ascend the hill above 
the town for half a mile, to the foot 
of the cliffs of the ancient city. Here 
a door in what appears a garden- 
wall admits you to an enclosure called 
Chiusa del Teatro, the cliffs around 
which are full of tombs and sepulchral 
niches, while fragments of architec¬ 
ture and sculpture, altars, cippi, and 
other remains, some Greek, some 
Roman, are arranged around. Turning 
to the rt. you find yourself among the 
ruins of a small Greek theatre, whose 
cavea was hollowed in the rock; but 
the seats, being supplied by masonry, 
have been for the most part removed. 
There were 12 rows of these, divided 
by 8 flights of steps into 9 cunei. No 
prxcinctio or corridor is visible. The 
theatre was of very small size, the 
diameter of its orchestra being only 75 
palms, or about 63^ feet. The scena 
and proscenium are clearly marked 
out by their remains. On the latter 
lie several ancient mills of lava. 
Within the theatre is a slab with a 
Greek inscription much defaced. In 
front of the proscenium are a number 
of circular pits hollowed in the rock, 
which may have served to store grain, 
or may have been sepulchres. This 
theatre was discovered in 1825 by the 
Baron Judica. It lies on the slope 
of the hill, looking due N., and com- 



363 


ROUTE 19 . — ODEUM- 

mands, as was always the case with 
Greek theatres, a magnificent view, 
looking over verdant hills and fertile 
valleys to Syracuse and the Mediter¬ 
ranean in the E., and to the snow- 
clad mass of Etna in the N. 

Odeo. —Adjoining to the W., but 
sunk much lower in the rock, and 
with the chord of its arc at right 
angles with that of the Theatre, is an 
Odeum, discovered by the same inde¬ 
fatigable Baron in 1822. This is a 
theatre in miniature, the chord of its 
arc measuring hardly 19 feet. It is 
the smallest structure of this kind yet 
brought to light. It was probably 
roofed in, as was usual witli such 
edifices. It seems to have been 
divided into 3 cunei, but 2 only, with 
one flight of steps, are remaining. 
At the S. end ot‘ the semicircle are 
vestiges of the steps which connected 
the Odeum with the Theatre. At the 
N.W. angle is a well or shaft, sunk 
in the rock to the depth of 120 feet. 
There are other singular pits or shafts 
sunk in the hill to a great depth; and 
there is a system of subterranean 
passages, entered by a steep flight of 
steps, and running far into the heart 
of the hill in various directions, 
tempting the enterprise of the tra¬ 
veller. 

Necropolis. — The tombs of Aerie 
are no less remarkable than the “ sot- 
terranei .” The cliffs all around the 
hill, but particularly in that part 
called the Latomia, are hollowed into 
sepulchral chambers and niches in 
great variety. Some are of several 
chambers, connected by arched door¬ 
ways; others are filled with sarco¬ 
phagi sunk in the floor of rock ; some 
a're long passages, with windows in 
either wall, giving light to sepul¬ 
chral niches; others are spacious 
chambers, with roofs supported on 
massive piers or pilasters, decorated 
with architectural capitals and bases ; 
while in many, shafts in the ceilings 
or floors communicate with chambers 
on an upper or lower story. Not a 
few of these tombs show appropriation 
by the early Christians in emblems, 


-TOMBS-1 SANTONI. 

monograms, or inscriptions. In some 
are preserved fragments of architec¬ 
ture and inscriptions. Among them 
is a circular pedestal inscribed c. ver, 
supposed to have supported a statue 
of the infamous Verres, the plunderer 
of Sicily. In one tomb, near the theatre, 
is a large relief cut in the rock, show¬ 
ing 9 figures : 2 reclining on a couch, 
the others standing around an altar. 

The tombs are not confined to this 
side of Acne. In the hill to the S., 
called Colle Orbo, especially in that 
part where it takes the name of La 
Pineta, are many sepulchral chambers 
in the cliffs, with oven-shaped mouth, 
and generally of circular form, with flat 
or domed ceilings, and a bench of 
rock on one side for the body, with 
the usual footstool beneath it. 

I Sanloni. — But the most curi¬ 
ous remains of ancient Aerie are to 
be found in some low cliffs beneath 
the town to the S., at a spot called 
Contrada del Santicello, where is a 
series of arched niches containing 
figures carved in high relief from 
the rock. Ask for “ I Santoni.” 
These niches are disposed in two tiers, 
the upper being the principal one, 
and containing 9 in tolerable pre¬ 
servation, with others of smaller size, 
greatly defaced ; the lower having only 
one niche, of large size. Each niche 
in the upper tier contains a draped 
female figure, as large as life, gene¬ 
rally sitting, and sometimes with spear 
and shield, and crowned with some¬ 
thing which was either a turret, or a 
modius, or bushel. At her feet, or 
on a level with her shoulder, are 
sundry Lilliputian figures, some armed 
with spear and shield, and some wear¬ 
ing Phrygian caps. The last niche 
in this tier contains no less than 6 
figures, 4 on foot and 2 on horseback, 
but the subject of the scene cannot easily 
be determined. The large niche in the 
lower tier contains 5 figures and a dog. 
The features in every case are totally 
destroyed, and the forms of many of 
these figures are with difficulty dis¬ 
tinguishable. Even the style of art is 
not to be determined with precision, 
but it appears to be archaic Greek, 








364 ROUTE 20 . -TERRANOVA TO SYRACUSE, BY SORTINO. 


with somewhat even of an Egyptian 
character. In truth, these figures 
sitting stiffly in their chairs, with one 
hand always by their side, vividly recall 
—to compare small things with great— 
the colossal statues of Abou-Simbel. 

The female figure so often repre¬ 
sented here doubtless represents a 
goddess; but whether Ceres, as the 
bushel on her head seems to indicate ; 
or Cybele, if it be intended for a 
tower; or Proserpine ; or Hecate, who 
was usually attended by dogs; there 
can be little doubt that she is either 
the great goddess of the earth, whose 
effigy, in terracotta, is so often found 
in the Greek cemeteries of Sicily, or 
she who, under different names and 
attributes, was worshipped as the queen 
of the infernal regions. 

From Palazzolo it is 18 m. to Noto 
by a very rough and stony track 
through a country wild and uncul¬ 
tivated until you approach that city, 
when you enter the luxuriant olive- 
groves that girdle it. Half-way is the 
Passo de Padroni, where the path 
branches to Syracuse. There are 12 m., 
by way of Cassaro, to Sortino, close 
to which is the singular so-called 
“ rock-city ” of Pantaiica. The track 
is of the most rugged description.— 
See Eoute 20. 

To Syracuse from Palazzolo there 
are 24 m. For the first part of the 
way, where it follows the slopes of the 
higher mountains, the path is ex¬ 
tremely rugged, but it improves as 
you descend into the plain. The hill¬ 
sides are very stony, yet are covered 
with aromatic plants, and give pasture 
to herds of cattle and goats; the hol¬ 
lows are dark with oaks, ilex, and 
cork-trees. On descending from the 
mountains you enter a narrow defile 
between steep calcareous rocks, fea¬ 
thered with foliage, and wind out of 
the gorge to the level of the plain, 
crossing, on the way to Floridia, groves 
of enormous olive-trees, said tradition¬ 
ally to have been planted by the 
Saracens. 

53 m. Floridia. — Inns: Several— 


all poor. That “ del Sole,” kept by 
Mazzarelli, is the best. This town, of 
9365 souls, with low small houses, and 
one large church, stands in the midst 
of the broad plain, amid vineyards, 
corn-fields, and olive-groves. You 
traverse this plain by an excellent 
road, crossing the Anapus below the 
heights of Belvedere, and continue 
beneath the cliffs of the ancient city 
to the shores of the bay and the gates 
of modern Syracuse. 

A carriageable road has recently 
been opened from Floridia to Palazzolo, 
making that ancient site easily acces¬ 
sible from Syracuse. 

62 m. Syracuse. —See Eoute 18, p. 
325. 


EOUTE 20. 

TERRANOVA TO SYRACUSE, BY RAGUSA, 
PALAZZOLO, AND SORTINO. 


Miles. 

lerranova to Ragusa.31 » 

Ragusa to Palazzolo.13 

Palazzolo to Cassaro. 6 

Cassaro to Sortino .* 5 

Sortino to Floridia . ’ ’ 9 

Floridia to Syracuse .9 


78 

This route, though longer than the 
last, has the advantage of embracing 
both Palazzolo and the “ rock-city ” of* 
Pantaiica, near Sortino. 









ROUTE 20 . —PANTALICA. 


365 


As far as Ragusa, this route has 
already been described in Route 18. 
pp. 31G, 317. 

From Ragusa you descend to the 
banks of the Fiume Mauli, which flows 
through a rocky hollow, with cul¬ 
tivated slopes, and banks shaded by 
chesnuts. Up this glen you ascend 
for some miles towards the village of 
Giarratana, which crests a hill at the 
head or northern end of the hollow, 
while Ragusa, with its spires and 
domes, crowns its double height at 
the lower extremity. The path, though 
not formed by man, is far smoother 
than the streets of most Sicilian towns, 
for it traverses level strata of rock, 
like huge slabs of pavement. Nature 
imitates art again in the cliffs of the 
glen, whose horizontal strata crop out 
so as to resemble walls, showing one 
course above another of crumbling 
masonry, with detached blocks lying 
on the slopes beneath. Leaving the 
glen, you ascend to the crest of a ridge, 
commanding an extensive view over a 
wild country, with the sea in the S.E., 
and hills around you all flat-topped 
and composed of horizontal strata, 
rising ledge above ledge like steps 
to the summit. Heights of this sin¬ 
gular form bound your horizon on 
every hand. On them stand Giarratana 
and Monterosso to the N.W.; Buscemi 
crowns a similar plateau in the N.E.; 
and a long range, loftier than the rest, 
and indented with deep bays, rises 
high above you to the E., on whose 
topmost and whitest crag once stood 
the Greek city of Acne, while in a 
hollow behind it now nestles the town 
of Palazzolo. At 12 m. from Ragusa 
you begin to ascend the steep slopes 
towards this town, and wind along 
them, through olives, corn, or lentiscus, 
and over a carpet of wild flowers, with 
a valley at your feet dark with olives, 
oaks, and chesnuts, and a rich undu¬ 
lating country beyond, till you reach 
the cliffs of La Pineta and Aeremonte, 
and entering the pass between them 
find yourself at the gate of Palazzolo. 

49 m. Palazzolo, described in 
Route 19, p. 3G2. 

The path to Sortino for the first 3 


m. is rugged beyond conception, trying 
alike to the feet of the surest mule, 
and to the nerves of the coolest rider. 
It descends the steep hill of Palazzolo, 
whose stony slopes on this eastern side 
are patched with corn, or sprinkled 
with olives and almonds, and in parts 
hollowed into sepulchral chambers. 
The road appears to have been at one 
time paved, but it is now a mere series 
of ledges of rock, worn into deep holes 
by the feet of mules. About half¬ 
way to Cassaro you enter a smoother 
path and a wooded country—old oaks 
mingled with ilex, and hung with ivy 
and creepers. In the cliffs above the 
road are tombs of Greek construction, 
both niches and chambers. The path, 
which presently branches'to Floridia 
and Syracuse, does not enter Cas¬ 
saro, but leaves it to the 1., on bare 
heights overhanging a deep ravine. 
It then ascends through open stony 
downs, with a bare, treeless country 
on the rt., but a wide stretch of ilex- 
groves in the valley on the other hand. 
It next traverses a most picturesque 
wood of oaks, chesnuts, and dices, 
some mantled with ivy, others bare 
and hoary with age; and emerges 
again on the stony downs which girdle 
the wooded summit of this height, and 
which yield a scanty pasturage to 
sheep and cattle. This ridge com¬ 
mands a wide view to the E., com¬ 
prising Syracuse on the far horizon. 
You pass the ruins of a feudal castle, 
and descend to the beautiful vale of 
the Anapus, here shaded by groves of 
chesnuts and oranges. Crossing this 
stream, you remark, sunk in the cliffs 
on the rt. bank, an ancient aqueduct, 
which still conveys water to Syracuse. 
Then climbing a steep path amid corn, 
olive and carob-trees, you reach the 
bare summit of a ridge from which 
Pantalica, with its countless caverns, 
opens to the view. 

Pantalica. 

Pantalica has usually been described 
as a “ rock-city,” as inhabited by some 
troglodyte race among the early people 
of Sicily, who lived in the most remote 










366 


ROUTE 20 .-PANTALICA—SORTINO. 


ages, before mankind had acquired the 
art of constructing houses, and were 
content to dwell in holes and caves in 
the rock. This interesting theory is 
dispelled at the first glance. The 
numberless caves on this site, save a 
few of natural formation, are one and 
all of sepulchral character ; the “ rock- 
city ” resolves itself into a necropolis, 
and the ancient town, whose dead have 
been here interred through many ages, 
must have occupied one of the neigh¬ 
bouring heights. The antiquary will 
not hesitate to place it on the height 
at the junction of two deep and con¬ 
verging ravines. In that to the E. 
there are comparatively few traces of 
sepulture; but that on the other side 
of the city is full of tombs from the 
stream at its bottom to the brow of the 
table-land above, the slopes on either 
hand being scarped into tiers of low 
cliffs one above the other, each being 
honeycombed as thickly as a rabbit- 
warren. This ravine winds round to 
the W. and N., and there narrows so 
much that the cliffs with their drapery 
of foliage seem to meet overhead, and 
the trees to stretch across, while huge 
masses of rock detached from the 
heights almost choke the oleander- 
fringed stream. Independently of its 
antiquarian interest, the site is pic¬ 
turesque in the extreme. The tombs 
are in general either arched niches, to 
hold cinerary urns, or small chambers 
entered by a very low door, and con¬ 
taining a single bench hewn from the 
rock. A few are larger, but most have 
but one chamber. One, called Grotta 
del Santuario shows a face painted 
on the wall, with traces of a crucifix, 
almost obliterated, and of the Virgin 
in another corner of the tomb ; marking 
it as of Christian date or appropriation. 
The Grotta della Maraviglia, in the' 
cliffs opposite the city-height, is a vast 
cave, apparently of natural formation, 
but applied to the purposes of sepul¬ 
ture. It contains 5 distinct halls or 
chambers, which stretch into the hill 
some 300 paces. On the E. side of 
the city-height is an interesting natural 
cavern called Grotta Trovata, to reach 
which one must descend the steep slope 
with much care. It has a very narrow 


mouth, which can only be entered on 
all fours, but after a long penance of 
this sort, the explorer enters a series 
of chambers, decorated with stalactites 
and stalagmites. 

Sir Chas. Lyell tells us that “ during 
the great earthquake of 1693, several 
thousand people were at once en¬ 
tombed in the ruins of caverns in 
limestone at Sortino Vecchio (the 
name sometimes applied to this an¬ 
cient site); and at the same time a 
large stream, which had issued forages 
from one of the grottoes below that 
town, changed suddenly its subter¬ 
ranean course, and came out from the 
mouth of a cave lower down the valley, 
where no water had previously flowed. 
I learned this from some inhabitants of 
Sortino in 1829, and visited the points 
alluded to.” 

On the height of the ancient city, no 
walls are visible, but large hewn blocks 
mark the site of some building, which 
the peasantry designate as “ il Gas¬ 
tello.” 

The city which anciently occupied 
this site is generally supposed to be 
Erbessus , Pantalica being a name which 
dates only from the early ages of Chris¬ 
tianity. Erbessus was a city of the 
Siculi, first mentioned as in existence 
in the year 404 b.c. It played a part 
of little importance in history—was 
opposed to the Syracusans under both 
Dionysius and Agathocles, and in the 
Second Punic War allied itself with 
Carthage, but was reduced by Mar- 
eellus. This must not be confounded 
with Erbessus, a dependency of Acra- 
gas, and near the source of the river of 
that name. 

To proceed to Sortino, 1 m. to the 
N., you again climb the corn-covered 
ridge from which you descended to the 
ravines of Pantalica, and which com¬ 
mands a fine view of that town crown¬ 
ing the tall, tomb-pierced cliff opposite, 
and you descend into the intervening 
hollow, through which the stream flows 
in a deep bed of rock, and cross it by a 
bridge of one arch. On the steep below 
the town you fall into the road from 
Syracuse. 

60 m. Sortino is a dull, uninterest- 





ROUTE 21. -TERRANOYA TO SYRACUSE, BY THE COAST. 367 


ing town of 8088 souls, with moan 
houses of a single story, and churches 
without beauty or interest. It stands 
at the height of 1071 feet above the 
sea. So secluded and little frequented 
is it, that it has no inn, and the traveller 
who would pass the night there has to 
throw himself on the hospitality of the 
Capuchin friars, who will give him a cell, 
bread, water, and his choice between bare 
boards and a dirty mattress. As there 
is nothing to see in Sortiuo in the shape 
of art, the tourist on his road from Pa- 
lazzalo to Syracuse may well omit to 
ascend to that town, and after seeing 
Pantalica, should proceed on his jour¬ 
ney, which can easily be accomplished 
in a day, the mules resting a couple of 
hours while he explores the ravines of 
the so-called “ rock-city.” 

The path from Sortiuo to Syracuse 
runs for 8 or 9 m., or half of the way, 
beneath the rocky heights of Hybla 
Major, and along the hollow of the 
Anapus, or of the Fiume Arabo, one 
of its branches. More exquisite ravine 
scenery, more beautiful or varied com¬ 
binations of rock, wood, water, and 
mountain—richer studies of form and 
colour—are hardly to be conceived. At 
every step there is food for the artist. 

More than half-way down this ravine 
another falls into it from the W., 
through which flows the larger branch 
of the Anapus, here called F. Grande , 
and you follow that stream for some 
miles further, when it takes the name 
of F. del Monasterio , passing the village 
of S. Paolo Solarino on the plain over¬ 
hanging the rt. bank. Soon after, you 
leave the stream and turning south¬ 
ward cross the cultivated plain to 
Floridia. 

69 m. Floridia .—For this town, and 
the road hence to Syracuse, see Rte. 19, 
p. 364. 

78 m. Syracuse. —See Route 18, p. 
325. 


ROUTE 21. 

TERRANOYA TO SYRACUSE, BY THE COAST. 

Miles. 


Terranova to Scoglitti . 18 

Scoglitti to Santa Croce. 9 

Santa Croce to Scicli.12 

Scicli to Pozzallo . 8 

Pozzallo to Pachino. 16 

Pachino to Vindfcari . 7 

Vindfcari to .Noto . 9 

Noto to Syracuse.22 


101 

This road along the coast is but a 
mule-path as far as Pachino, where it 
becomes carriageable. It is a matter of 
three days. The first day’s journey 
must be to Scicli, where there is a 
decent inn ; the second must be as far 
as Noto, for accommodation can be ob¬ 
tained at no intervening point; the 
third to Syracuse. 

8 m. The route as far as the Dirillo 
is the same as that to Vittoria and Ra- 
gusa, described in Rte. 18. The path 
after this is most uninteresting. For 
some miles it follows the shore, beneath 
dunes of sand which extend far from 
the sea, 'and are backed by downs. 
After fording a small stream where it 
falls into the sea, you leave the beach, 
and cross a sandy down feathered with 
lentiscus, juniper, and the dwarf-palm ; 
and after 10 m. reach the hamlet of 

18 m. Scoglitti. This is a very small 
place, with hardly 100 souls. It is the 
Marina or port of Yittoria, from which 
it is 6 m. distant, and was formerly one 
of the most important caricatori on this 
coast. It stands in a small rocky bay, 
which, however, affords no shelter from 
the westerly gales so prevalent in win¬ 
ter, and which too often strew this coast 
with wrecks. 

British Vice-Consul .—Signor C. Por- 
celli. 














368 


ROUTE 21 . —CAM ARINA. 


Beyond Scoglitti you cross a sandy 
down sprinkled with lentiscus and aro¬ 
matic plants, and then descend to the 
shore, passing low hills of bare sand 
which has drifted far inland. At 3 m. 
from Scoglitti you reach the site of the 
ancient Greek city of 

Camarina, now known to the peasan¬ 
try, from a chapel on the spot, as the 
Madonna di Camarana. It stood on a 
bare down, some 80 or 100 feet high, 
and sinking to the sea in a broken cliff, 
with a ruined watch-tower at its point. 
Camarina was a colony from Syracuse, 
founded 599 b.c. near a marsh or lake 
of the same name; but there was little 
affection between mother and daughter, 
for in 553 b.c., when the latter had been 
founded but 46 years, it was destroyed 
by Syracuse for an attempt to obtain 
its independence. But in 492 b.c. Hip¬ 
pocrates, Tyrant of Gela, recolonized the 
site, and become the second founder of 
Camarina. In 483 b.c. it was desolated 
by Gelon, who carried the inhabitants 
to Syracuse, but was afterwards repeo¬ 
pled from Gela about 461 b.c. In 439 
b.c. it was a third time ravaged by 
Syracuse, in revenge for which Camarina 
refused assistance to that city when be¬ 
sieged by the Athenians, until fortune 
had turned decidedly in her favour. 
In 405 b.c. its citizens were forced 
by Dionysius to abandon their homes, 
and accompany him to Syracuse. It 
was repeopled a fourth time in the 
time of Timoleon, 339 b.c. It fell into 
the hands of the Romans in 258 b.c., 
during the First Punic War, and in 
255 it witnessed the destruction of the 
Roman fleet by a violent storm, which 
strewed the whole coast to Cape Pa- 
chynus with wrecks. Camarina was 
utterly destroyed by the Saracens, who 
captured it in 853. 

The lake, near which the city was 
built, at one time becoming dry, a pes¬ 
tilence arose, which it was thought 
might be removed by draining the 
swamp. But when the citizens con¬ 
sulted the oracle of Apollo they received 
this answer, {which afterwards passed 
into a proverb—“Disturb not Cama¬ 
rina ; it is better undisturbed; lest, when 
removing a lesser evil, you produce a 


greater.” They disregarded the oracle, 
however, and drained the lake, which 
removed the pestilence, but facilitated 
the capture of the city to their foes. 

Of the ancient city sufficient vestiges 
remain to mark the site, but hardly to 
repay research. From the scattered 
fragments of its walls, and from the 
nature of the ground, the city appeaa-s 
to have been about 1J m. in circuit. The 
only ruin at present above the surface is 
a small temple, of which a portion of the 
wall of the cella, and some large slabs of 
the pavement, alone remain. A little ch., 
called La Madonna di Camerana, has 
been raised on the rains. Some scanty 
remains of the fortifications are still in 
situ, and a few tombs are to be seen in 
the neighbouring slopes. Excavations 
on the site have brought to light figured 
vases of good design, sarcophagi of terra¬ 
cotta, coins, &c., now preserved in the 
Museo Biscari, and the Benedictine Con¬ 
vent in Catania. The celebrated lake 
or marsh, “ pigra vado Camarina palus,” 
is easily recognised. It lies to the N.E. 
of the ancient city, and is now almost 
choked with rushes. It is called by the 
peasantry the Biviere di Camarana; 
and the Ilipparis, which flows through 
it to the sea, is now known as the Flume 
di Camarana. It is an insignificant 
stream, full of reeds, and bordered by 
brushwood. A singular feature of this 
site is the dunes of sand which sur¬ 
round it, which have drifted up from 
the sea, and bound it now in bare undu¬ 
lating hills, whose outline cuts harshly 
against the dark downs inland, now in 
ridges sprinkled with palmettos and 
dwarf yew-trees. 

The track to Santa Croce crosses the 
height of the ancient city, and descends 
to a hollow amid sand-dunes and barren 
hills. It here crosses the Frascolaro, 
the Oanis of Pindar, which falls into 
the sea below Camarina on the S. 
Just above the stream stands the Casino 
liasselli. The path continues through 
the same dreary country, having dunes 
of sand on the one liand, and stony 
downs feathered with dwarf palms of 
brushwood on the other, to 

27 m. Santa Croce, a wretched town 




ROUTE 21 . — SANTA CROCE—SCICLI. 


369 


of some 2800 souls, with houses of a 
single story, and no inn, or even con¬ 
vent, where the traveller can obtain ac¬ 
commodation. It stands on an emi¬ 
nence of slight elevation. Just below 
the walls to the N.W. is a fine reservoir 
or tank, 38 feet by 27, lined with regu¬ 
lar masonry, in which rises a spring of 
very clear water. There is nothing to 
mark it as of ancient construction, but it 
is supposed by Cluver to be the Fountain 
of Diana, renowned by the ancients as 
affording a test of chastity; its waters 
refusing to mix with wine when poured 
out by impure hands. But the spring 
at Oomiso, which feeds the Hipparis, 
and washes the walls of Camarina, has 
superior claims to the honour of repre¬ 
senting that sensitive fountain. See Rte. 
18, p. 317. From Santa Croce a path 
runs northward to Vittoria, 10 m. To 
Ragusa it is a distance of 18 m. by the 
banks of the Fiume Mauli, and to Mo- 
dica somewhat further. 

Santa Croce stands a few miles inland. 
The coast below it is very flat, and it 
runs to a point in the low headland of 
Capo Scalambri, anciently the pro¬ 
montory of Bucra, terminated by a 
tall lighthouse. Just to the E. of this 
is the little bay of Porto Secco, the 
ancient Caucana Portus, the port where 
the fleet of Belisarius anchored on the 
way to Africa, and where Count Roger 
assembled his ships for his expedition 
against the Saracens of Malta. As the 
present port is far too small to have 
accommodated such armaments, it is 
supposed that the outline of the coast 
has altered since those times, and that 
a spacious bay once existed between 
Capo Scalambri and Punta Longo- 
bardo. 

Nothing can be more dreary than the 
country between Santa Croce and Scicli. 
The soil for the greater part of the way 
is so stony as almost to preclude culti¬ 
vation and even vegetation. Corn and 
vines struggle for a scanty nourishment 
on the stony downs, where even the 
hardy palmetto and cactus attain but a 
stunted growth. The only break in 
this monotonous tract is afforded by 
the F. Mauli, or F. di Ragusa, which 
flows between steep banks, and is 


shaded by oleanders and fine carob-trees. 
A road here runs northward to Ragusa, 
some 15 m. distant. Another turns down 
in the other direction to Torre Mazza- 
relli on the coast, the caricatore or port 
of Ragusa. This is a mere hamlet 
around a mediaeval fort, with a square 
battlemented tower. The direct route to 
Scicli runs over stony downs, but the 
muleteers prefer to make a detour by 
the coast, as less wearisome to their 
beasts than the- rugged path inland. 
Striking the shore at Mazzarelli, you 
proceed among scattered rocks and 
stumps of trees torn up by their roots, 
the relics of some extinct forest, which 
strew the beach, and beneath low cliff's 
of breccia, to the mouth of a small river, 
the Fiume di Scicli. You ford this, and, 
a mile or two beyond, reach Donna 
Lucata , a corruption of “ Aynlucata,” 
the name given by the Saracens to 
a fountain on the shore close to the 
sea. The rocks here are in hori¬ 
zontal strata, and are divided into 
blocks, like pavement on a gigantic 
scale. Here you leave the shore and 
proceed for the 5 intervening miles to 
Scicli, over grey, stony, arid hills, with 
luxuriant cultivation and foliage in the 
hollows. Or you can proceed along 
the coast to S. Pietro, the scaro or port 
of Scicli, from which a good road leads 
to that town. On the way, below the 
sand-dunes of Punta Corvo, stands a 
tower which marks the spot where the 
telegraphic cable enters the sea for 
Malta, 00 m. distant. 

39 m. Scicli. Inns: “ Locanda del 
Carmine,” or “ di S. Niccolo,” and “ L. 
del Castello.” The former is the better, 
and is kept by Giovanni Fiascavallo, 
who also acts as cicerone. Clean beds. 

Scicli is a town of 11,000 or 12,000 
souls, built in a hollow at the foot of 
several steep heights separated from 
each other by ravines. The streets are 
clean and well paved; many of the 
houses are imposing, with their heavy 
balconies resting on massive corbels. 
The chs. are numerous, all of modern 
construction, and some with architec¬ 
tural pretensions. The Chiesa Matrice, 
which stands halfway up theslopeabove 
the town, is of neat architecture, but its 

r 3 





370 


ROUTE 21 . —CASMENZE—POZZALLO. 


facade is unfinished. S. Francesco di 
Paola is an elliptical ch. with a con¬ 
vex facade. The Church of the Cap- 
puccini contains a Deposition by Filippo 
Paladino, and in its sacristy an- early 
picture by Antonio di, Palermo, 1497, 
probably identical with Antonio Cres- 
cenzio. Santa Maria la Nuova, in the 
ravine so called, is a new ch., in part 
built by Giuseppe Venanzio Marvuglia, 
a modern Sicilian architect of renown. 
The high altar is rich in native agates. 
The altarpieee is a Nativity of the Vir¬ 
gin, by Conca. In the sacristy is a 
Martyrdom of St. Adrian, who is repre¬ 
sented placing his foot on the block, to 
be severed by the executioner. It is 
attributed, but incorrectly, to Rubens. 

The ravines in the neighbourhood of 
Scicli, and the cliffs which overhang 
them, have many grottoes and niches, 
evidently of sepulchral character, and 
which show habitation in early times. 
The city, which is generally believed 
to be the ancient Casmenae, did not oc¬ 
cupy the site of the modern town, but 
probably the summit of the height 
above it, now known as the Costa di 
Santa Lucia. Casmenae was founded by 
Syracuse 90 years after its own founda¬ 
tion, or 644 b.c. Of its history we know 
but a single fact, which is that, while 
Gelon reigned inGela, the oligarchs of 
Syracuse, called Gamorri, were driven 
out of that city by the people and their 
own slaves, and took refuge in Casmenae. 
The rock is in horizontal strata of 
fine yellow tufaceous sandstone, easily 
worked, but too soft to retain its form 
through many centuries ; on which ac¬ 
count there is little on the site in the 
way of sepulchres to interest the tourist. 
There is, however, a fragment of Roman 
pavement in rude mosaic, and several 
subterranean passages cut in the rock, 
leading, it is said, to springs of water. 

From Scicli there is a carriageable 
road to Modica, 5 m. distant. But the 
direct route to Syracuse leaves Modica 
a mile to the 1., where it falls into the 
high road from that city to Spacca- 
forno. On leaving Scicli it ascends the 
bare height called La Balata, and 
then crosses stony downs separated by 
low walls of loose stones into fields, 


with a scanty cultivation of corn and 
fruit. 

The route by the coast from Scicli to 
Pozzallo traverses a country of similar 
character. 

47 m. Pozzallo, a small town of 
2728 souls, the port of Modica, and the 
principal caricatore of this district. It 
has several magazines, a small pier, 
and a feudal palace and fortress, erected, 
it is said, by the famous Bernardo Ca¬ 
brera, Count of Modica. It is a flourish¬ 
ing place, with a growing trade and in¬ 
creasing population. Live stock, fruit, 
and vegetables are shipped hence to 
Malta, from which it is distant only 
60 m. From Pozzallo it is 6 m. 1o 
Spaccaforno, 12 to Modica, and 20 to 
Noto. 

On the shore, 2 m. E. of Pozzallo, 
stands the little ch. of Sta. Maria Fo- 
callo, built on the ruins of an ancient 
temple, and there are other traces of 
early habitation on the site. This spot 
was noted in Fazello’s time for the fre¬ 
quent occurrence of the Fata Morgana. 
4 m. beyond is the mouth of the Busai- 
done, the stream which waters the glen 
of Ispica; and 4 m. further E. is a small 
shallow bay, on whose eastern point 
stands the wretched village of Castel- 
laccio di Marza, surrounded by a cre- 
nated wall. In the centre of the bay a 
spring of fresh water rises through the 
sea, like the fountain of Arethusa at 
Syracuse. This is generally supposed 
to have been the Portus Odysseee of 
antiquity. The present little bay of 
Marza may have been but the en¬ 
trance to the port, and the salt 
marsh behind it, now broken by pan- 
tdni, or lagunes, may have formed 
the ancient harbour, since choked up. 
By some, however, the Portus Odyssese 
is supposed to have been in the adjoin¬ 
ing bay to the eastward. Whichever 
it may have been, it was this harbour 
that was the haunt of the pirate Hera- 
cleo, whose audacity and success in de¬ 
stroying the Roman fleet are described 
in such forcible language by Cicero in 
his fifth Oration against Yerres. From 
this port he sallied forth and captured 
the Roman galleys as they left the port 
of Paeliynus, and, driving them ashore 



371 


ROUTE 21 . —PACHINO—CAPO PaSSARO. 


at Helorus, lie set them on fire, the 
blaze lighting np the country to a great 
distance, to the terror of the Syracusans, 
and disgrace of the praetor Verres, who 
was not to be roused from his revels, 
even by the conflagration of the Roman 
fleet. 

The track, after crossing the Busai- 
done, runs along the level shore to 

63 m. Pachino, a town of some 8500 
souls, but no inn. It is 12 m. from 
Rosolini and 16 from Noto, and a car¬ 
riage-road, recently finished, connects 
it with the latter town and Syracuse. 
It stands on a green eminence which 
rises like a huge tumulus from the 
plain, and the large square ch. on the 
summit is a conspicuous object through¬ 
out this part of the coast. The town, 
though preserving an ancient name, is 
entirely modern, having been founded 
by the Prince of Giardinelli in the 
last century. 

The ground to the S. of the town is 
low, swampy, and desert, overrun with 
heath, myrtle, lentiscus, palmetto, and 
juniper; and abounding in game, rep¬ 
tiles, and insects. It contains an ex¬ 
tensive lake of salt water, with two 
wells of fresh water between it and the 
sea. The reeds and shrubs around the 
lake shelter an abundance of wild fowl. 
“ From the shape of the beach that 
shuts up this lake,” says Admiral 
Smyth, “ I have no doubt of its having 
been once open, and that it was the 
Portus Pachynus, where the Roman 
fleet was so disgracefully moored by 
the drunken Cleomenes, and where the 
hapless sailors were compelled by hun¬ 
ger to devour the roots of the dwarf 
palm, which still flourishes in pro¬ 
digious quantity.” 

6 m. S. of Pachino, and the same 
distance to the S.E. of Marza, is the 
Isola delle Correnti, the most southern 
point of Sicily. It is a low rock of 
sandstone, divided from the mainland 
by a shallow passage. A lighthouse is 
being constructed on the island. The 
coast here is very low, and it sinks still 
lower as it approaches its termination 
in Capo Passaro. 

3 m. to the N.E., and 4 S. of Pachino, 
is the little harbour of Porto Palo, 


with the village of that name a short 
distance inland. The low rocky point 
to the E. of this bay is Capo Passaro , 
the Pacliynus of antiquity, one of the 
three horns of Sicily, the t pAs anpcu, 
which gave it the name of Trinacria. 
The point is so low that it is dangerous 
to approach it at night. 

“ Hinc altascautes, projectaque saxa Pacbyni 

Radiums.” 

Virg . JEn . in., 699. 

To the N. of the cape lies the Isola 
di Passaro —“solum insulare a mari 
turbati Pachyni ”—composed of a curi¬ 
ous aggregate of marble, lava, tufa, 
cinders, and oceanic deposits. It breaks 
on all sides into low but steep black 
cliffs, save where it is joined to the 
main by a sandy spit, covered with 
two feet only of water. On its eastern 
point stands a square fort, on which is 
a lighthouse. 

Opposite the Isola di Passaro is the 
Tonnara of the same name, which gives 
employment during the season to some 
hundreds of people. The coast to the 
N. is low, wild, and desolate; the 
soil is formed of argillaceous tufa and 
volcanic cinders in horizontal strata, 
intersected by streams of lava; yet it 
is said to be naturally fertile. 5 m. 
N. of Cape Passaro stands the Tonnara 
di Marzamemi, one of the largest tunny 
fisheries in Sicily, the salt lake behind 
it affording a ready means of curing 
the fish. Between this point and that 
ofVindicari to the N. stretches a fine 
bay, on whose shore lies the hamlet of 
Porticella di Eeitano. A little to the 
N. of this spot, on a peninsula formed 
by a lake and salt-works, and between 
the road to Noto and the sea, are the 
remains of an ancient city, scattered 
over a considerable tract, but in so 
dilapidated a state as to present a mere 
chaos of stones. This is supposed by 
some to be the Ichana, by others the 
Imachara , of antiquity, but there is 
nothing to identify it with either. 

About 3 m. further N. you cross 
the Tellaro, or Ahisso (anciently 1 le¬ 
hr us), flowing between wooded banks 
through the wide green plain. So low 
is the land here that, though in summer 
this stream is almost dry, in wiuter it 





372 


ROUTE 21. -HELORUS. 


often overflows the neighbouring coun¬ 
try for a considerable distance. Here, 
between the road and the sea, on an 
eminence of no great elevation, stood 
the ancient city of 

Ilelorus, on the 1. bank of the river 
from which it took its name. The spot 
is sometimes called by the peasantry 
Moriporco , but more commonly Stam- 
pcici (i.e. Sta in pace), from a tower of 
that name built by Blasco d’Aragona, 
Count of Mistretta, in 1312, which is 
now in ruins, and is called the Castello. 
Few traces of ancient times now remain 
above the surface. Broken pottery as 
usual strews the site, and there are 
some remains of the fortifications, es¬ 
pecially on the cliff overhanging the 
sea, where are many blocks in situ. A 
gate is also to be traced leading down 
to the ancient port, and a staircase cut 
in the rock on the same side of the city. 
On the N. side the walls appear to be 
buried beneath a ridge of sand, which 
has drifted up from the sea. Within 
the city are the foundations of several 
buildings, with cisterns sunk beneath 
the surface; and in certain places out¬ 
side the walls are a few sepulchral 
chambers hollowed in the rock, some 
said to bear Greek inscriptions, and 
one described as of large size, with 
its ceiling supported by 4 massive 
piers of rock. The ancient port ap¬ 
pears to have been at the mouth of 
the river, where there is a large pool 
of stagnant water, called Pantano di 
Stampaci, but it is now closed by a bar 
of sand. To the N. of the site is a 
little sandy bay, between the height of 
Helorus and that crowned by the lonely 
monument of La Pizzuta; and on the 
further point, of the bay are the He- 
lorine quarries : a low ridge connects 
these two heights. The Pizzuta is 
described in Ete. 18, p. 323. 

Ilelorus was a Greek town, probably 
a colony of Syracuse, and dependent on 
it, for it was connected with that city 
by a road as early as the time of the 
Athenian invasion, and its possession 
was confirmed to Syracuse by the 
treaty which Hieron II. made with 
Pome in 263 b.c. It took no con¬ 
spicuous part in history, and the only 


prominent event in its records is that 
in the Second Punic War it declared 
for the Carthaginians, but was reduced 
by Marcellus, 214 b.c. 

Tiie road from Helorus to Syracuse 
was anciently called Via Helorina, but 
it is not now to be traced by any frag¬ 
ments of pavement. It probably kept 
the line of the coast where practicable. 
This was the road pursued by the 
Athenians when they had broken up 
their camp before Syracuse, and at¬ 
tempted to effect a retreat. To reach 
Noto you cross the Falconara, and 
ascend the olive-clad slope, falling into 
the road from Syracuse, and entering 
the city by its northern gate. 

79 m. Noto. See Ete. 18, p. 322. 

For the road hence to Syracuse see 
the same Ete., p. 324. 

101 m. Syracuse.— See Eoute 18, 
p. 325. 


EOUTE 22. 

TERRANOVA TO SYRACUSE, BY 
CALTAGIRONE. 


Terrauova to Niscemi .. 
Niscemi to Caltagirone .. 
Caltagirone to Granmichele 
Granmichele to Vizzini .. 
Vizzini to Buccheri.. .. 
Buccheri to Buscemi 
Buscemi to Palazzolo .. 
Palazzolo to Syracuse .. 


Miles. 
.. 10 
.. 12 
.. 7 

.. 8 
.. 5 

.. 4 

.. 2 
.. 24 


72 

The road from Terranova to Caltagirone 
first traverses the plain of Terranova, 





ROUTE 22. -NISCEMI—GRAMMICHELE. 


the Cam pi Gcloi of antiquity, following 
the course of the Gela as far as Nis- 
cemi, and then ascends the mountains 
to Caltagirone. For the first half of 
the way, or to the foot of the hill on 
which Niscemi stands, it is practicable 
in summer for carriages ; hut as there 
is little commerce between Terranova 
and Caltagirone, the carriage-road is 
not continued to the latter town, and 
there is nothing hut a steep mule-track, 
wretched enough in the best season, 
hut hardly passable in wet weather. 
The plain of Terranova, though fertile 
in corn, cotton, and barilla, is dreary 
and treeless, the only foliage being on 
the banks of the river, which in a few 
parts are fringed with low wood; but 
the clieerlessness of the scene is re¬ 
lieved by the sublime mass of Etna, 
which rises before you in hoary gran¬ 
deur above the intervening hills, 
among which Caltagirone is seen in 
front, Niscemi on the rt., and Butera 
on a distant isolated rock on the 
other hand. You cross the Gela 
four times; twice between Terranova 
and Niscemi, and twice between that 
town and Caltagirone. At 6 m. is a 
ruined fort, called Castelluzzo, built of 
red rubble, and standing on a conical 
rocky mound, in as commanding a posi¬ 
tion as any feudal baron could desire, 
at the head of the long plain of Terra¬ 
nova. As you approach the heights on 
which stands Caltagirone, you cross the 
Gela for the second time, where it flows 
between deep banks of clay, with tama¬ 
risks in its bed. This is at the foot of 
the range of bare hills on whose ex¬ 
tremity stands Niscemi, and there is a 
road to the rt. leading up to that town. 

10 m. Niscemi. ( Inn: ‘ ‘ La F or tuna, ’ 
poor), a town of some 8000 souls, 
renowned for its honey, but with no 
interest for the traveller, who, unless lie 
intend to take the upper road, may spare 
himself the fatigue of climbing to it, 
and proceed on his way from the Gela 
to Caltagirone. In 1790 this town was 
visited by an earthquake, and during 
seven shocks the ground for a circuit 
of three miles sunk gradually, in one 
place to the depth of 30 feet. Fissures 
opened, which sent forth sulphur, pe- 


373 

troleum, hot water, and a stream of 
mud. The marvel was that it was far 
from any volcanic district, and in strata 
of blue clay. From Niscemi there is a 
bridle-path to Caltagirone along the 
heights, commanding fine views on 
both sides, with Etna in sight all 
the way. It is a ride of 4 hours. This 
upper road is said to be much prefer¬ 
able to the lower one, especially in wet 
weather. 

From the valley of the Gela it is a 
continual ascent to Caltagirone, the 
path winding up steep slopes of white 
rock, or yellow clay, for the most part 
barren, strewn with crags, or sprinkled 
with dwarf palms, but here and there 
patched with corn-fields and olive- 
groves. After a few miles you enter 
the province of Catania. The path 
itself is most monotonous and weari¬ 
some, yet it commands a grand view 
over the Geloan Plain to Terranova and 
the sea, and of the towers of Caltagi¬ 
rone cresting the mountain peak before 
and above you. At the Jesuits’ Con¬ 
vent, in a lonely hollow 3 m. below 
the city, the ascent of that peak begins. 
That ascent, called from its steepness 
“ La Scala,” climbs the bare slopes be¬ 
tween the table heights of Ascara on 
the 1. and of Samuro on the rt., till it 
surmounts the ridge and reaches the 
gates of Caltagirone. 

22 m. Caltagirone. —Described in 
Rte. 16, p. 304. 

The road to Palazzolo runs eastward 
along the ridge of the mountain-chain 
which separates the plain of Catania 
and the valley of the Simeto from the 
low grounds of the southern coast. The 
road as far as Grammichele is carriage¬ 
able, but beyond that it is a mere bridle¬ 
path, as rugged and difficult as any in 
this rough stony district. The moun¬ 
tains are calcareous, with here and there 
basalt. 

29 m. Grammichele , a neat, regularly 
built town, of about 9000 souls, ele¬ 
vated 1768 feet above the sea, was 
founded by the Branciforte family, 
some century and a half ago, who peo¬ 
pled it with the inhabitants of the 





ROUTE 22 .— VIZZINI—BUCCHERI. 


374 

neighbouring town of Occhiala, de¬ 
stroyed by the earthquake of 1693. 
There are 2 locande. A ride of 2 hours 
by a tolerable path across the moun¬ 
tains leads to 

37 m. Vizzini , a town of 13,400 souls 
and 2 locande. The track to Palazzolo 
does not enter Vizzini, leaving it to the 
rt., but the tourist who ascends to it will 
find handsome buildings, and churches 
containing pictures worthy of attention. 
The Madre Chiesa has two—a Virgin 
of Mercy, and the Martyrdom of St. 
Lawrence, both by Filippo Faladino of 
Florence. The ch. of the Gappuccini 
has also two paintings by the same 
master—S. Francesco d’Assisi, and a 
Deposition, the latter bearing date 
1607. In the ch. of the Minori Osser- 
vanti is a marble statue of the Virgin, 
by Gag ini, dated 1537, and a beautiful 
picture of the Madonna and Child, by 
Antonello Desaliba, of Messina, dated 
1509. Santa Maria de' Greet has an 
old triptych, representing various events 
in the life of the Virgin, and bearing 
an inscription saying it was brought 
from Greece in the year 385. 

The citizens claim for Vizzini the 
honour of occupying the site of the 
ancient Bidis. mentioned by Cicero, 
but its distance from Syracuse hardly 
accords with his description. There 
are, moreover, no remains on the spot 
to mark it as of classical antiquity : 
all we know of its early history is 
that it was inhabited, if not built, by 
the Saracens. At Vizzini the Dirillo, 
the ancient Achates, takes its rise. 

2 m. to the SVV. is Licodia di Viz¬ 
zini, a town of about 12,000 souls, 
built on a steep rock, and having a 
baronial castle in a picturesque state 
of ruin. The Church of the Carmelites 
contains pictures worthy of notice. 
Near this town are the remains of an 
ancient city of unknown name. 

The geological features of this dis¬ 
trict are interesting. Tertiary strata 
are intermixed with volcanic matter, 
which is for the most part the product 
of submarine eruptions. “ At Vizzini,” 
says Sir Charles Lyell, “ I remarked a 
striking proof of the gradual manner 
in which these modern rocks were 


formed, and the long intervals of time 
which elapsed between the pouring 
out of distinct sheets of lava—a bed of 
oysters no less than 20 ft. in thickness 
rests upon a current of basaltic lava. 
The oysters are perfectly identifiable 
with our common eatable species. 
Upon the oj^ster-bed, again, is super¬ 
imposed a second mass of lava, to¬ 
gether with tuff or peperino.” 

A track runs hence S. to Chiaramonte 
and Modica, passing near Monterosso 
and Giarratana, both situated on lofty 
heights. The former has a population 
of 6000, the latter of about half that 
number. Beneath its walls the Mauli, 
or Fiume di Ragusa, takes its rise. 

Around Vizzini the country is cheer¬ 
ful, the valley beneath it is well wood¬ 
ed, the slopes varied with corn and 
vines. Beyond, the country is still rich 
in corn, but the path is rugged and 
stony in the extreme, with continual 
ascents and descents. About half way 
to Bucclieri it quits the province of 
Catania and enters that of Nolo. Run¬ 
ning along the crest of a higli range of 
mountains, it commands most extensive 
views over the districts of Modica and 
Noto to the S. and S.E., bounded by 
the blue Mediterranean; and to the N. 
of the heights of Lentini and its lake 
glittering at their feet, of the wide plain 
of Catania beyond, with the Simeto and 
Gurnalonga winding through it, of the 
sublime mass of Etna in the distance, 
and of a long stretch of the sea-coast 
towards Taormina. 

42 m. Buccheri, a little town of Sara¬ 
cenic origin, cresting an eminence, and 
having a population of 4219 souls. The 
Capuchin convent here is most pic¬ 
turesquely situated. Buccheri is sup¬ 
posed to have originally occupied the 
slope of a neighbouring hill to the S., 
on which remains are still visible. 
From it a path runs northward 
through Francofonte to Scordia. On 
a mountain near Buccheri is a ch. 
dedicated to the Trnmaculata, which is 
traditionally said to be the first Chris¬ 
tian ch. erected in Sicily, and which 
contains some early Byzantine paint¬ 
ings. The mountains here are com¬ 
posed of old lavas, with basalt and 



375 


ROUTE 23 . —CALTAGIRONE TO CATANIA. 


calcareous tufo. A path of extreme 
ruggedness leads along the same 
mountain-ridge to Buscemi. 

46 m. Buscemi, another little town 
whose name betrays its Saracenic 
origin. It has 3140 inhab. Near 
it the celebrated Anapus takes its 
rise. From this town Palazzolo on 
the opposite height, overhung by the 
cliffs of Acremonte, and girdled by 
corn-fields and vineyards, is seen to 
advantage. The distance is but a 
couple of miles, but all the difficulties 
of the route from Grammiche leare for¬ 
gotten in the presence of those of this 
small portion of it, where it crosses the 
intervening hollow and mounts the 
steep to Palazzolo. 

48 m. Palazzolo. —See p. 362. The 
route from this town to Syracuse has 
been described in Rte. 19, p. 364. 

• 

72 m. Syracuse.— See Route 18, p. 
325. 


ROUTE 23. 

CALTAGIRONE TO CATANIA. 

Miles. 

Caltagirone to Fondaco Sotto 


Mineo .12 

F. sotto Mineo to Favarotta .. 3 

Favarotta to Palagonia .... 3 

Palagonia to Ceraini . 6 

Cerami to Buonvicino . 12 

Buonvicino to La Giarretta .. .. 5 i 
La Giarretta to Catania. 

I 


49 

The road from Caltagirone to Catania 
till of late years ran direct from Pala¬ 


gonia over the great plain to Catania 
(42 m.); but though this did very well 
in the summer and dry weather, the 
low swampy flat was always imprac¬ 
ticable for carriages after heavy rains. 
A new road was consequently opened, 
which, on leaving Palagonia, turned 
to the E., skirting the base of the 
heights of Scordia, Rocca Castellana, 
and Bagnara, and following the rt. 
bank of the Gurnalonga till it met 
ihe high-road from Lentini to Catania 
above the Fondaco di Primo Sole. 
The distance was thus lengthened 
some 7 or 8 m., but regularity of 
transit was secured. The corner a now 
leaves Caltagirone for Catania every 
Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and 
Friday at 13 o’clock, doing the dis¬ 
tance in 10 hours. 

This road possesses little to interest 
the traveller, but Etna is in sight 
most of the way, and is seen in 
his entire mass rising from the great 
plain of Catania. The road from 
Caltagirone is extremely steep; the 
descent to the rivulet which washes the 
base of the mountain is indeed the worst 
part of the whole route. The road then 
traverses a tract of corn country, sur¬ 
rounded by low, wild, and craggy hills, 
and affording no object of interest save 
the town of Mineo, crowning an emi¬ 
nence to the rt. At the hamlet of Nisci- 
ma the road branches to that town, and 
runs on to Militello, Scordia, and Len¬ 
tini. This branch is described in 
Rte. 24. Some miles before reaching 
Palagonia you pass hillocks of lava 
of various colours; voleauie blocks 
strew the soil in every direction; and 
on approaching Palagonia you cross 
what appears to have been the bed of a 
lava-torrent. 

Lacjo de' Palici. —Near the hamlet 
of Favarotta, about 3 m. from Pala¬ 
gonia, and 2 from Mineo, in a plain 
below the latter town, lies the Lago 
Naftia, the ancient Lacus Palico- 
rum, which presents a singular natural 
phenomenon. It is of circular form, 
and of no great size, varying in this re¬ 
spect according to the season, increasing 
with the rains, but shrinking in sum¬ 
mer, so as sometimes to dry up alto- 









376 


ROUTE 23. -LAGO DI NAFTIA—PALAGONIA. 


gether. Commonly, however, it has a 
diameter of about 60 or 70 yds.; and is 
about 15 ft. deep. In the midst of the 
pool are three small craters, two of 
which shoot up water in jets to the 
height of 2 or 3 ft., with a gurgling 
noise; the third throws it up with less 
force, and is intermittent in its action. 
The water is turbid and greenish, and 
exhales an odour of bitumen. The 
whole lake resembles a boiling caldron, 
from the multitude of bubbles rising to 
its surface, through the escape of gases 
from below. Yet the water is of the 
ordinary temperature. It is the car¬ 
bonic acid gas which, finding vent 
through the craters, drives it up like a 
fountain, and gives the whole pool the 
appearance of boiling. This also im¬ 
parts a mephitic character to the atmo¬ 
sphere, so that no bird can fly across 
the lake. Rabbits, hares, and other 
small animals, which approach it to 
satisfy their thirst, leave their carcases 
on its banks. Oxen or horses, when 
driven into its waters, gasp for breath, 
and endeavour immediately to escape. 
Man himself cannot stand near it with¬ 
out suffering from headache. In the 
summer, when the water is dried up, you 
can approach the craters, which still 
shoot out noxious gases in furious 
currents. 

So great was the terror impressed on 
the minds of the ancients by these 
phenomena, that they worshipped the 
craters, and erected a temple to them, 
under the name of the Dii Palici, twin 
deities, who were supposed to be the 
sons of Jupiter by the nymph Thalia. 
To this shrine pilgrims flocked of old, 
not only from all parts of Sicily, but 
even from Italy. It afforded also an in¬ 
violable asylum to slaves who had fled 
from the tyranny of their masters, and 
who could then make their own terms, 
which, from the awe inspired by the 
spot, were religiously observed by their 
owners. Not an instance is known, 
says Diodorus, of a master breaking 
faith with a slave when he had plighted 
his word at this shrine. Such sanctity 
attached to the spot, that oaths sworn 
by the Dii Palici, while touching the 
crater, were among the most solemn 
the ancients could impose. The lake 


also afforded a test of veracity; for the 
man who had to undergo the ordeal, 
swore by the gods of the lake, and 
committed a tablet inscribed with his 
oath to its waters; when if he had 
sworn truth it floated; if falsely, it 
sunk, and he himself was condemned 
to the flames. Tradition further re¬ 
cords that through this lake Pluto, 
when he had seized the fair Proserpine 
on the shores of the lake of Enna, drove 
his fiery steeds on his way to the foun¬ 
tain of Cyane, through which he made 
his descent to his throne in Tartarus. 

“ Perque lacus altos, et olentia sulfure fertur 

Stagna Palicorum, rupt& ferventia terra. - ’ 

Ovid. Met. 

The temple, which Diodorus tells us 
was “ surrounded by porticoes and 
taverns, and was worthy of the majesty 
of the gods,” has utterly disappeared. 
On a lofty height near the lake once 
stood Palica , a city founded by Duce- 
tius, King of the Siculi, 453 b.c., and 
which in a very short time attained to 
extraordinary prosperity and import¬ 
ance, but was destroyed soon after the 
death of that monarch, and never after 
revived, leaving us no vestige of its 
existence save in the name of the 
neighbouring town of Palagonia. 

18 m. Palagonia, a small town of 4483 
souls, with a locanda not recommended. 
It is picturesquely situated on the side 
of a hill overlooking a charming val¬ 
ley, and among crags of lava, overrun 
with aloe, cactus, and carob-trees; but 
it is a wretched place, teeming with 
filth and misery. It is of Norman 
origin, but the name is probably de¬ 
rived from Palica, the ancient town 
which stood near the Lago de’ Palici, 
just described. Palagonia was once 
the feudal property of the celebrated 
Catalan, Roger Loria, admiral to 
Peter I. of Sicily, who took so promi¬ 
nent a part in the Wars of the Vespers, 
and it now belongs to the Gravina 
family, giving a title to the prince who 
created the stone monsters at Bagaria. 

From Palagonia the road crosses a 
ridge of heights to the Fondaco Tre 
Fontane; then, following the valley 
northwards till it reaches the rt. bank 




ROUTE 24 . —CALTAGIRONE TO CATANIA. 


377 


of the Gurnalonga, pursues the course 
of that river to the E. beneath the 
high grounds which form the southern 
boundary of the great plain of Catania, 
and at the 10th milestone falls into 
the high-road from Lentini to that city. 

42 m. Catania. —See Rte. 26, p. 387. 


ROUTE 24. 

CALTAGIRONE TO CATANIA, BY LENTINI. 

Miles. 

Caltagirone to Mineo .. .. 14 


Mineo to Militello. 8 

Militello to Scordia. 4 

Scordia to Lentini. 9 

Lentini to Catania.18 


53 

For the first 10 or 11 m., or as far as 
the hamlet of Niscima, this route is 
the same as that to Catania by way of 
Palagonia, but it diverges at that spot, 
and continues carriageable to Mineo. 
From that place to Lentini it is only 
practicable on horseback, but at the 
latter town you fall into the stradone, 
or post-road, to Catania. 

14 m. Mineo (pop. 8500). This 
town is situated on a commanding emi¬ 
nence in a range of hills which sweep 
round from Palagonia to Caltagirone, 
and bound the plain in which lies the 
singular volcanic lake, called Lago 
de’ Palici. It occupies the site of the 
ancient Mense , or Menxnum , founded J 


by Ducetius, King of the Siculi, 459 
b.c. It was of little importance in an¬ 
cient times. Mineo was one of the first 
places in Sicily taken by the Saracens 
on their invasion in 827. In Fazello’s 
time the ancient castle and fortifications 
were extant. 

The path traverses the hilly region 
which bounds the great plain of Ca¬ 
tania on the S. The rocks are volcanic, 
composed of lavas of various hues, and 
of different degrees of density. 

22 m. Militello , Yal di Koto. This 
town, of 9000 to 10,000 souls, bangs on 
the upper and eastern slope of a lofty 
wooded height and is of modern con¬ 
struction, the earlier town having 
been almost entirely destroyed by the 
earthquake of 1693. The church of 
the Conventuali contains a picture of 
Filippo Paladino, representing the at¬ 
tempt to assassinate S. Carlo Bora 
rorneo. The Chiesa Matrice has a 
St. Nicholas by Vito d' Anna. Santa 
Maria della Stella shows a large 
relief of the Nativity, in porcelain, or 
Flemish art. In a valley below the 
town is the abandoned church of 
the same name, which was ruined 
by the great earthquake, but re¬ 
tains part of an aisle and its gateway, 
which is decorated with figures of the 
Sibyls and Prophets. Hard by this eh. 
is an early Christian sepulchre, hol¬ 
lowed in the rock, and bearing remains 
of ancient inscriptions. The Chiesa del 
Purgatorio should be visited for the 
beautiful view it commands of the 
Campi Leontini and of the lake. The 
ch. of the Benedettini Cassinesi also de¬ 
serves notice for its fine prospect. The 
road descends and runs along the slope 
of Rocca Castellana to 

26 m. Scordia , pop. 6000. A mo¬ 
dern town, in the midst of a fertile and 
pleasing country. The Chiesa Maggiore, 
or S. Rocco, has a picture attributed to 
Caravaggio; and in that of the Rifor- 
mati is a St. Anna, ascribed to Rubens. 
This town gives its name with the 
title of Prince to the family of Branci- 
forte. A track runs hence to Pala¬ 
gonia, 5 m. distant. 

Just beyond Scordia, on crossing the 







378 


ROUTE 25. -SYRACUSE TO CATANIA, BY LENTINI. 


Fiume Rettore, you pass from the pro¬ 
vince of Catania into that of No to. 
The track continues along the slopes of 
the hills which overhang that stream 
and the Biviere, or Lake of Lentini, 
commanding glorious views of the Ca- 
tanian plain and of Etna ; and skirting 
the shores of the lake till it ascends to 
Lentini at its south-eastern extremity. 

35 m. Lentini. This town and its 
lake are described in Rte. 25, p. 380, 
where will also he found a description 
of the road hence to Catania. 

53 m. Catania. —See Route 26, p. 
387. 


ROUTE 25. 

SYRACUSE TO CATANIA, BY LENTINI. 

Miles. Posts. 

Syracuse to Priolo . . . io 

Priolo to Sotto Melilli . . 3 1 

Sotto Melilli to Villasmundo 10 1 

Villasmundo to Carlentini . 6 

Carlentini to Lentini . . 3 ] 

Lentini to Primo Sole . . 9 

Primo Sole to La Giarretta 1£ 

La Giarretta to Catania . 7i 2 

50 5 

This is the post-road. The corriera 
leaves Syracuse for Catania, Messina, 
and Palermo, three times a week, 
Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 
on its arrival from Noto, which ’ is 
generally at 2 or 3 a.m. It takes 9 or 
i0 hours to accomplish the 50 miles 
to Catania, as there is much hilly 
ground between the cities. The fare 
for a seat is 2 ducats 58 bajocchi, to 


which must be added 5 bajocchi to 
each postilion. Vetture are also to 
be had, which will do the journey in 

2 days, stopping the night at Lentini. 
The price for a carriage, with 2 horses, 
is 7 dollars ; with 3 horses, from 8 to 
10 dollars. If the traveller insists on 
doing it in one day, which can be 
accomplished in 12 hours, including 
a rest of 3 hours at Lentini, he will 
have to pay something additional. 

Steamers run from Syracuse to 
Catania and Messina, twice a week, 
reaching Catania in 3J hours, and 
Messina in 10J hours (see p. 327). 

The road from Syracuse for the first 

3 or 4 miles crosses the bare rocky 
plateau, once covered with the dense 
population and architectural magnifi¬ 
cence of the ancient city ; now a 
lonely farm or villa, a few scattered 
olive-trees, or a patch of corn, alone 
break the wide monotony of rock. It 
follows nearly the line of division be¬ 
tween the component cities of Acradina 
on the rt. and Neapolis and Tyclie on 
the 1. It leaves the ancient city at 
the Scala Greca, and descends by a 
long winding road into the plain, pass¬ 
ing, after half a mile, a little bay now 
called Stentino, but of old, Portus 
Trogilus. The coast is here much 
indented with such bays ; one of them, 
about 2 m. N. of the Scala Greca, is 
supposed to be that of Leon, where 
the Athenians landed to commence 
their siege, in 414 b.c. ; and where 
Marcell us, when he had failed to take 
Syracuse by assault, took up his quar¬ 
ters for the winter. The plain for 
some distance inland is as rugged and 
rocky as the surface of the plateau 
you have just left, and in many parts 
is furrowed with deep ruts, running 
from the sea towards the ancient city. 
As you advance, you obtain a fine 
retrospect of the long plateau it once 
covered, rising from the sea in low 
clifts at Cape Panagia, and stretching 
back for some miles, here in a broken 
wall of grey rock, there in green olive- 
clad slopes, and rising to its greatest 
altitude at its termination in the 
tower-crested height of Belvedere. 
At right angles to this ridge, and 
bounding the plain to the E., at some 








ROUTE 25. -LA GUGLIA—MELILLI—HONEY OF HYBLA. 379 


miles inland, are the much loftier 
cactus-hnng cliffs of Hybla, horizon¬ 
tally stratified and level at the top, but 
with their face picturesquely broken 
and indented. 

Magnisi. —About 7 m. from Syracuse 
you are opposite the low, bare, green 
promontory of Magnisi , apparently an 
island, but connected with the shore 
by a sandy isthmus. On it stands a 
farm or two, and at the point is a 
tonnara. one of the largest in Sicily. 
Some white pyramids on the shore 
mark the salt-works of Sajona. This 
promontory is the ancient Thapsus, 
sung by Virgil, 

“ Vivo prsetervehor ostia saxo 
Pantagia?, Megarosque sinus, Tapsumque ja- 

centem 

and by Ovid, 

‘ Hinc Camarinam adit, Thapsonque et Heloria 

Tempe 

and one of the first sites on the coast 
of Sicily that was colonised from 
Greece, though its citizens soon de¬ 
serted it for Megara. In the little 
bay to the S., between the peninsula 
and the shore, lay the fleet of the 
Athenians, at the commencement of 
their siege of Syracuse, before they 
took possession of the great harbour. 

La Guglia. —Half a mile beyond 
the isthmus, and 2 or 3 furlongs to 
the rt. of the road, stands a large monu¬ 
ment in the corn plain, consisting of 
a square pedestal or basement, on 
which now lies a shapeless mass, 
originally, perhaps, a cone ; the whole 
is of regular masonry, in 15 courses, 
without cement, and much dislocated. 
It is now about 23 ft. in height, but 
must have been much loftier. Fazelli 
says it was entire in his day, but was 
shattered by the earthquake of 1512. 
This monument is generally supposed 
to have been a military trophy, erected 
by Marcell us, to commemorate his 
conquest,of Syracuse, whence it has 
received the name of Torre di Marcello; 
but this is mere conjecture ; its true 
purpose and origin have never been 
determined. It was more probably a 
sepulchre. 

10 m. Friolo. —2 m. beyond the 


Guglia you reach the wretched hamlet 
of Priolo, with 500 inhab., and some¬ 
thing called a locanda, but too dirty 
to be entered. The plain is here richly 
cultivated with corn, wine, and olives, 
and the sugar-cane was formerly ex¬ 
tensively grown here, till the intro¬ 
duction of sugar from the Brazils 
threw it out of cultivation. A bridle- 
track, 1 m. beyond Priolo, turns to 
the r. over corn-downs to Augusta, 

8 m. A mile further, another path 
turns to 1., running along the slopes 
of the mountains to Melilli, 5 m. from 
Priolo, seen glistening in the sun from 
the brow of the cliffs of Hybla, at the 
height of 917 ft. above the sea. The 
road from below Priolo ascends and 
tends inland towards the heights, 
whose foot it reaches beneath the 
town of Melilli, where is the post- 
house. Here a road branches to 

Melilli, 2 m. distant, a small place 
of 4000 inhabitants, with no remains 
even of mediaeval times, the earlier 
town having been utterly destroyed 
by the earthquake of 1542. Yet 
the tombs in the cliffs around prove 
that the site or its neighbourhood 
was inhabited in ancient times. The 
Sicilian antiquaries find the origin 
of its name in “ Mele Ibleoand 
there can be little doubt that it is 
derived from the honey, which these 
mountains still, as of old, produce in 
abundance, which was considered by 
the ancients to rival that of Hymettus. 

“ Turn quae nectareis vocat ad certamen Hy- 
metton 

Audax Hybla favis.” 

Sil. Ital. 

It is still preferred to every other 
honey in Sicily. It has the peculiar 
aromatic flavour of the wild flowers 
from which it is collected. 

“ Nerine Galatea, thymo mihi dulcior Hyblae.” 

Vieg. Eel . 

“ Cana prius gelido desint absinthia Ponto, 

Et careat dulci Trinacris Hybla tbymo.” 

Ovid. Trist. 

Below Melilli is a singular hollow 
called Pozzo degli Martin, where the 
limestone strata at the head of the 
valley are arranged in a succession of 






380 


ROUTE 25. -VILLASMUNDO—CARLENTINI. 


many terraces rising one above the 
other like the seats of an ancient 
amphitheatre, for which the name 
vulgarly attached to the site shows 
them to have been mistaken. These 
ledges have probably been produced 
by the denuding action of the sea 
when this coast was submerged, and 
the series of escarpments shows the 
different levels at which the water 
stood at so many distinct periods. 

The road descends by many wind¬ 
ings into a deep rock-girt glen, with 
cliffs pierced with small sepulchral 
chambers, and with fine clumps of 
fruit-trees on the banks of the Fiume 
Belluzza, which traverses the hollow. 
It then ascends to a rocky plain 
sprinkled with the olive and ilex, with 
an undergrowth of myrtle, lentiscus, 
and aromatic plants, while the yellow 
or grey cliffs of Hybla tower on the 1 .; 
and over the wide downs seaward the 
city of Augusta is seen at the mouth 
of its broad bay. The scenery in¬ 
creases in romantic beauty as the road 
crosses a succession of glens, or rather 
dingles, whose slopes are strewed with 
crags mingling with trees and shrubs, 
and through whose hollows fret rocky 
torrents fringed with oleanders. They 
are called from the bridges which span 
them, Ponte di Brciccilino, P. Mar- 
cellino, P. della Villa. On the verge 
of the first stands the old post-house 
of Manderazzo. On leaving the last 
you reach 

23 m. Villasmundo, commonly called 
“ La VillaV a wretched hamlet whose 
hovels, without glass or chimneys, re¬ 
call the misery of Ireland. Ascending 
from this, you turn to the E., and cross 
an open bleak heath strewn with vol¬ 
canic rocks, and apparently a lava 
stream. It commands a wide panorama 
over corn downs of the snow-veiled 
mass of Etna; of the coast, which to 
the N. stretches in a sandy beach, 
enclosing wide lagunes, to Catania, 
to the E. shows the bay, the penin¬ 
sula, and fortified town of Augusta, 
and southwards trends far away in 
low shores, broken only by the little 
promontory of Magnisi, to the long 
ridge of ancient Syracuse, which con¬ 


ceals the modern town from view. 
Before you, or to the W., stands Car- 
lentini, whose yellow walls crest the 
high broken cliffs opposite. As you 
approach it, you descend into a'deep 
hollow, with olives and carobs on its 
slopes, mingling with huge crags in 
picturesque confusion. The ground 
around, you may observe, is in part of 
volcanic formation, but, as in many 
other districts of the Yal di Noto, the 
stratified calcareous rock here overlies 
the igneous to a great depth. It is 
a long, steep ascent to Carlentini, and 
just before entering it a splendid 
prospect opens to the N. of Etna, the 
plain of Catania, and Lentini, with its 
lake, at the foot of richly-wooded 
heights. 

29 m. Carlentini (pop. 4689).—A 
town built by Charles Y. as quarters 
for his troops in Sicily, and placed on 
this height to be above the pestiferous 
atmosphere of the country beneath, is 
surrounded by fortifications, and from 
a distance has a commanding and 
picturesque appearance. But since 
the earthquake of 1693, which partly 
destroyed it, it has never been more 
than a mean town ; in its plan and 
low houses still reminding you of a 
camp. It has 2 locande —“Hotel de 
France ” and “ Albergo Yilla d’ltalia ” 
—where those who dread malaria at 
Lentini may halt for the night. From 
the further gate of the town a mag¬ 
nificent prospect opens of Etna, with 
its many craters studding its slopes, 
and of the wild mountains beyond, 
from Taormina on the rt. to Castro- 
giovanni on the 1., of the blue Straits 
and grey coast of Calabria, all seen 
beyond the wide bare Leontine Plain, 
with Lentini itself amid the ravines 
and broken ground at your feet, below 
which its lake gleams out like a silver 
buckler. Among the mountains to 
the W. are seen the towns of Scordia, 
Militello, and Francofonte. A steep 
descent of nearly 3 miles at the brink 
of a ravine full of fruit-trees leads to 

32 m. Lentini.— Inns — Several, as 
this is a place much visited by vetturini 
—“ Albergo della Yittoria “Albergo 




EOUTE 25 . —LENTINI. 


381 


all’ uso del Paese “ Nuovo Albergo 
d’ltalia.” The “Leon dOro,” in the 
Piazza, can be recommended for clean 
beds and much attention. The water 
at Lentini is bad ; fish from the Biviere 
in great variety, and excellent; game 
also in winter and spring is abun¬ 
dant. 

Lentini stands at the foot and on 
the lower declivity of a hill which is 
cleft into three deep ravines, and which 
is composed of calcareous rock full of 
marine deposits, resting on beds of 
lava of very early formation. The 
town has suffered greatly from the 
effects of earthquakes, particularly of 
that of 1093, which overthrew it, so 
that the present buildings are entirely 
of modern construction; a poor, ill- 
built place, of low houses and with 
few edifices that can be called respect¬ 
able. Many of the buildings are con¬ 
structed, and the streets are paved, 
with lava. There are 2 parish churches, 
7 convents for monks, and 2 for nuns; 
and the population is 7962, chiefly 
agricultural. The citizens hardly 
look so cadaverous as those of Car- 
lentini ; but from its proximity to 
the Biviere with its rice-grounds on 
the one hand, and to the lagunes and 
marshes of the coast on the other, 
Lentini cannot be healthy in summer. 
The women here do not wear the long 
black mcinto of Catania and Syracuse, 
but a short white blanket on their 
heads, called “ mantellina.” 

Lentini is the representative of 
Leontini, which claims to be the most 
ancient city in Sicily, the abode of the 
savage Laestrygons, the cannibals of 
ancient fable, and before the Greek 
colonisation of the island was at least 
inhabited by the Siculi, who were ex¬ 
pelled by the Chalcideans from Naxos, 
in 730 B.C., only 5 years after the 
foundation of Naxos itself. The fre¬ 
quent occurrence of the lion on the 
coins of this city shows the origin of 
its name. To the natural strength of 
its position, and the extraordinary 
richness of its territory, it owed its 
rapid rise to importance, so that at an 
early period it was enabled to found 
the colony of Euboea. Leontini was 
the first Greek city in Sicily that 


was governed by a tyrant, Pansetius 
usurping that power 609 b.c. In 498 
b.c. it fell under the yoke of Hippo¬ 
crates, Tyrant of Gela, and subse¬ 
quently under that of Gelon and 
Hieron of Syracuse, the latter adding 
to its population the inhabitants of 
Naxos and Catana, whom he had 
driven from their native cities. When 
these three Attic colonies regained 
their liberty, they formed a league to 
oppose the preponderating power of 
Syracuse, and the other Dorian cities 
of Sicily. But from her proximity to 
her powerful adversary, Leontini soon 
fell into a state of dependence, to 
raise her from which was one of the 
avowed objects of the Athenians in 
undertaking that expedition against 
Syracuse, which met with so disastrous 
a termination. From that time, with 
little interruption, Leontini continued 
subject to Syracuse, always sharing 
her misfortunes, never her prosperity, 
till Timoleon drove out the tyrant 
Hicetas, and restored it to independ¬ 
ence ; yet it fell under its old yoke 
at the treaty which Hieron II. made 
with Rome 263 b.c. It was in one of 
the narrow streets of Leontini that 
the grandson and successor of that 
monarch, Hieronymus, the last native 
tyrant of Syracuse, was assassinated, 
215 b.c. Under the Romans, Leontini 
was a place of no importance ; its 
territory was still well cultivated, but 
the city itself, in Cicero’s time, was 
“ misera atque inanis.” It was taken 
by the Saracens in 847. 

Leontini had the honour of giving 
birth to the celebrated Gorgias, the 
renowned orator and philosopher, who 
successfully pleaded her cause at 
Athens, where he afterwards taught 
the art of rhetoric to Alcibiades and 
other illustrious Greeks. He was born 
480 b.c., and is said to have lived 
more than 100 years. 

Beyond sepulchral caves and a few 
sewers in the cliffs around Lentini, 
there are no remains of the ancient 
city extant. Earthquakes have de¬ 
stroyed alike the ancient and mediaeval 
structures ; and all that is to be seen 
on the spot is a few Greek vases found 
in the neighbourhood, and coins, of 




382 


ROUTE 25. -BIVIERE DI LENTINI. 


which Signor Tello has a collection 
on sale. Yet the position of Leontini 
is so minutely described by Polybius, 
that there can be no doubt of the 
identity of the site. In ancient times 
the summits of the cliffs overhanging 
the town were covered with temples 
and houses. To gain a clear idea of 
the position of Lentini and its pic¬ 
turesque environs, the tourist should 
ascend to the Capuchin Convent , on 
the heights to the W. The ch. con¬ 
tains an altarpiece of the Crucifixion, 
ascribed to Tintoret, though only a 
copy of his picture in S. Rocco at 
Venice. The view from this spot 
over the town, its ravines, its lake, 
and the vast plain of Catania, to Etna 
and its mountain satellites, is superb. 
The many caves in the neighbouring 
cliffs are vulgarly believed to have 
been the abodes of the fabulous 
Lsestrygons; but there can be no 
doubt that, though now in great part 
shapeless, they were constructed as 
tombs by the old Greek inhabitants. 
On the summit of the cliff to the N., 
now occupied by the ruins of a 
mediaeval tower, is supposed to have 
stood the fortress of Britinnise, men¬ 
tioned by Thucydides, and its name is 
traditionally preserved in the modern 
appellation of Torre Bercina. 

Biviere di Lentini. —It is but a mile, 
though a long one—“ un miglio grasso" 
—from Lentini to its lake, the largest 
in Sicily, lying in the midst of a bare 
green country, just at the verge of 
the great Catanian plain. In winter 
it is about 19 miles in circumference, 
but in summer it shrinks to half that 
size, leaving a feculent margin of 
mud and swamp, which poisons the 
atmosphere for miles around. It was 
originally of much smaller size, but 
in the reign of King Martin I., at the 
commencement of the 15th century, 
the Prince of Butera, to whom it 
belonged, contrived to enlarge it con¬ 
siderably, by persuading the King to 
allow him to turn a stream into it, 
under pretence of forcing a passage to 
the sea, and carrying off its mud and 
slime. But after admitting the water, 
he gave it no exit, and thus en¬ 


larged his fish-pond at the expense 
of his neighbours. It still belongs 
to his descendant, who derives a con¬ 
siderable revenue from the sale of the 
fish. These are chiefly eels, tench, 
grey mullet, barbel, and various Crus¬ 
tacea. Of the roe of the mullet a 
sort of caviare is made, called “ hot- 
targa," very salt and tarry in flavour, 
but relished by Sicilian palates. 
Numerous boats are employed in 
fishing on this lake. There is also 
an abundance of game on its shores 
and waters. Some wild fowl are to 
be found here all the year round ; but 
winter is the season for the “ cacti a 
di penna ” in the Lake of Lentini. In 
November and December these waters 
swarm with wild duck, mallard, wid¬ 
geon, teal, and other varieties of 
aquatic fowl, and the banks are alive 
with snipe and woodcock. To enjoy 
this sport, it is necessary to obtain 
permission from the Barone Gaetano 
di Girolamo, the keeper of the lake, 
who grants it gratuitously; and boats 
are to be hired at moderate rates. 

On leaving Lentini you traverse a 
cultivated valley, with tombs in the 
clifis to the rt. of the road ; and at 
m. cross the Flume delle Ammalate, 
or F. San Leonardo, by the Ponte di 
Sabuci, a bridge of several arches. 
You then ascend bare green heights, 
and cross treeless downs for some 
miles, having a magnificent view over 
the wide plain to Catania, sparkling 
at the foot of Etna, with Aci Castello 
and the Cyclopean Islands on the 
coast beyond, and the mountains of 
Calabria on the other side the Straits. 
To the 1. of the mighty volcano, your 
eye is caught by the isolated heights 
of Paterno and Centorbi, and then 
scaqs the horizon westward to the 
mountains of Castrogiovanni, Aidone, 
and Caltagirone. Beneath you, on 
the other hand, stretches the low 
sandy coast, with the little bay and 
village of Agnone, and the marsh, 
called II Pantano, swarming with wild 
fowl. Southwards lies the green vale 
of Lentini, with that town at the foot 
of its wooded hills, Carlentini on the 
high ridge above it, and the Biviere 




383 


ROUTE 25 . -LA GIARRETTA.-PI AN A DI CATANIA. 


or lake at its foot. The low downs 
around, with their monotonous green 
surface, broken only by ridges of rock, 
or here and there by a conical hut of 
rushes, remind you of the Campagua 
of Rome. Just after the 10th mile¬ 
stone from Catania, the road meets 
the stradone from that city to Calta- 
girone, by way of Palagonia. A mile 
beyond is the 

41 m. Masseria di Primo Sole, for¬ 
merly the post-house, from which the 
road descends to the plain, and the 
ferry over the Simeto. 

42|- m. La Giarretta. —This is a 
turbid stream, flowing in a muddy 
bed, between low banks of grey clay, 
fringed with cactus and tamarisk. It 
is not more than 20 yards wide, and 
might easily be bridged over; but 
bridges not being “ roba di Sicilia,” it 
is crossed by a pont volant, as it appears 
to have been from time immemorial. 
For these are the “ rapidi vada flava 
Symsethi,” sung by Silius Italicus. 
The river is the ancient Symsethus, 
now Simeto; and it takes its alias of 
Giarretta from the ferry-boat on this 
spot. It contests with the F. Salso 
the honour of being the largest river 
in Sicily, and has three great branches; 
the most easterly, retaining the name 
of Simeto, takes its rise in the Hersean 
mountains, N. of Troina, and washes 
the western base of Etna ; the Dittaino 
rises in the mountains N. of Castro- 
giovanni, and joins the former stream 
below Motta; and the Gurnalonga, 
which flows from the mountains of 
Caltagirone, and becomes a confluent 
of the Giarretta not far from its mouth. 
This river abounds in eels and mullet, 
the latter renowned in ancient times. 
But its most valuable product is 
amber, which is found at its mouth in 
considerable quantities, and of dif¬ 
ferent colours—red, yellow, and black. 
It is singular that this mysterious 
material is never found on the banks 
higher up the stream, though it is 
believed to be washed down from the 
interior. The Symsethus anciently 
formed the boundary between the 
territories of Catana and Leontini; 
the vast plain it waters, now the 


Plana di Catania, was anciently the 
Campi Leontini, or in fabulous times 
the Campi Lsestrygonii. 

“ Prima Leontinos vastarunt praTia Campos, 
Regnatam duro quondam Las try gone 
terram.” 

Its fertility was renowned of old. 
Wheat is said to have here grown 
spontaneously; and Ceres to have here 
first taught mankind the practice of 
agriculture. Even in historic times 
this plain was unsurpassed in fertility 
by any part of the island. Cicero 
calls it “caput rei frumentarise,” and 
“ uberrima Sicilise pars.” The soil, 
a stiff alluvial clay mixed with the 
detritus of volcanic rocks, is as rich 
as ever; but its fertility is not now 
developed, for large tracts are left 
fallow, or serve only for pasturage. 

From the ferry a mule-track turns 
eastward along the coast to Agosta. 
At this river you pass from the 
province of Noto to that of Ca¬ 
tania. 

The road runs straight across the 
level plain, here sown with corn or 
flax, there covered with numerous 
flocks and herds. Low dunes, fringed 
with the olive and cactus, shut out a 
view of the sea. As you approach it 
from this side, Catania, with its many 
domes at the foot of Etna, has a most 
imposing aspect; while the groves in 
front, the hills behind, dark with 
foliage, and the cultivated slopes in¬ 
land, studded with trees and villas, 
throw it into strong relief; and were 
it not for one thin black line beneath 
the city, you could form no conception 
of the desolation and sterility which 
reign over such wide tracts in the 
neighbourhood of Catania. After 2J 
m. you cross the narrow Flume Galice, 
and after 3^ more the old road from 
Caltagirone, some 40 m. to the S.W., 
falls into the stradone. Here you 
reach the base of Etna, and ascending 
through corn-fields, vineyards, and 
orange-groves, and passing the lava- 
stream of 1669, now quarried for 
building, the mineral springs of Acqua 
Sarita, and a long line of suburban 
cooksliops, you reach the grand gate, 
formerly the “Porta Ferdinanda,” but 




384 


ROUTE 26 . —SYRACUSE TO CATANIA.-MEGARA. 


now the “ Porta Fortino,” the western 
entrance to Catania. 

50 m. Catania. See Rte. 26, p. 387. 


ROUTE 26. 

FROM SYRACUSE TO CATANIA, BY AGOSTA. 


Syracuse to Priolo . . 

Miles. 
... 10 

Priolo to Agosta 

. . . 8 

Agosta to La Bruca 

... 4 

La Bruca to Agnone 

... 3 

Agnone to La Giarretta 

... 10 

La Giarretta to Catania 

... 71 


421 


This is the track by the coast, more 
direct than the stradone, hut less con¬ 
venient. It can be shortened some 
miles by leaving Agosta to the rt., and 
taking the direct path from Priolo to 
Agnone. From Syracuse to Priolo, 
and from La Giarretta to Catania, you 
follow the high-road described in 
Rte. 25. The intervening distance 
is practicable only on horseback, and 
may be done in a day, by starting from 
Syracuse at daybreak. 

At 1 m. beyond Priolo the path 
leaves the stradone, and turns to the 
rt., crossing wide downs of corn or 
rock for 2 m. to the sea. It then fol¬ 
lows the coast for 2 m. further, cross¬ 
ing the mouths of several small 
streams, divided by bare level 
heights extending far inland, and 


breaking towards the sea into low 
cliffs. The third of these heights 
shows, in the fragments of pottery 
which strew it, evidences of ancient 
habitation. Here is supposed to have 
stood the early Greek city of 

Megara Hyblsea, settled about 728 
b.c., by a body of colonists from Me¬ 
gara, in Greece, who, having first built 
Trotilus, and then Thapsus, on the 
death of their leader, Lamis, removed to 
a town of the Siculi called Hybla, and 
which afterwards received the name of 
Megara Hyblaea. A century after its 
foundation it had so increased in 
population and power as to be able to 
send out a colony to a distant part of 
Sicily, to found the city of Selinus. 
In 483 b.c. Megara was taken and de¬ 
stroyed by Gelon, who carried off all 
the wealthy citizens to Syracuse, and 
sold the common people as slaves. 
Among those thus transferred was the 
comic poet Epicharmus, who, though 
a native of the island of Cos, was re¬ 
siding at Megara. It remained unin¬ 
habited for many years, but was sub¬ 
sequently fortified and garrisoned by 
the Syracusans as an outpost against 
the Athenians, 415 b.c. ; and it stood 
a siege by Marcellus, who destroyed 
it 214 b.c. In Strabo’s time the name 
of the city alone remained, immor¬ 
talised, he says, by the excellence of 
its honey. These ruins are in all 
probability those of the late town of 
Megara, for there can be little doubt 
that the original city stood on the pro¬ 
montory now occupied by Agosta. 
The stream which bounds it on the N. 
is the Cantara, the ancient Alabus — 
the “ Alabis sonorus ” of Silius Italicus, 
and probably the Abolus of Plutarch, 
on whose banks Mamercus, Tyrant of 
Catana, was defeated by Timoleon. 

This spot lies immediately opposite 
Agosta. To reach that town by land 
is a distance of 6 or 7 m., but across 
the bay it is only 3 m, and boats are 
generally to be found on this shore to 
convey passengers to the town. 

18 m. Augusta, or Agosta. (Pop. 
10,500.) This town occupies a posi¬ 
tion very like that of Syracuse, 
standing on a low peninsula, which 





ROUTE 26. —AGOSTA. 


385 


projects from a prominent headland 
southwards so as to enclose a spa¬ 
cious hay, and is united to the main¬ 
land by a narrow causeway. It is 
also a place d'armes, and is similarly 
though more strongly fortified, the 
citadel on its isthmus being larger, 
loftier, and mounting more guns than 
that of Syracuse. A small detached 
fort, the Torre Avolos, with a light¬ 
house on a rock at the point of the pen¬ 
insula, corresponds to the Fort of Ma- 
niace. Agosta has in addition 2 other 
forts—Forte Garzia and F. Vittoria— 
on rocky islets in the bight of the 
bay, commanding the approach to the 
town by land. They were erected by 
the Viceroy Don Garcia de Toledo, 
about 1565, who named them after 
himself and his wife. The harbour is 
larger than that of Syracuse, and not 
land-locked, being open to the S., 
though sheltered in great measure by 
the points of the coast from both wind 
and swell. 

Agosta, or Augusta, is a town of 
modern times, with 3 long parallel 
streets, the principal one being well 
paved, having trottoirs for foot-pas¬ 
sengers, and containing the most re¬ 
spectable edifices. At the N. end 
of this street, between the citadel 
and tower, is the “ Flora,” or pro¬ 
menade. The houses are generally 
of a single story, and, in spite of 
the regularity and comparative clean¬ 
liness of its streets, Agosta has an 
air of meanness and poverty. It con¬ 
tains no less than 18 churches and 7 
convents, but none possess attiactions 
for the traveller. The citizens are 
partly agricultural, partly commercial, 
exporting salt, of which there are ex¬ 
tensive works on the shores of the 
bay; oil, which is excellent; wine, 
both white and red, sweet and dry; 
grain, cheese, wool, fruit, and honey. 

Agosta claims to be the representa¬ 
tive of Megara Hyblsea, and with 
great probability, for it is difficult to 
conceive that the Greek colonists 
would have neglected a site so similar 
to the acropolis of Syracuse, and have 
preferred to it the small hill at the 
mouth of the Alabus, on the opposite 
shores of the bay; yet it contains no 

[Sicily. 


vestiges of antiquity, and is a town 
wholly of the middle ages, having 
been founded by the Emperor Fre¬ 
derick II. in the year 1229, and 
peopled from Centorbi, which he 
razed to the ground for sedition. He 
also built the fortress in the year 
1233, as is recorded in an inscription 
over the southern gate. Agosta, 
though so modern a city, has suffered 
sad vicissitudes. After the death of 
Manfred at the battle of Benevento, 
Agosta was the last place in Sicily to 
hold out against Charles of Anjou. 
In 1268 it was betrayed into the 
hands of the ferocious William l’Es- 
tendard, one of Charles’s barons, who 
sacked the town and mercilessly 
butchered the inhabitants, so that not 
a living soul was left in Agosta, which 
for years afterwards remained deso¬ 
late. In 1287, in the War of the 
Vespers, it was surprised by a Papal 
and Angevin fleet, but James of Ara¬ 
gon retook the citadel after a siege of 
40 days. In 1360 it was burnt and 
razed to the ground by the people of 
Catania and Syracuse, under Artale 
Alagona. In 1551 it was taken and 
burnt by the Turks. And lastly, it 
was devastated by the earthquake of 
1693, when the powder-magazine blew 
up, the forts were split to their founda¬ 
tions, the lighthouse overthrown, and 
more than a third of the inhabitants 
were buried beneath the ruins of the 
city. Oft’ this town, in 1676, Du- 
quesne, the admiral of Louis XIV., 
defeated the Dutch fleet commanded 
by Buy ter, who died of his wounds a 
few days afterwards in the castle of 
Syracuse. 

A road practicable for carriages 
runs from Agosta to Villasmundo, 9 
m., and thus connects it with the 
stradone between Catania and Syra¬ 
cuse. 

Steamers touch at Agosta every 
week on tlieir way between Syracuse 
and Catania, arriving from Catania on 
Thursdays, and from Syracuse on Sa¬ 
turdays. Fares from Syracuse, 4 fr. 
and 2‘50 fr.; from Catania, 4 , 50 fr. 
and 3 fr. 

From Agosta the track to La 
Bruca, 4 m„ crosses the Monte Ca- 

s. 




386 


ROUTE 26 . -LA BRUCA-PANTAGIA-AGNUiNT. 


rubbassa, whose surface is everywhere 
rugged and uneven, and in parts strewn 
with blocks of black lava. This is 
the Xiphonian promontory of anti¬ 
quity. It is renowned as the spot 
where the Empress Helena, mother 
of Constantine, landed with the true 
cross, which she had just discovered 
at Jerusalem. “A small convent is 
erected on the sacred ground on which 
it was laid, and the friars persuade 
the peasantry that the shadow of it 
is sometimes to be observed on the 
surface of the sea ."—Smyth. From 
this the easternmost headland takes 
the name of Capo Santa Croce. 

The path from the opposite shore of 
the bay follows the northern verge of 
the ancient city above the vale of the 
Cantara, which is shaded by olives 
and fruit-trees. It crosses this and 
the 2 rocky glens of Marcellino and 
Molinello, or Garrubba, with inter¬ 
vening downs, here scattered with 
huge crags of lava, there covered 
with myrtle and lentiscus, or culti¬ 
vated with corn, olive, and carob- 
trees, till it crosses the carriage-road 
from Agosta to Yillasmundo. Bare 
downs of corn extend northwards, 
among which dominates a mound 
crested with a telegraph, and bear¬ 
ing the singular name of Diavolo 
d'opera —“ a devil of a work.” Be¬ 
yond this you reach the streamlet of 
Porcari, almost choked with blocks 
of lava; while the steep slopes above 
it are also strewn with lava and 
brushwood. This stream falls into a 
little harbour, where is the small vil¬ 
lage, tonnara, and caricatore of 

22 m. La Bruca, standing on a 
tongue of rock, and having a square 
castle at its point, which dates from 
1467. “This little harbour appears 
like a work of art, rather than of 
nature, as the rocks rise vertically 
40 or 50 ft., and contain grottoes. 
Fine oysters are fished up here, and 
at the upper end of the creek a rivulet 
runs up the country to some distance, 
in which are found mineral bezoars. 
The vicinity is barren and rugged, 
strewed with various portions of 
baths, tombs, and other vestiges of 


antiquity.”— Smyth. On the low hills 
to the rt. of the bay is supposed to 
have stood the ancient town of Tro- 
tilum, one of the earliest colonies of 
the Greeks in Sicily, though they 
soon after deserted it for Thapsus, 
and that for Megara, as already 
stated. It was built at the mouth of 
the river Pantacia , Pantacya, or Pan¬ 
tag ia, to be recognised in the little 
stream of Porcari, which empties 
itself into the bay. The stream and 
its rocky port have been sung by 
Virgil:— 

“ Vivo prajtervekor ostia saxo 
Pantagias 

and the noise of its stream, say other 
writers, could be heard through all 
Sicily ! The fable states that Ceres, 
on her way through the island in 
search of her daughter, was accom¬ 
panied by the beating of drums and 
tinkling of cymbals, so that every one 
might know what she was seeking; 
but on reaching this rivulet it made so 
much noise as to drown her music, 
wherefore the goddess imposed silence 
on it. 

From La Bruca to Agnone the 
path crosses bare downs covered with 
wild flowers, commanding a grand 
view of Etna, Catania sparkling at its 
foot, the mountains of Calabria, the 
E. coast of Sicily, and the Straits of 
Messina between them. Turning to 
the W. the path reaches 'the wooded 
slopes which here overhang the vast 
plain, and descends through a grove 
of olives and an underwood of myrtle, 
broom, and lentiscus, to the sandy 
bay and the village of Agnuni, or Ag¬ 
none. 

25 m. Agnuni, the caricatore of Len- 
tini, whence are shipped the products 
of that town and its neighbourhood. 
The little stream of S. Leonardo, 
which is crossed on the road from 
Lentini to Catania, 3 m. from the 
former city, here falls into the sea. 
There is a wretched fondaco, but the 
traveller, especially in the hot season, 
should avoid it, and push on to Cata¬ 
nia, Agosta, or Syracuse. Here are 
the walls of a large Gothic ch. com- 




























































ROUTE 26 . — CATANIA-HOTELS. 


387 


menced by the Emperor Frederick II. 
iu the first half of the 13th cent., but 
never raised more than 12 ft. from 
the ground. In this neighbourhood 
some antiquaries place Morgantia, a 
city of the Siculi, where Livy men¬ 
tions the Roman fleet to have an¬ 
chored in the Second Punic War; but 
other ancient writers represent Mor¬ 
gantia as an inland town on a lofty 
height of great natural strength. 

From Agnuni to La Giarretta the 
path lies along the sandy beach, 
sprinkled with myrtle, lentiscus, and 
tamarisk, purple stocks and wild rose¬ 
mary, and bordered inland by a flat 
swampy country, full of foggie, or 
salt-fens, abounding in wild-fowl. 
The largest, not far from Agnuni, is 
called 11 Pantano, a dense thicket of 
low trees, brushwood, and reeds, but 
no water visible. Three miles from 
Agnuni you ford the Forg'ia, which 
drains this Pantano. These fens, 
though in summer and autumn to be 
carefully eschewed, are in the cool 
season the resort of sportsmen, who 
here find an abundance of wild-fowl. 
Being in most parts impracticable 
for boats, the sportsman must wade 
after his game, dragging a basket be¬ 
hind him, while his dog swims before 
him. The dunes of sand by the sea¬ 
shore are not -wholly barren, for in 
parts they are cover.ed with vines, 
aloes, and cactus; and here and there 
is a farm, or conical-thatched hut, for 
the guardians of the vineyards. At 
4 m. from Forgia you pass a large 
sheet of water, and soon after quit 
the sand-dunes, and, entering the 
wide corn-plain, reach the ferry over 
La Giarretta. 

From this to Catania, see Rte. 25, 
p. 383. 

42 \ m. Catania. 

Catania. 

Hotels .—“ La Corona d'Oro,” in the 
Corso, has been renowned for nearly 
half a century as the best in Catania. 
It was established in 1819 by Giuseppe 
Abate, the prince of Etnean guides 


and of Sicilian landlords, whose praises, 
in every European language, are re¬ 
corded in “ the travellers’ book,” which 
presents a rare collection of valuable 
autographs, and of amusing observa¬ 
tions in prose and rhyme, royal and 
doggrel. Abate was shot at his own 
door in the revolution of 1848 by mis¬ 
take. But the reputation of the hotel 
has been well maintained by his 
maggiordomo, Don Placido, who, since 
Abate’s death, has taken his place in 
the estimation of travellers. The hotel 
has recently been removed to a more 
pretentious edifice, but, with an exten¬ 
sion of business chiefly among commis 
voycigeurs, it has lost much of its quiet 
exclusive character so agreeable to 
Englishmen; so that a traveller who 
knew it of old has facetiously re¬ 
marked that the ordy jewel now left 
in “ the Crown ” of Catania is Don 
Placido. The Corona has long been 
famed for its meat-pies and pancakes. 

The chief rival of La Corona is the 
“Hotel d’Etna,” 59, Corso, kept by 
Tomaselli; service and cuisine not well 
spoken of. “ Albergo di Roma,” “ La 
Vittoria,” and “ La Bella Venezia, ” in 
the same street; “La Bella Catania,” 
“ Albergo di Francia,” “ Leone d'Oro,” 
and “ Aquila d’Oro,” all in the Stra. 
Garibaldi. 

Cafes .— Caffe di Sicilia, Piazza del 
Duomo, is the best: Caffe del Simeto, 
Strada Stesicorea ; C. dell’ Europa, 
Quattro Cantoni; C. di Parigi. 

Ices and Confectionery .— Tricomi, 
119, Strada Stesicorea. 

Physicians. — Dr. Buonacorsi, Dr. 
Calvagna, Dr. Furci, and Dr. Gem- 
mellaro. 

Surgeons .—Signor Raina, surgeon 
to the Hospital, enjoys a high reputa¬ 
tion ; Signor Fisichella. 

Silk-Mercers. — Fragala, corner of 
Strada Garibaldi and Piano del Duo¬ 
mo ; Motta, Strada di Santa Teresa, 
and 4 and 5, Strada Stesicorea. The 
silks of Catania are in much repute in 
Sicily, but, though of pure material, 
are inferior in texture to those of 
France or England, and have little 
to recommend them in the way of 
design. 

Sellers of Amber. — The Fratelli 

s 2 



388 


ROUTE 26 . -CATANIA—CONVEYANCES-SITUATION. 


Scuderi, 400, Corso; Cacciaguerra, 4, 
Strada Garibaldi, sell trinkets of amber 
found in the Simeto. Travellers must 
be on their guard against spurious 
imitations, sometimes offered for sale 
by itinerant vendors. Hot water will 
detect the fraud. 

Sellers of Lavas. —Specimens of the 
lavas of Etna, in great variety and of 
much beauty, in small polished blocks, 
may be procured, for 4 or 5 tan each, 
of Carlo Cali; of Giovanni Leone, 393, 
Corso ; of Salvatore Guglielmino, 420, 
Corso; and of Domenico Scuderi, 406, 
Corso. 

Sellers of Sicilian Costumes. —Very 
pretty terracotta figures of the pea¬ 
santry and ecclesiastical orders of 
Sicily, either plain or coloured, may 
be pm-chased of Cacciaguerra, 4, Stra. 
Garibaldi, and of Giavonni Leone, 
393, Corso. The prices are, 1 piastre 
each when coloured, and 10 tar'i when 
plain. Those of Leone are the best. 

Cicerone and Guide. —The author¬ 
ised cicerone to the antiquities of Cata¬ 
nia is Giuseppe Carofratello, who keeps 
the keys. As guide for the tour of the 
island, a nephew of Giuseppe Mosca 
can be recommended. 

Vetturino. —Pietro Palermo is re¬ 
commended. 

Public Conveyances. — The corriera 
leaves Catania for Palermo every 
Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, 
doing the distance of 171 m. in 34 
hours, roads and torrents permitting ; 
fare, 7 dollars 3 tan, besides a buo- 
namano of half a tan at every stage 
to the postilion. 

For Messina, 66 m., the mail leaves 
every Monday, Thursday, and Satur¬ 
day, at 7 a.m., doing it in 10 hours; 
fare, 2 dollars 7 tan. 

For Caltagirone, 49 m., the mail 
leaves every Sunday, Wednesday, and 
Friday, and reaches in 10 hours; fare 
2 dollars 5 bajocchi. 

For Syracuse, 50 m., the mail leaves 
every Tuesday, Thursday, and Satur¬ 
day, doing it in 9 hours ; fare, 2 
dollars 1 tan. 

Steamers sail for Messina every 
Tuesday at 2 p.m., and Saturday about 


noon, touching on alternate Saturdays 
at Kiposto. A boat sails for Messina 
and Naples every Friday at 10 a.m. ; 
for Syracuse, touching at Augusta, 
every Thursday, at 10 or 11 a.m. ; for 
Syracuse and Malta, every Sunday, at 
9'30 a.m. 

Situation. 

We know not whether it was from 
its physical or moral features that 
Catania obtained the title of “ la Chia- 
rissima,’' but true it is that from what¬ 
ever side it is approached it has a 
most imposing appearance; its white 
and yellow buildings sparkling from 
the black lava-beds or dark groves 
that encircle the city; its many domes 
and towers cutting the clear blue sky ; 
and the mighty mass of Etna, studded 
with villages, forming the background, 
or filling one half of the horizon. 
Unlike most cities of the South, the 
agreeable impressions excited on a 
distant view are not dispelled on a 
closer inspection. For Catania, though 
smaller than Messina, and much in¬ 
ferior in size to Palermo, is a hand¬ 
somer, a cleaner, a more lively city, 
with a more civilized air, than either, 
albeit with much less of the pic¬ 
turesque. It has more of a metro¬ 
politan aspect than Palermo, and, had 
it but a port, there is little doubt that 
it would soon surpass that city in 
population, commerce, wealth, and 
importance; or, as the Catanesi say— 

“ Se Catania avesse porto, 

Palermo sarebbe morto.” 

It is unquestionably the handsomest 
city in Sicily, and, for its size, has 
few rivals in Europe. 

Catania is situated on the shore in 
the bight of the bay formed by Capo 
Mulini on the N. and Capo Sta. Croce 
on the S.; on the northern verge of the 
great plain of the Simeto, and on the 
very roots of Etna, from whose sum¬ 
mit, as the crow flies, it is about 20 m. 
distant. It is surrounded on all sides 
save the N. by beds of lava; on the 
E. by the torrent of 812; and on the 
W. and S. by that of 1669, which filled 
up its port and overwhelmed a large 



ROUTE 26 . —CATANIA—CLIMATE-rOPULATION. 


389 


portion of tlie city. The rugged sur¬ 
face of this stream, unshadowed by 
foliage and tinged only by orange- 
coloured lichen, stretches out in a 
black melancholy waste far to the S. 
of Catania. The soil on which the 
city originally stood is a cretaceous 
clay, mixed with sand, and contain¬ 
ing pebbles of flint and quartz, as 
may be seen in the orchards to the 
N., and in the range of low vine- 
covered hills which rise inland to the 
"VV. This natural soil yields in fer¬ 
tility to that formed by the decompo¬ 
sition of old lavas. Etna has proved to 
Catania at once its bane and its bene¬ 
factor. “ The liquid fire has filled up 
its harbour, consumed its gardens, 
broken down its walls, and buried 
entire districts. Earthquakes, more¬ 
over, have destroyed what the lava has 
spared, and yet Catania has ever risen 
from the midst of her ruins, and after 
each new destruction has laid down 
wider streets, erected loftier palaces, 
and founded more splendid convents 
and churches .”—De Quatrefages. The 
very substance which once ravaged 
her plains has by its own decomposi¬ 
tion covered them with exuberant fer¬ 
tility, and on all sides the material of 
destruction is turned to the purposes 
of ornament and utility. The streets 
are paved with lava; the churches, 
palaces, and houses are all built of 
lava; the very decorations and even 
furniture of the dwellings are often of 
lava; while it is only through the lava 
that the inhabitants can reach the 
springs that supply them with water. 
The city, indeed, appears to be a direct 
product of the volcano, and is worthy 
of being the capital of a district that 
has been so fatally endowed. 

Climate. 

Catania enjoys a delightful climate, 
which, though the city lies only 
3G' S. of Palermo, is much milder in 
winter, but hotter in summer, than that 
of the capital. In the two hottest 
months, July and August, the maxi¬ 
mum heat at Catania averages 
nearly 95° Fahr., while at Palermo it 
rarely exceeds SG°. The mean tempe¬ 


rature for the year at Catania is be¬ 
tween GS° and GO 0 , and at Palermo 
about 64°. The rain falls chiefly in 
winter, when the winds from the E. 
and N.E. prevail; but after the 
heaviest showers the lava-paved streets 
are presently dry again. Winter at 
Catania is a delightful season, for 
the grim tyrant of northern lands is 
here shorn of all his terrors; frost 
and snow are unknown, and the cli¬ 
mate is like that of April or May in 
England, with a warmer sun and 
brighter skies. The summer heat is 
certainly excessive at Catania, but it 
is aggravated by the position of the 
principal streets, which lie parallel to 
the cardinal points of the compass; 
by their unusual breadth, which ad¬ 
mits too much sun; by the reflection 
from the lava pavement, and from the 
dazzling white or yellow of the build¬ 
ings ; yet the heat is dry and not 
unwholesome, and there are no swamps 
or stagnant waters in the neighbour¬ 
hood to pollute the atmosphere with 
miasma. 

Population. 

Catania is the capital of a pro¬ 
vince containing 1332 square miles, 
and a population of 450,4G0 souls. 
The population of the city in 1834 
amounted to 52,907 ; in 184G to 
5G,100; in 1857 it reached G2,673; 
and in 18G2, G4,39G. Catania, in point 
of society, has much the advantage of 
Messina and even of Palermo. In the 
number and respectability of its resi¬ 
dent nobles Catania is the second city 
of Sicily, containg no fewer, it is said, 
than 80 noble families. Its aristo¬ 
cracy have the reputation of being 
less idle and frivolous than those of 
the capital; there is more activity of 
mind at Catania; literature and sci¬ 
ence are more cultivated; and the 
tone of morality is said to be higher, 
although the large proportion of ille¬ 
gitimate births (1 in 5) suggests a 
doubt on this point. The citizens of 
all ranks are cheerful, agreeable, and 
courteous in manners, kind and chari¬ 
table in disposition, and polite and 
hospitable to strangers, among whom 




390 


ROUTE 26 . —CATANIA-COMMERCE—WALLS. 


the English are particularly popular. 
The lower orders are renowned for 
their honesty, especially the faccldni, 
who, it is said, may be trusted to any 
extent. The women of the middle 
and lower orders wear the large manto 
of black silk, as at Syracuse and 
Terranova. 

Industry and Commerce. 

The principal branches of manufac¬ 
turing industry in Catania are silk and 
cotton. The art of silk-weaving has 
been practised in this city ever since 
King Roger introduced the worm 
into the island. The manufacture 
employs 3220 looms, of which 1170 are 
devoted to the weaving of silk in the 
piece, and it is calculated that they 
turn out 777,114 yards annually; 
while the 2050 ribbon-looms turn out 
2,106,000 yards per annum. Perhaps 
the best fabric Catania produces is 
that of the blade manti , so generally 
worn by the middle and lower orders. 
Pretty shawls are made of a silk crape, 
white, canary, or amber coloured. 

The cotton manufactures of Catania 
have hitherto been limited to coarse 
cloths for home consumption, and the 
balance of cotton grown has been ex¬ 
ported to Naples. But this branch of 
agricultural’ industry has of late re¬ 
ceived a great development; for the 
cotton of the province of Catania 
having been recognised at the Inter¬ 
national Exhibition of 1862 as of su¬ 
perior quality, equal to the best New 
Orleans, is now being grown to an 
extent previously unknown, and is 
shipped for manufacture to France 
and England. 

The other exports of Catania are 
sulphur, of which she ships on an 
average some 15,000 tons yearly, more 
than half to England; grain, chiefly 
wheat; wine, which is sent to Malta, 
and latterly to Marsala for resliipment 
under that name; fruit, oranges, le¬ 
mons, almonds, filberts; barilla to 
Belfast; oil to England; kid-skins to 
Marseilles; linseed, shumac, &c. A good 
trade is also carried on in snow with 
Malta and the ports of Sicily and 
Southern Italy. It is collected during 


the winter in pits and hollows on 
Etna, and covered with scoriae and 
ashes to prevent it from thawing. 
Snow r is a necessary of life in this hot 
climate, and a scarcity of it would be 
as great a misfortune as a famine, and 
would as certainly give rise to popular 
tumults. To guard against such events, 
the Government have given a mono¬ 
poly of it to the Bishop of Catania, 
who gives security to the amount of 
10,000Z. for its constant supply. Ee 
sells it in Catania at 4 grani the 
rotolo, half of wdiich is paid to the 
Government; the other half covers his 
expenses, and puts a very handsome 
revenue into his pocket. 


Walls, Gates, and Castle. 

Though Catania occupies the site of 
the old Greek colony of Caiana, she 
has suffered so much from war, earth¬ 
quakes, and eruptions that no vestiges 
remain of her ancient fortifications, 
which were so strong as to defy Al- 
cibiades and the Athenians, who ob¬ 
tained possession of the city only 
through stratagem. Injured in the civil 
war between Sextus Pompeius and 
Augustus, they were restored by the 
latter, and a fragmeut of that period 
is extant at the intersection of the 
Strada della Vittoria with the Corso. 
The walls, subsequently rebuilt by 
Theodoric, were demolished by the 
Emperor Frederick in the 13th cen¬ 
tury, and the materials used in the 
construction of the Gastello Ursino. 
The city was again enclosed by walls 
by the viceroy Juan de la Vega in 
1550, but these were in part destroyed 
by the lava of 1669, and in part by the 
earthquake of 1693. Of these fortifi¬ 
cations, however, portions yet remain, 
the most remarkable of which are the 
Bastions of S. Salvatore and S. Giuli - 
ano, overhanging the port; of Tindaro, 
on the N.W.; and of Gli Infetti and 
Santo Carcere on the N. 

Botte d'Acqua. — But the most curious 
portion of the city walls is in the 
quarter called Gambazita, where they 
were overflowed by the lava of 1669. 





ROUTE 26 . -CATANiA-GATES-CASTLE. 


391 


The walls in this spot are some 30 feet 
high, and of great thickness. The 
fiery torrent, not being able to over¬ 
throw them, gradually accumulated 
till it surmounted the rampart and 
poured over in a cascade of rock some 
15 or 20 feet thick, burying a spring 
of water which welled up at the foot 
of the wall. The want of this fountain 
being greatly felt in that part of the 
city, the Prince of Biscari, in the fol¬ 
lowing century, had the laVa hewn 
away from the face of the wall, until 
at length he brought the spring again 
to light. “ From the street above, a 
long winding staircase of 63 steps, be¬ 
tween lateral and overhanging masses 
of lava, conducts to the precious water, 
which is evidently in great request. 
Standing at the bottom, the ancient 
wall is seen on the rt., overhung with 
what might be taken for a mighty 
rock, but which is in reality nothing 
but the black and hardened masses 
of once fluid red-hot lava, through 
which the passage was forced; while 
overtopping the whole are seen the 
houses of the modem city, which may 
again in their turn become subject to 
the like visitation.” —Bartlett. 

Gates. —Catania has 7 gates —Porta 
di Ferro, near the Mole, erected in 
1550; Porta di Vega, or Saracena, 
built of lava (1553), andP. d'Uzeda, or 
P. Beale (1693), both opening on the 
port, and the latter leading also to the 
Piano del Duomo; P. de Canali, or 
A rco alia Pescana, at the extremity of 
the port (1555); Porta della JUecima, 
alias P. di Siracusa, on the S., near the 
Castle, the earliest, gate in Catania; 
P. del Fortino Veccldo (1672), and P. 
Ferdinanda, now called P. Fortino, 
the grand entrance to Catania from 
Palermo. There were 10 other gates 
on the N. side of the city, which have 
been destroyed at different periods. 

The Arco alia Pescana, which, as 
its name imports, leads to the Fish- 
Market, is a Roman Doric gateway of 
lava, of massive construction, beneath 
the Seminario. But the only portal in 
Catania that has any architectural 
pretensions is the 

P. del Fortino, erected in 1768, 


which would be a most imposing gate¬ 
way, were it not overladen with a mass 
of extraneous ornament which com¬ 
pletely destroys its effect. The arch¬ 
way is single, lofty, and well pro¬ 
portioned, flanked by double pilasters, 
in two tiers, Tuscan and Doric; the 
whole being composed of black lava, 
banded horizontally with freestone in 
relief. A large grotesque mask of 
white marble crowns the arch. So 
far, the gate is grand in its vastness 
and simplicity; but the accessories 
which surmount it—trophies of ex¬ 
travagant size, huge scrolls as acro- 
teria, excited Fames blowing trumpets, 
Minerva looking ill at ease, the ele¬ 
phant the device of Catania, the 
phoenix the symbol of the city, the 
Sicilian eagle, with wings outspread, 
crowning the whole—render it bizarre 
and ugly. 

Castello Ursino. —This fortress was 
erected in 1232 by the Emperor Fred¬ 
erick II., with materials taken from 
the walls of Tlieodoric. It originally 
stood close to the shore, but the lava 
of 1669, which almost surrounded it, 
filling up the fosses and bursting the 
drawbridge, encroached so far on the 
sea as to leave the castle some 500 
yards inland. It is constructed of lava, 
and is a square keep, with a round 
tower at each angle. The entrance is 
in the N. wall by a pointed gate of 
lava and a groined porch, which leads 
into a large square court. From this 
a broad staircase, with a groined vault, 
resting on columns engaged in the 
walls, winds up to the roof, which 
commands a fine view of the city. The 
castle is now a barrack, and furnishes 
quarters to 1600 men. 

In tins fortress parliaments were 
held in early times. The hall devoted 
to this purpose is now a magazine for 
warlike stores. The fortress was also 
used as a palace by the Aragonese 
monarchs of Sicily. Here Martin and 
Mary were besieged by Manfredi 
Chiaramonte. Here the beautiful 
Bianca of Navarre, widow of the same 
king, took refuge to avoid the persecu¬ 
tions of Bernardo Cabrera, Count of 
Modica, the ambitious and turbulent 




ROUTE 26 . -CATANIA-STREETS. 


Catalan, who aspired at once to her 
hand and the throne of Sicily. As lie 
was old and ugly, and feared a refusal, 
he resolved to compass his ends, if 
necessary, by violence. He first en¬ 
deavoured to seize the Queen on her 
way to a neighbouring convent, where 
she spent much of her time; but, 
warned of his intentions, she shut her¬ 
self up in this castle. Finding him¬ 
self thus foiled, he requested an audi¬ 
ence, on the plea of justifying himself. 
The Queen granted it to him, but took 
the precaution to remain on board a 
galley, while he addressed her from a 
platform thrown across from the shore. 
The Count, after many excuses, ven¬ 
tured to urge his suit, but the Queen 
rejected it with the utmost disdain, 
crying, “ Begone, you scabby old 
man! ” and, ordering her galley in¬ 
stantly to put to sea, the Count was 
fain to hurry from the bridge lest he 
should be toppled into the waves, and 
was left, boiling with vexation and 
rage, on the shore. 


Streets. 

Catania is rather more than 5 m. in 
circuit, exclusive of its suburbs of 
Sta. Maria di Gesu, Offali, and Og- 
nina. It is of irregular form, some¬ 
what resembling a hatchet, the long 
Strada Etnea, which stretches far to 
the N., representing the handle, and 
the mass of the city to the W. the 
blade. The principal streets take the 
directions thus indicated. The Strada 
Etnea runs almost due N. and S., 
terminating at this end in the spacious 
Piazza del Duomo; the latter portion 
of it, between that square and the 
Piazza Stesicorea, taking the name of 
the Strada Stesicorea. It is a remark¬ 
able street, If m. in length by 54 feet 
wide, with a gradual rise to the N., 
where it terminates in a semicircular 
piazza. 

At the Piazza del Duomo this street 
is intersected at right angles by the 
Corso, which to the E. terminates on 
the shore in the Largo della Statua, 
and extends westward, with a gradual 
ise, till it loses itself in the country. 


It is nearly a mile and 3 furlongs in 
length, and averages a breadth of 44 
feet. Stretching away from the Piazza 
del Duomo, also westward, but di¬ 
verging from the Corso, is the Strada 
Garibaldi, formerly the Strada Fer- 
dinanda, terminating, after a course of 
f m., in the Porta del Fortino, the 
grand entrance to the city from Paler¬ 
mo and Syracuse. These three streets 
are the chief thoroughfares, the centres 
of traffic and commerce, containing 
the principal churches and public 
buildings, the handsomest palaces, and 
presenting the noblest street architec¬ 
ture in Catania. Almost parallel with 
the Corso, but more to the N., is the 
Strada de Quattro Cantoni, nearly 1 
m. in length, extending eastward down 
to the coast, and in the other direction 
to the piazza in front of the great 
Benedictine convent. In the latter 
portion, where it crosses the lava-bed 
of 1669, it is so steep and rugged as 
to be hardly practicable for carriages. 
Another street, the Strada della Vit- 
toria, girdles the city like a boulevard. 
Commencing near the port, on the S. 
side of Catania, under the alias of 
Strada del Galazzo, it sweeps in a 
rude semicircle, enclosing the castle, 
round to the W., where it crosses 
the Strada Garibaldi and the Corso. 
Then, doubling the Baluardo del Tin- 
daro, at the N.W. corner of the city, it 
turns eastward, and, under the name 
of Strada della Botte dell' Acqua, tra¬ 
verses the lava-stream of 1669 where 
it entered Catania, and terminates at 
the church of Sta. Agata la Yetere. 
It is about 1 m. and 5 furlongs in 
length. 

Catania is almost entirely a new 
city. It was so nearly destroyed by 
the eruption of 1669 and by the subse¬ 
quent earthquake of 1693, that the 
few buildings spared by those great 
catastrophes were pulled down to faci¬ 
litate the rebuilding of the city, which 
was effected under the superintendence 
of the Duke of Camastro. To this 
Catania owes the regularity and gran¬ 
deur of her plan, her numerorrs and 
spacious squares, the great length of 
her streets, and their unusual width— 
though this is productive of incon- 



393 


ROUTE 26 . — CATANIA—SQUARES. 


vcnience in summer; for, while ensuring 
a free circulation of air, it affords too 
little shelter from the fervid heat of 
the sun. To her recent construction she 
also owes the general magnificence of 
her buildings, which, though they 
often exhibit in their broken lines and 
redundance of ornament the vitiated 
taste of the last century and offend a 
critical eye, produce on the whole 
an effect both rich and imposing. 
Churches, convents, palaces—all the 
buildings are constructed of lava; 
yet this is generally masked under a 
coating of white, yellow, pink, or pale 
green. Many buildings are faced with 
magnesian limestone from Syracuse or 
La Bruca, and enriched with marbles 
from the ancient city. The houses in 
the principal streets are generally 3 
or 4 stories high, and adorned with 
massive balconies resting on grotesque 
corbels of stone. 


Squares. 

Piazza del Duomo. — This square, 
formed on the ruins of ancient baths, 
is the centre, the very focus of Catania, 
for here stand the Cathedral and the 
Palazzo Comunale, and here meet all 
the principal streets. You look west¬ 
ward up the Strada Garibaldi to the 
bizarre gate of Fortino; eastward 
down the Corso to the statue of St. 
Agatha and the blue Mediterranean ; 
southward, through the Porta d'Uzeda, 
to the port and its shipping; and 
northward, along the broad Strada 
Stesicorea to the woody slopes and 
snowy crest of Etna, dominating the 
city. “ No capital in Europe, probably 
none in the world, contains so sublime 
a prospect ” as this vista. The wide 
facade of the Cathedral bounds the 
square to the E.; the Palazzo Comunale 
to the N.; the Seminario de’ Chieriei 
and the Porta d’Uzeda to the S. In 
the centre stands the 

Fountain of the Elephant.— From a 
large basin rises a square pedestal, with 
reliefs representing the streams Simeto 
and Amenano as river-gods. On this 
stands an elephant of lava, smaller 
than life, with tusks of white marble, 


and a howdah of the same, on which 
rests an octagonal obelisk of red granite, 
nearly 12 feet high, covered with hiero¬ 
glyphics. The elephant is popularly 
believed to be of high antiquity, but 
can hardly be earlier than the Low 
Empire. An inscription ascribes it to 
Heliodorus the magician. How this 
animal was assumed as the device of 
Catania is not known; but certain it 
is, that it has been so from time im¬ 
memorial. Some coins of Frederick 
III., in the 14th century, bear it on 
the reverse. The obelisk is undoubt¬ 
edly Egyptian; by some supposed to 
have served as the meta in the circus ; 
by others to have been brought hither 
by the Crusaders on their return from 
the East. Till 1620 it formed the 
architrave to the gate of the Arcli- 
bishop’s Palace. 

Piazza San Filippo, in the Strada 
Garibaldi, a small but very neat square, 
surrounded by an arcade resting on 32 
ancient columns of white marble from 
the ruins of the Basilica near S. Agos- 
tino. This square resembles a Spanish 
plaza, constructed so as to be converted 
at pleasure into a bull-ring. 

Piazza del Borgo, in the Strada 
Etnea, has the church of Sta. Agata 
al Borgo on the N. and that of Con- 
solazione on the S. Ilcre is the Fonte 
di Cerere, with a marble figure of the 
goddess on a pedestal supported by 
dolphins. In front of S. Agata stand 
two small granite columns from some 
ancient building. 

Piazza degli Studj, in the Strada 
Stesicorea, a large and handsome 
square, bounded on the W. by the 
Royal University, and on the other 
sides by lofty buildings of symmetrical 
architecture. Opposite the University 
stood a marble statue of Francis I., 
by Antonio Cali of Catania; but it has 
disappeared since the liberation of 
Sicily from the Bourbon yoke. 

Piazza Stesicorea, in the street of the 
same name, so called from the Greek 
philosopher, who resided at Catana and 
was buried outside one of the gates. 

S3 





394 


ROUTE 26 . -CATANIA-CHURCHES. 


This is a large square of irregular form, 
bounded on the N. by the Spedale or 
public hospital; on the E. by the 
Palazzo Yillahermosa, half destroyed 
in the revolution of 1848 ; and on the 
W. by the classical facade of the church 
of Sta. Agata, or La Carcaredda. At 
this end of the square also, but under 
ground, is the Amphitheatre. On the 
opposite side stood, till I860, a marble 
statue of Ferdinand II., in Roman cos¬ 
tume, pointing to the port; the work of 
Antonio Cali. Here still stands, in a 
small garden, a fountain with a double 
basin adorned with sea-horses. 

Piazza della Statua .—At the eastern 
extremity of the Corso, overhanging the 
sea, is an open space, with a grey 
granite column in the centre, resting 
on a pedestal of various marbles, and 
supporting a colossal marble figure of 
St. Agatha, the tutelar saint of Catania, 
trampling on a dragon; the whole rises 
to the height of 30 ft. The column 
was taken from the seena of the ancient 
theatre. The monument was raised in 
1743 by the Catanesi, to record their 
gratitude to their illustrious fellow- 
citizen for her preservation of them from 
the plague which in that year desolated 
Messina. 

Churches. 

Catania contains no less than 103 
churches, including those attached to 
the convents, of which there are 17 for 
monks and 6 for nuns, tenanted by 
about 218 of the former and 192 of the 
latter. Owing to conflagrations and 
earthquakes, very few of these churches 
retain traces of that picturesque me¬ 
diaeval architecture which adorns so 
many towns in Sicily. They are ahnost 
wholly of modern construction, with 
facades overcharged with ornament, 
and interiors rich in specimens of lavas, 
marbles, and agates, yet rarely con¬ 
taining objects of art to attract the 
traveller. 

Il Duomo. —The earliest cathedral 
of Catania was raised on the site of St. 
Agatha’s martyrdom, near the Amphi¬ 
theatre, on the spot now occupied by 


the church of Sta. Agata la Yetere. 
Count Roger, when he restored the 
bishopric, founded, in 1091, in a more 
central position, a new cathedral on 
the site of some ancient baths, and 
endowed it with large territories for 
the annual acknowledgment of a glass 
of wine and loaf of bread. A monas¬ 
tery was added in 1094, by Angerius, 
an English abbot, as is recorded in an 
inscription on the wall by the N. door. 
Though the roof has been destroyed 
by fire or earthquakes on several occa¬ 
sions, particularly in 1109, when the 
bishop and nearly the whole congre¬ 
gation w T ere crushed beneath the ruins, 
the massive lava masonry of vdiicli the 
church is constructed has withstood 
these catastrophes, and the external 
shell is substantially the same as that 
raised by Count Roger. The original 
style of architecture, however, is to be 
seen only at the E. end, in the 
transepts and apses, which latter ex¬ 
ternally show tall lancet arches, slightly 
sunk in the walls. 

The facade is of I tali an architecture, 
erected in 1757, by Giambattista Vacca- 
rini. It has two orders, with an attic; 
the lowest is adorned with 6 columns of 
grey granite brought from the seena of 
the ancient theatre; the upper shows 
similar columns of smaller size brought 

f o 

from the same ruin, and both are deco¬ 
rated with marble statues. Over the 
side doors are the mysterious initials, 
N.O.P.A.Q U.I.E. and M S.S.H.D.E, 
P.L., which so often arrest the eye in 
the churches of Catania, and which 
are to be interpreted thus :—“ Noli 
offendere patriam Agathse, quia ultrix 
injuriarum eat," and “ Mentem sanctam 
spontaneam lionorem Deo et patriae 
liberationem,” the latter being the in¬ 
scription believed to have been placed 
by angels over the tomb of the virgin- 
martyr. The N. door dates from 1577, 
and is by Domenico Mazzola, a sculptor 
of Catania, and supposed pupil of 
Gagini. It is in the Renaissance style, 
ornamented with pretty reliefs * of 
tritons, nereids, and centaurs, 'with 
foliage ; but its effect is injured by 3 
wretched statues which surmount it as 
acroteria. The frieze is a block from 
the seena of the ancient theatre. 



395 


EOUTE 26 . -CATANIA—-THE CATHEDRAL. 


The church in plan is a Latin cross, 
■with 3 aisles, and a dome in the centre, 
erected only in 1802. It 'is 315 feet 
long by 101 wide in the aisles, and 
131 in the transepts. Massive piers 
with Corinthian pilasters separate the 
nave from the side aisles. “ Having 
been erected at a period when the rage 
for embellishing churches had in some 
measure subsided, and when those who 
had the means no longer felt the dis¬ 
position to adorn their altars with 
costly offerings, this church is tolerably 
free from those heavy ornaments and 
dingy frescoes which add to the gloom 
without increasing the solemnity.'’ 
The church was originally dedicated to 
the Virgin; but after the earthquake of 
1693 the merits of St. Agatha became 
so apparent that her rival claims to 
the honour were discussed, and the 
question was ultimately decided by lot 
in her favour. The interior is modern¬ 
ised in every part save the three apses, 
which retain their pointed arches. 
The altars are enriched with marbles 
of different hues, lavas from Etna, or 
Sicilian alabaster. They contain little 
to interest in the way of pictures. In 
the rt. aisle you have the Baptism of 
Christ in fresco, by Tuccari; Sta. Fe- 
bronia, by Borremans; S. Carlo Bor- 
romeo, by the Cavdliere Veneziani; 
St. Anthony of Padua, by Borremans; 
a Holy Family, by Abadessa of Cata¬ 
nia ; a Sta. Rosalia, by Borremans. In 
the 1. aisle are a St. George and the 
Dragon, by Giuseppe Rapisarda of 
Catania; a S. Francesco di Paola, by 
Guarnaccia of Catania; a S. Gaetano, 
by Tuccari; St. Anthony, by Borre¬ 
mans ; and St. Agatha suffering mar¬ 
tyrdom, by Faladino of Florence, dated 
1605; below which is a little sketch by 
Errante of Catania, of the burning of 
Heliodorus the magician. The holy- 
water basins are good specimens of 
the Messinese style of inlaying with 
marbles. 

High Altar. —Not yet finished. Over 
it is an elaborate silver throne, in the 
Renaissance style, very quaint, called 
11 la Machinella .” The vault of this 
apse is frescoed with the coronation of 
St. Agatha in heaven by the Saviour 
and the Virgin ; the walls bear frescoes 


of the early martyrs of Catania, by 
Corradino Romano, 1628. The carved 
stalls of the choir behind the altar, 
dating from 1592, show curious scenes 
in relief, illustrative of the life and 
martyrdom of St. Agatha; simple and 
expressive, though better in motive than 
execution. Against the wall above 
these seats are the shabby monuments 
of several of the kings of Sicily and 
their families. To the rt. lie Fre¬ 
derick II. of Aragon, who died 1337 ; 
Prince John, his son ; King Louis (ob. 
1355); Frederick III., his brother and 
successor (ob. 1377); Queen Mary, his 
daughter, married to Martin I., and 
Prince Frederick, their son, who died 
in childhood. On the 1. is the monu¬ 
ment of Queen Constance, daughter of 
Pedro IV. of Aragon, wife of Frederick 
III. and mother of Queen Maria, who 
succeeded her father on the throne of 
Sicily. Constance died at Catania, 
1363. 

Chapel of St. Agatha, in the rt. apse. 
The altar is adorned with beautiful 
marbles, lavas, and agates, and on it 
rests a marble relief of quattrocento art, 
representing St. Agatha crowned by 
our Saviour, with St. Peter and St. 
Paul and the 4 Evangelists. Here is 
a monument to D. Hernan de Acuna, 
Viceroy of Sicily, who died 1494; he 
is represented at his devotions, while a 
page behind him bears his shield and 
a broken lance. In the wall between 
this and the central apse is hollowed a 
small chamber, where are deposited the 
relics of St. Agatha. A half-figure of 
her in silver-gilt, larger than life, and 
laden with precious stones, the offerings 
of monarchs and nobles in many ages, 
is said to enclose the real head of 
the saint. Tradition asserts that the 
golden crown was presented by Richard 
Coeur-de-Lion, when on his way to the 
Holy Land he visited Catania to pay 
his devotions to St. Agatha. A scrigno, 
or silver chest, adorned with reliefs of 
martyrdoms, contains the limbs and 
one of the paps of the saint, with her 
veil of miracle-working celebrity. Here 
is also kept the ferculo, or large bier, on 
which these remains are borne in pro¬ 
cession through the city on the 4th 
February. It is adorned with reliefs, 




396 


ROUTE 26 . —CATANIA-CONVENT OF ST. BENEDICT. 


figures of the apostles, and pendent 
lamps, all of silver. 

The Chapel of the Immaculata , in the 
S. transept, is fronted by a cinquecento 
door, of marble, flanked by pilasters 
with bas-reliefs, illustrating the life of 
the Virgin; better in conception than 
in execution. The lunette above it 
shows her coronation in glory. The 
door bears date 1545. 

The Chapel of the Crucifix, in the 1ST. 
transept, has a similar doorway, flanked 
by reliefs representing the passion and 
sufferings of our Lord, and surmounted 
by a Pieta, the work of Domenico 
Mazzola of Catania, 1563. The chapel 
shows pointed arches; the altar is rich 
in marbles, agates, lavas, and ala¬ 
basters. 

The church is full of monuments to 
the bishops, inquisitors, and nobles of 
Catania, from the 16th cent, down¬ 
wards ; but none are remarkable for 
their merit as works of art. That to 
Bishop Deodato, in the 6th arch to the 
1., shows a good marble bust, by Villa- 
reale of Palermo. 

Sacristy .—Over the outer door is an 
early bas-relief with Christ between 
St. Peter and St. Paul, under a Norman 
arcade. The sacristy contaius a very 
curious fresco by Mignemi, representing 
the eruption of 1669—portions of the 
city already overwhelmed and a prey 
to the flames ; the inhabitants escap¬ 
ing ; monies and nuns in procession on 
the beach, or embarking for the ships 
in the harbour. 

Santa Agcita, 348, Corso.—A circular 
church, with an ugly facade, but inter¬ 
nally of neat and simple architecture, 
with a large dome resting on a Co¬ 
rinthian arcade. In the Sacristy is a St. 
Cecilia, attributed to Guercino. 

Santa Agata la Vetere occupies the 
site of the original Cathedral of Catania, 
erected over the spot where the saint 
was martyred. That edifice was de¬ 
stroyed by the earthquake of 1693, 
and the present church raised on its 
ruins. It contains no object of interest 
save the tomb of the saint and martyr, 
which held her remains till they were 
carried to Constantinople on the inva¬ 


sion of the Saracens. It is a Roman 
sarcophagus of white marble, bearing 
reliefs. 

S. Benedetto, Strada de’ Croeiferi, a 
church of Composite architecture, with 
a door decorated with reliefs illustrating 
the life of St. Benedict. The roof is 
covered wich gaudy frescoes of the same 
subjects, by Giovanni Tuccari. On the 
1st altar to rt. is an Immaculata by 
Francesco la Monaca of Catania. On 
the next is the Death of St. Benedict, 
by William Borromans. The 1st altar 
to the 1. has an Angelo Custode, by 
Matteo Desiderati. 

Coxvento di S. Bexedetto. —This 
splendid convent, said to be the largest 
monastic institution in Europe, save the 
convent of Mafra in Portugal, stands in 
the higher part of the city to the N.W. 
Its mere vastness gives it a grand and 
imposing appearance; but this effect of 
size is greatly injured by the vicious 
taste displayed in the architecture, 
which is overcharged with ornament, 
especially in the windows and cornices, 
and cut up into many unmeaning parts. 
As early as the 6th cent, a body of 
Benedictines settled on the slopes of 
Etna ; in 1359 they established them¬ 
selves at S. Nicola d’Arena, near Nico- 
losi, and in 1578 removed to this site, 
where they raised a convent at great 
expense, which was utterly destroyed 
by the earthquake of 1693. The pre¬ 
sent building dates from the beginning 
of the last century, and is from the 
designs of Contini of Rome. 

The convent is fronted by a semi¬ 
circular piazza, formed by a range of 
symmetrical buildings. The church, 
which measures 550 ft. in length by 
250 in breadth, is the largest Christian 
temple in Sicily, and of the modern 
churches unquestionably the most im¬ 
posing. The facade, intended to be of 
Roman Doric architecture, remains un¬ 
finished. The 3 doors open into as 
many aisles, each terminating in a 
chapel. The plan is a Latin cross. 
Piers of enormous size, faced with 
Corinthian pilasters, flank the nave 
and separate it from the aisles. The 
transverse aisles between these piers 




397 


ROUTE 26 . —CATANIA— 

also terminate in deeply-recessed 
chapels. A lofty dome rises at the in¬ 
tersection of nave and transepts. The 
pavement is of various marbles. 

The high altar, which was erected in 
1842, from the designs of Vincenzo Belli 
of Home, is adorned with agates, and 
reliefs in silver-gilt, illustrating the 
life of St. Benedict, by Lattuga of 
Catania. In the centre is represented 
the death of the saint at the altar, 
during the performance of mass. On 
the rt. King Martin is seen at the foot 
of Etna, presenting the Holy Nail to 
St. Benedict. On the 1. is represented 
a miracle wrought by that saint. Two 
infants had been literally cut to pieces 
by the Saracens. Their mother, strong 
in faith, collected the fragments, salted 
and preserved them in a cask; and in 
answer to her prayers the saint caused 
them to reunite, and the children are 
here shown crawling whole out of the 
pickle-tub. The altar is surmounted 
by an elliptical tabernacle of silver,with 
gilt adornments, and by 6 tall silver 
candlesticks. The super-altar shows 
the emblems of the Evangelists, in the 
same metal. The choir is very spacious, 
and is surrounded by stalls of walnut- 
wood, beautifully carved in the cinque- 
cento style, adorned with little scenes 
in relief from the life of Christ, chiefly 
by Niccolb Bagnasco of Palermo. 

Organ. —The organ in the choir is 
esteemed the finest in Europe; pro¬ 
nounced by Brydone to be superior 
even to that of Haarlem; and it un¬ 
questionably has greater capabilities. 
It has 72 stops, 5 sets of keys, and 
2916 pipes. 11 is the work of D. Donato 
del Piano, a Calabrian priest, who de¬ 
voted 12 years to its construction, and 
is buried at its foot: it cost about 
5500Z. It imitates, with surprising 
fidelity, a full band of instruments, 
wind and string, including the drum 
and castanets. “ The monk who pre¬ 
sided at the organ politely offered to 
perform some piece which would en¬ 
able us to judge of the power and 
compass of the instrument. The sound 
at first came stealing along softly and 
sweetly; it swelled gradually, and be¬ 
came louder; the whole church was 
filled with a flood of harmony, and it 


S. BENEDETTO-ORGAN. 

pealed at length along the vaulted roof, 
deep, clear, and solemn as the loudest 
thunder. It then as gradually sub¬ 
sided, till it sounded like the half- 
expiring notes of the softest flute; and 
after a variety of alternately brilliant 
and slow movements, in which we 
hardly knew whether to admire most 
the astonishing compass and perfection 
of the instrument or the finished ex¬ 
ecution of the organist, the perform¬ 
ance concluded with a military march, 
accompanied by the sound of harps, 
bugles, drums, and triangles.”— 
Marquis of Ormonde. 

Altars. —The altars are decorated 
with marbles, agates, verd antique, and 
with modem paintings. The rt. aisle 
contains a picture by Camuccini, repre¬ 
senting St. Gregory delivering to St. 
Augustine, when leaving Koine on his 
mission to Britain, his credentials to 
King Clothaire of France; and the 
Beheadal of St. John the Baptist, by 
Tofanelli. The S. transept contains 
two pictures of St. Benedict, by Ca- 
vaUucci; and a St. Nicholas of Bari, 
by Cades. In the transept aisle is 
a Nativity, by Tofanelli. In the 1. 
aisle are the Martyrdom of St. An¬ 
drew, by Ferdinand Boudard; St. 
Euplio, by Nocchi ; the Martyrdom of 
St. Agatha, by Mariano Rossi. The 
N. transept has a curious picture," by 
Tofanelli, of the liberation of a slave 
by S. Niccolo di Bari, who lifts the 
captive Ganymede into the air by his 
hair, and carries him off bodily from 
his Moslem lord. Here are also a 
S. Germano and a S. Niccolo, by La 
Picciola. In the N. transept-aisle is a 
Martyrdom of S. Placido and his sister, 
by Campolo of Messina. 

The pavement is marked by a meri¬ 
dian, laid down by BaronWaltershausen 
and Doctor Peters, who were many 
years resident at Catania, collecting 
materials for the grand work on Etna 
which the former has since pub¬ 
lished. 

The Sacristy contains a picture re¬ 
presenting the institution of the Bene¬ 
dictine order, by Mariano Rossi, and a 
Tobit and the Angel, ascribed to Pietro 
Novelli, the best painting in the church. 
Here, among other relics, is preserved 



398 


ROUTE 26 . —CATANIA—S. BENEDETTO-LIBRARY. 


the “ Holy Nail ” that fastened Christ’s 
right hand to the cross : it was pre¬ 
sented to the convent by King Martin, 
who wore it constantly about his neck ; 
and it is believed to have saved the 
building when the fiery torrent of 1669 
approached within 15 ft. of the walls. 
It is kept in a small reliquary of gold, 
covered with gems. Here are also a 
chalice and ostensoir of gold, with 
other specimens of the goldsmith’s art 
in the 15th and 16th centuries ; part of 
the curtain of Queen Bianca's bed, of 
crimson velvet; a cope and entire set 
of ecclesiastical vestments, presented 
by the same beautiful queen 450 years 
since ; a gorgeous dalmatica of white 
satin; and numerous other rich robes, 
some of great antiquity. 

Ladies must be content with a view 
of the church and the sacristy. 

The Cloisters can be entered from 
the sacristy. They are surrounded by 
Homan Doric piers, faced with columns, 
and supporting an open terrace. Four 
fountains, and a large pavilion, in the 
Sieulo-Norman style, rise in the centre. 
A second cloister contains an orange- 
grove. A handsome staircase, with 
Renaissance adornments, leads up to 
the corridors, of vast length, in which 
are the monks’ cells. The abbot has a 
large suite of noble apartments, richly 
decorated and furnished, where he 
holds audiences, receives distinguished 
guests on the festivals of the Holy Nail, 
and where the sovereigns of the Two 
Sicilies have always resided on their 
visits to Catania. There are two refec¬ 
tories, both elliptical, the larger for 
fast-days, and the smaller for ordinary 
occasions. The number of professed 
monks does not exceed 45 ; and there 
are also about 40 novices. None but 
persons of noble family and inde¬ 
pendent means are admitted. Each 
monk has his valet and an attendant 
novice. The revenue of the convent is 
said to amount to 80,000 ducats a-year. 

From the 2nd floor you cross a 
bridge into the garden, or “ Villa," as 
it is called, where terraces and foun¬ 
tains rise from amidst myrtles and 
oleanders, orange-trees and cypresses. 
It is looked on by the monks as a 
paradise, and is certainly a monument 


of perseverance, for all this cultivation 
is on the very bosom of the black wave 
of lava which in 1669 flowed in a 
direct line towards the convent, but 
when within 15 ft. of it suddenly 
turned ofl‘ to the rt. and 1., leaving the 
building unharmed in the midst, with 
a pit-like space around it much like 
the area in front of a London house. 
This escape may have been owing to 
the formation of the surface; but all 
Catania insists it was a miracle wrought 
by the interposition of the Holy Nail! 

The Library of the convent contains 
some 20,000 volumes, among which 
are about 200 early editions of the 15th 
cent., and 300 MSS. Among the 
curiosities of printing are a Caesar, 
Sweynlieim and Pannartz, Roma?, 
1469,— Procopius, 1470,— Breviary, in 
black letter on vellum, Jenson, Venet. 
1478,— Aristophanes, Aldinus, Venet. 
1498. Among the MSS. notice a Bible, 
fol., black letter, vellum, with illumi¬ 
nated initials and beautiful paint¬ 
ings by a German hand—an admir¬ 
able specimen of the calligraphy and 
illuminating art of the beginning of 
the 15tli cent.,— Breviary, fol., black 
letter, vellum, with illuminated initials, 
early in the 15th cent.— Psalter, Svo., 
vellum, illuminated, of the early part 
of the 13th cent., one of the most 
ancient MSS. in the library,— Officii 
Virginia, 12mo., black letter, vellum, 
illuminated with arabesques, early in 
the 15th cent.,— Martyrologia, fob,black 
letter, vellum, initials delicately ara- 
besqued, 1254, in the vernacular 
Sicilian of that period,— Buies of the 
Order of St. Benedict, also in early 
Sicilian.— Maniscalchia, a treatise on 
Veterinary Surgery, in Sicilian, by 
Giovanni Cruyllas, 8vo., black letter, 
vellum, with illustrations, about 1400, 
—A Treatise on the Sphere, in Italian, 
translated from the Greek of Alplia- 
grano, written in 1440, fob, vellnm, 
with a beautifully illuminated title, 
—A Hebrew Calendar, in 4to., vellum, 
—The Soliloquies of S. Bemigio, in 
black letter, 13tli or 14th cent. — Dante, 
fob, on paper, 15th cent., illustrated 
by Giovanni Cafici, a monk of this 
convent,— Quintus Curtius, in Italian, 
fol., on paper, illuminated initials. 



ROUTE 26 . —S. BENEDETTO—MUSEUM-S. CARCERE. 


399 


written at Milan in 1438. In the 
archives of the convent there are, 
moreover, 3000 documents on parch¬ 
ment, some of which go back to the 
earliest period of the Norman dynasty. 

Museum. — This collection is the 
fruit of the labours of two Catanian 
monks of the order, one of whom col¬ 
lected objects of interest in Catania 
and Sicily, the other in Italy, to enrich 
the convent. It is comprised in 5 
rooms. The ls£ Room contains Greek 
and Roman antiquities, Siculo-Greek 
vases from various ancient sites, with a 
few from Catania itself, but nothing of 
extraordinary interest or value ; a 
female figure, draped, about 4 ft. high, 
in terracotta; statuettes, with votive 
heads and other portions of the body, 
in the same material; lamps, both Greek 
and Roman, some with inscriptions; 
manubria, or handles of wine-jars, also 
inscribed; a mill of lava; inscriptions 
on tablets let into the walls. 

The 2nd Room contains a collection 
of specimens of natural history, from 
Sicily and other lands, scientifically 
arranged. The zoological portion is 
not well preserved. The conchological 
and mineralogical departments are 
more interesting. Two tables display 
the beauty and abundant variety of 
Sicilian marbles. In this room is a 
picture of the Deposition, by Caravaggio. 

The 3rd Room is devoted to medi¬ 
eval curiosities — old china, antique 
dresses and masks, musical instru¬ 
ments, glass ware, carvings in ivory, 
among which-notice a chest surrounded 
by caryatides, and two canes elaborately 
adorned with figures, one dated 1612; 
models of buildings; small reliefs of 
Europa on the bull, and Ampliion 
riding a dolphin, in red lava; majolica 
ware, &e.; also some Roman frescoes. 

The 4 th Room contains a collection 
of fire-arms from their first invention, 
besides mediaeval weapons and armour 
of various descriptions and periods; 
numerous figurine in bronze, both 
Greek and Roman; vessels of various 
kinds, mirrors, weights and measures, 
bells, keys, rings, fibulae, lamps and 
candelabra, and other bronzes from 
Herculaneum ; a Roman legionary 
eagle in excellent preservation. 


In the 5th Room are preserved re¬ 
mains of sculpture; inscriptions, Greek 
and Roman, early Christian and medi- 
teval; mosaics, fragments of those in 
the Biscari Museum, found in ancient 
baths on this spot; reliefs, both ancient 
and medieval; among them notice a 
Bacchic scene of 4 figures, and Her¬ 
cules stretched on Mount (Eta. Here 
is also a picture of the Last Supper, of 
quattrocento art. This museum once 
contained a fine collection of coins and 
medals, but the greater part has been 
stolen in the revolutions of this cen¬ 
tury. 

Santo Carcere, in the N. of the 
city, near the Amphitheatre. This ch. 
takes its name from being erected over 
the prison in which St. Agatha was 
confined, and where she breathed her 
last; and it was attached to the original 
cathedral of Catania. The ch. as it now 
stands is of modern construction, with 
a Roman Doric facade, but the portal is 
Norman and exceedingly curious. “ It 
is entirely constructed of white marble. 
Its arch is circular, and consists of a 
series of enriched mouldings, supported 
on recessed columns and a pilaster. 
The enrichments on the mouldings 
are the Norman cheveron and chequer, 
and on the inner face a number of Ro¬ 
man paterae. All these mouldings rest 
on animals and small figures seated 
on the impost. The columns are also 
enriched with the cheveron and chequer 
from the top to the bottom; their 
capitals are an imitation of the Corin¬ 
thian. The pilasters are ornamented 
with a very rich scroll of foliage, ter¬ 
minating in animals. It is evident 
that in the execution of these orna¬ 
ments the drill has been very much 
employed, which affords reason for 
believing them to have been the work 
of Greek artists. Immediately above 
the arch, on either side, are 3 sunk 
panels, round and square, enriched 
with stars, dragons, and other devices, 
in bas-relief. 

“ The history of this portal is sin¬ 
gular. It originally belonged to the 
cathedral. From thence it was re¬ 
moved, when the W. front was modern¬ 
ized in 1734, to the Palazzo Pubblico; 






400 


ROUTE 26 . —CATANIA—CHURCHES. 


and from the Palazzo Pubblico, when 
that building was altered in 1750, it 
was again removed to Santo Careere. 
This portal is another striking example 
of the mixture of the Greek and Nor¬ 
man styles. Whether it was con¬ 
structed in the time of Count Roger is 
uncertain, but the circular arch affords 
reason for believing that it existed 
prior to the earthquake in 1169.”— 
Gaily Kniglit. 

The altarpiece is the Martyrdom of 
St. Agatha, bearing the name of “ Ber- 
nardinus Niger Gnecus, 1588.’' It 
lias the hardness and dryness of an 
earlier period, but is interesting as 
containing a view of the amphitheatre 
before it was overwhelmed by lava. 

The “ Holy Prison,” which gives its 
name to the ch., is a small cell now 
enclosed by the city walls, and con¬ 
verted into a chapel, with a marble 
figure of the saint as an altarpiece. 
Here is shown a piece of lava im¬ 
printed with the marks of two small 
feet, believed by all the Catanesi to be 
those of the saint herself miraculously 
impressed on the rock when she was 
first thrust into the dungeon. Tradi¬ 
tion states that this fair and noble 
Catanian maiden of 15 was subjected 
to cruel torments at the command of 
the Praetor Quintianus, who in 252 
ruled Sicily under the Emperor Decius, 
because she rejected his amorous ad¬ 
vances, and declared herself a Chris¬ 
tian. In his rage at her unflinching 
resolution to preserve her chastity and 
her religion, he ordered her breasts to 
be torn out by pincers ; but the night 
following the execution of this cruel 
decree, St. Peter appeared to her in 
this cell, healed all her wounds, and 
restored her to her original beauty. 
Whereon the tyrant, finding vain all 
his efforts to bend her to his will, and 
to make her renounce her faith, con¬ 
demned her to the flames ; but wdiile 
she was at the stale a fearful earth¬ 
quake shook Catania ; the praetor, 
taking flight, was drowned in crossing 
the Simeto, and the maiden, who had 
issued unscathed from the fire, was 
carried back to this cell, where she ex¬ 
pired the same night in answer to her 
prayers. 


The Sacristy contains a small bas- 
relief of the saint, of quattrocento art. 

Santa Caterina. —The ch. attached 
to this nunnery, 361, Corso, contains 
a Madonna of the Rosary by the Cava¬ 
lier e Conca, and a S. Yincenzo Ferreri 
by Pietro Paolo Vasta, of Aci Reale. 

Santa Chiara, 43, Strada Garibaldi. 
—This ch. has an elliptical cupola, 
well frescoed by Olivio Sozzi, the 
subject being the Assumption of the 
Virgin. The picture of the Immacu- 
lata is by the same hand. 

La Carcarella , or Sant' Agata la 
Fornace, Piazza Stesicorea, erected on 
the spot where the saint is believed to 
have been tied to the stake, and to 
have issued unscathed from the flames. 
The facade is Corinthian, rather clas¬ 
sical; the interior is in the Italian 
style, with an elliptical cupola. In the 
rt. transept is shown the furnace where 
the martyr underwent the terrible 
ordeal. 

S. Domenico, to the N. of the city, 
founded in 1420, was rebuilt after the 
earthquake of 1693. On the second altar 
to the rt. is an early panel picture of the 
Madonna of the Rosary, better in con¬ 
ception than execution. The Virgin 
is offering a rosary to - S. Domenic ; 
while at her feet kneel Pope Clement 
VII. and the Emperor CliarlesV., and in 
the background the Cardinal Farnese, 
afterwards Paul III., and Cardinal 
Salviati, with Francesco Sforza, Duke 
of Milan, in a toga, and Alessandro de’ 
Medici standing up. 

S. Francesco, 349, Corso. — This 
convent, originally erected in 1329 by 
Queen Eleanora, wife of Frederick II., 
whose remains are interred in the ch., 
was destroyed by the earthquake of 
1693. In the 1st altar to the 1. is a 
large panel picture of Christ bearing 
his Cross, signed “ Vignerius, 1541.” 
In many points it resembles the works 
of Anemolo of Palermo, but is very in¬ 
ferior in colouring. The figure of the 
Saviour, and the group of the Marys 
around the agonized Virgin, are well 




ROUTE 26 . —CATANIA-CHURCHES. 


401 


conceived. In the next chapel is the 
Marriage of St. Joseph, by Antonio 
Gramignani. The 4th to the rt. has a 
St. Francis, with the youthful Saviour, 
by Guamacda. The figures in the 
spandrils of the cupola are frescoed by 
Francesco Sozzi. 

I Gesuiti , Strada de’ Crociferi.—A 
ch. with a handsome facade of tw r o 
orders—Roman Doric and Ionic. It 
has 3 aisles, divided by columns of 
lumaclieUa, and is rich in marbles and 
verd antique. Against the piers which 
support the dome are marble figures 
of the Evangelists. In the 1. transept 
is a large relief of the Ascension of 
St. Ignatius; and the opposite chapel 
shows St. Francis Xavier baptizing a 
monarch in old Roman costume. The 
high altar, which is adorned with 
agates and jaspers, has a picture of 
S. Francesco Borgia by Filippo Tan- 
credi. The dome is frescoed by 

SOZZI. 

This ch. is attached to the Grande 
Ospizio di Beneficio, or Foundling 
Hospital, which was established here 
on the expulsion of the Jesuits in 
1789. It has a revenue of 1500 ounces 
a year, and is capable of accommodat¬ 
ing about 500 children; but there are 
not generally more than 250, all boys, 
who are kept here from the age of 7 to 
18, and instructed in useful trades and 
handicrafts. The building contains a 
fine court, with a double colonnade. 

S. Giacomo, in the Piazzetta dell’ 
Ajuto, a little ch. containing a picture 
of St. James, by “ Bernardinus Niger 
Grxcus, 1578.” 

S. Giuliano, in the Strada de’ Croci¬ 
feri.—This nunnery has a circular 
church, with apsidal recesses toward 
the cardinal points. The architec¬ 
ture is simple, and its outlines are 
marked by gold lines, which give 
a pleasing effect. The dome is fres¬ 
coed by Giuseppe Rapisarda, 1842. 
The chapels and altars are enriched 
with marbles, jaspers, and agates, red, 
purple, lilac, grey, green, or brown. 
The 1st to the 1. shows a Christ on 
the Cross, of dark marble, like putrid 


flesh. On the paliotto are the three 
Marys, of life-size, in white marble. 

Sta. Maria dell' Ajuto. — A small 
ch. of Italian architecture, contain¬ 
ing nothing remarkable; but in a 
chapel off it, on the 1., is a little 
house, purporting to be an exact 
copy of that in which the Virgin was 
born and lived at Nazareth, the scene 
of her marriage, of the Annunciation, 
and Incarnation, and which dwelling 
is believed to have been miraculously 
transported to Loreto in 1295. Those 
who have not seen the far-famed Santa 
Casa at Loreto will regard this copy 
with interest. It is a small rude 
dwelling, with a single chamber, about 
24 ft. by 10, entered by 3 doors; it 
is constructed of Roman brick, has 
a vaulted roof, and the walls show 
fragments of frescoes. In the inner 
wall is a stone fireplace, and above 
it stands a figure of the Virgin, re¬ 
presenting the celebrated one at Loreto, 
which is believed to have been carved 
from cedar-wood of Lebanon by the 
hand of St. Luke himself. A washing- 
place of brick in one corner, and a 
cupboard over the door, complete the 
fittings of the apartment. The on ter 
casing of marble purports to be an 
imitation of that attached to the Santa 
Casa at Loreto at the beginning of the 
16th cent., designed by Bramante, and 
decorated with sculptures by the most 
eminent artists of the Renaissance; 
but the figures and reliefs here shown 
are certainly not casts from the ori¬ 
ginals. 

Santa Maria di Gesit, a convent of 
Franciscan monks, a little outside the 
city to the N. The ch. was first 
erected in Norman times, but over¬ 
thrown in 1693; it was rebuilt in 
1706; yet preserves some remains of 
its original architecture in a lancet 
window banded with lava, and in the 
Cappella Manganelli. This contains 
a round Norman arch, and a groined 
roof resting on columns with bossed 
capitals coloured and gilt. The arch 
was formerly filled with cusped tra¬ 
cery; it is flanked by shafts with 
foliated capitals, and shows seme 



402 


ROUTE 26 . —CATANIA-FESTIVALS. 


Northern features. The outer door 
dates from 1519. It is adorned with 
reliefs, and with a Pieta in the lu¬ 
nette, the whole attributed to A ntonio 
Gagini ; but the Pieta alone is worthy 
of his chisel. In the chapel is a 
marble bust of Don Alvaro Paterno, a 
Roman senator, who died in 1518, a 
life-like portrait, ascribed to Gcigini, 
though by others attributed to Michel¬ 
angelo himself, with whom Alvaro was 
on terms of friendship. The 2nd 
chapel to the 1. shows a very excellent 
group of the Virgin and Babe, in 
marble, executed in 1500 by Gagini at 
the early age of 20. The experiments 
of Gibson on the colouring of marble 
statues have here been forestalled by 
some 3| centuries; for the eyes and lips 
of these figures are coloured, the hair 
is gilt, and the drapery, which has the 
usual broad treatment of the master, 
is adorned with gilt flowers. On the 
wall adjoining is a pretty picture of the 
Madonna sitting with the Babe in her 
lap, signed “ Antondlus Missenius D° 
Saliba, 1497,” quite Raphaelesque in 
treatment and expression. The high 
altar is adorned with lavas and marbles 
of various hues, with alabaster from 
Paterno. Here is a crucifix, carved in 
wood, by Fra TJmile da Petralia (ob. 
1639), coloured too near to death to 
please a Protestant eye. 

In the cloisters attached to the con¬ 
vent is an octagonal fountain, one of 
whose reliefs is attributed to Gagini. 
The convent boasts a library of 7000 
volumes, among which are some early 
specimens of printing. The tombs in 
the garden are described at p. 410. 

Stci. Maria della Botonda. —See p. 
409. 

8. Nicoldla, Strada Quattro Can- 
toni.—Before 1693 this ch. was richer 
in good pictures than any other in the 
city. Now all it can show is a S. 
Francesco by Zoppo di Ganci, and a 
Holy Family by Gaspare Serenario. 

Begolari Minori, Strada Stesicorea. 
— This fine ch. contains a St. Joseph 
dying, and a St. Agatha, by Marcello 
Leopardi of Rome, an Annunciation 


by Borremans, and a picture of St. 
Michael on wood, of the 13th cent., 
covered with silver armour of the 17th 
cent. The colossal crucifix in Carrara 
marble in the 4th chapel to the 1. is by 
Agostino Penna of Rome. The altars 
are composed of lavas, oriental ala¬ 
basters, verd-antique, and marbles of 
great price. 


Festivals. 

Catania is remarkable for the num¬ 
ber of its religious festivals, and those 
held in honour of St. Agatha rival in 
splendour the festas of St. Rosalia at 
Palermo, and of the Virgin of the 
Letter at Messina. They occur, in 
fact, twice a year—on the first 5 days 
in February, and on 5 days in August, 
from the 17 th to the 21st. 

On the first 3 days of February 
horse-races are held on the Corso; 
bands of music, and men in chorus 
chanting hymns in honour of the 
saint, parade the streets till midnight. 
On the 4th the relics of the saint, en¬ 
closed in the silver bust and chest 
preserved in the Duomo, are placed 
on a triumphal car, and drawn by 
some 2000 citizens, dressed as sacconi, 
round the walls of the city. As the 
procession leaves the cathedral, guns 
from the fort and ships fire a salute. 
It is headed by crowds bearing lighted 
tapers, some of monstrous height and 
thickness, and surrounded and followed 
by shouting thousands. Women of all 
classes, muffled in their black mantles, 
which shroud their persons and leave 
but one eye exposed, mingle in the 
crowd, and give it a peculiar character, 
yet are far from lessening by their 
nun-like appearance the universal 
jollity. They are designated “ toppa- 
telle." All that Catania has to display 
of wealth, female beauty, gay equi¬ 
pages, and handsome horses, takes 
part in this holiday procession. The 
whole day is thus spent, the procession 
halting every few yards till the entire 
circuit of the city has been made. On 
the 5th, the anniversary of the saint's 
martyrdom, all the world goes to mass, 
and the day is spent in devotion till 





403 


ROUTE 26 . -CATANIA— 

2 hrs. before sunset, when the holy 
relics are again borne in procession 
round the city. 

The festival in August partakes 
much of the same character, but is 
varied by the season. On the 17th 
horse-races are held at St. Agatha al 
Borgo, with music, fireworks, and 
illuminations at night. On the 18th 
the triumphal car with the saint’s 
relics makes the giro, and the city is 
again illuminated. On the next 2 
days the races, music, and illumina¬ 
tions are repeated; and on the 20th the 
car again makes the tour of the city. 
On the last day the saint receives the 
devout attentions of the citizens in the 
cathedral, and in the afternoon her 
relics are again carried in procession, 
though not on the car, but on the fer- 
culo, or bier of silver. 

“ On Good Friday the senators of 
Catania in melancholy procession, with 
crowns of thorns on their heads and 
ropes round their necks, walk to the 
cathedral, where a man with a false 
forked beard tied on, profanely per¬ 
sonates the Saviour of the world, and 
crosses and blesses everything in his 
way.”— Smyth. 


Public Buildings and Museums. 

Palazzo Senatorio, Piazza del Du- 
omo, erected in 1741.—A neat pile of 
simple architecture in 3 stories, with a 
portico in each fa§ade. That to the 
S., looking into tire piazza, which is 
the principal, is of Italian Doric. The 
4 columns of this portico are from the 
ancient theatre. The building con¬ 
tains a few architectural and sculptural 
fragments from the ancient city, and 
a gallery of paintings. Among the 
latter are a St. Christopher with the 
infant Saviour, ascribed to Pietro No- 
velli, and in parts not unlike the works 
of that master,—a Madonna of the 
Rosary, attributed to tiie same hand,— 
the head of Sta. Teresa crowned with 
thorns,—a Magdalen,—the Martyrdom 
of St. Andrew, of the Neapolitan School, 
—full-length portraits of Philip V. of 
Spain, and his queen Elisabetta Far- 
nese. 


-UNI YER SIT Y-LIBRA R Y. 

L’Universita degli Studj, in the 
Strada Stesicorea, founded in 1445 by 
Alfonso of Aragon, and endowed by 
him and succeeding monarchs. It is 
the earliest as well as leading univer¬ 
sity of Sicily, and its renown in all 
ages has given Catania a pre-emi¬ 
nence in literature and science over 
the other cities of the island. It has 5 
faculties—Theology, Laws, Medicine, 
Physics and Mathematics, Philosophy 
and Literature,—with no less than 34 
professors, whose salaries vary from 
20 1. to 40/. a year, and who receive no 
fees from the students. The students 
live in private houses, and are sub¬ 
jected to no college discipline. They 
now number between 500 and 600; 
but before the establishment of uni¬ 
versities at Palermo and Messina they 
exceeded 2000. This is a square, 
massive, and handsome pile of Italian 
architecture, in 3 stories—Doric, Ionic, 
and Attic —with a projecting portico 
in each front. Within is a square 
court with a double arcade. On the 
first floor is the 

Biblioteca. —This library was com¬ 
menced at the close of the last cent, 
with the books of the expelled Je¬ 
suits, and with the collection of 
rare editions of the classics, of the 
Fathers, and works on theology and 
ecclesiastical history, with many valu¬ 
able MSS. presented by Bishop Ven¬ 
timiglia in 1783. In all, there are 
about 40,000 volumes, of which nearly 
11,000 form the Ventimiglian library, 
kept apart in 2 separate rooms. The 
library is open to the public daily from 
9 to ] 2, and for 2 hrs. in the afternoon. 
Among the early and rare printed 
works are— Horace, 4to., about 1470,— 
Quintilian, fol., Venet., 1471, by Nico¬ 
laus Jenson, curious as wanting all the 
Greek quotations,— Aulus Gellius, fob, 
Venet., 1472, — Apuleii Herbarium, 
4to., 1471, with 132 plates,— Epistles 
of Phalaris, 1471, — Hictys Cretensis, 
small 4to., Mess., 1498,— Columella, 
1494,— Capitoli di Sicilia, fob, black 
letter, Mess., 1497. Among the MSS. 
notice Ciceronis Epistolee, fob, vellum, 
witli illuminated initials, no date,— 
Vitae Philosophorurn, including the work 
of Diogenes Laertius, 8vo., vellum, 





404 


ROUTE 26 . —CATANIA-BISCARI MUSEUM. 


with illuminated initials, early in the 
16th cent.,— St. Augustine's Sermons, 
8vo., black letter, vellum, illuminated, 
about the same period,— Koran, in 
Arabic, very neatly written on paper. 

In the Libreria Ventimigliana, 
among the early editions, are Plinii 
Epistolse, 4to., 1471, princeps, the 

Greek words supplied by the hand,— 
Lactantius, fol., Venet., 1478,— Seneca, 
fol., black letter, Tarvisii, 1478,— 
Suidas , fob, Milan, 1499, princeps,— 
Pentateuch, in Hebrew, Lisbon, 1491, 

•— Bihlia Complutensis, the Hebrew 
and Greek originals, with the Vulgate 
translation, 1517, princeps. Among 
the MSS. are a Quintus Curtius, fob, 
black letter, on vellum, 1438, trans¬ 
lated into Italian, curiously illumi¬ 
nated,— St. Thomas Aquinas, fob, black 
letter, said to be of the 13th cent.,— 
Montaner's Conquest of Valencia, an 
old chronicle in Spanish, fob, vellum, 
illuminated initials, dated 1407, written 
in the Aragonese dialect,— Capitoli di 
Sicilia, black letter, vellum, signed by 
the Viceroy in 1474,—A Privilege, 
signed by King Alfonso, 1446,—Sundry 
MSS. in Arabic and Turkish. The Ca- 
nonigo Ronsisvalle, Professor of Latin 
in the University, is the librarian, and 
does the honours with all courtesy. 

Here is a respectable collection of 
coins, comprising those of the Greek 
and Carthaginian colonies in Sicily; 
those of Rome from the Triumvirate to 
Constantine; with the Byzantine, Nor¬ 
man, and other coins struck in Sicily, 
down to modern times. 

The Collection of Natural History, or 
Gahinetto Gioenio, so called because 
collected by the Cavaliere Gioeni, is 
contained in 6 rooms on the second 
floor. The 1st is devoted to mine¬ 
ralogy, but chiefly to the volcanic pro¬ 
ducts of Etna, the Lipari Islands, and 
Vesuvius. The 2nd room contains 
specimens of the tertiary rocks and 
fossils of Sicily, principally those of 
the Val di Noto. In the 3rd are re¬ 
presented the primary and secondary 
rocks of Sicily, the granite and syenite 
of Scaletta and Mili, the marbles of 
Taormina and the east coast, and the 
calcareous rocks of Trapani. The 4th 
room displays the metallic wealth of 


Sicily in ores of silver, copper, iron, 
lead, manganese, & c., compared with 
specimens from other parts of the world. 
Here are also native agates from Scla- 
fani and Judica, and ambers from the 
Simeto and Val di Noto. The 5th 
room is devoted to zoology ; the 6th to 
anatomical drawings and preparations 
in wax, and the usual curiosities of 
hospital museums. 

Museo Biscari, in the palace of the 
prince, is the largest collection of 
ancient relics in Sicily. It was formed 
by Prince Ignazio in the middle of the 
last cent., from the excavations he 
made in the lava-buried monuments of 
Catana, and in the ancient cemeteries 
of Camarina and Centuripse. 

Vestibule .—Two sarcophagi of lead, 
found at Catania. Sepulchral reliefs 
of the Middle Ages. Two mediaeval 
monuments, one to an ancestor of the 
family, ob. 1556. 

First Court. ■— Sarcophagi, ancient 
mills, and an altar of lava. Two 
columns from the ancient theatre—one 
of granite, the other of red-veined 
marble. Under the arcade which con¬ 
nects this with the next court stands a 
statue of Prince Ignazio, the founder 
of the museum, in old Roman costume, 
the work of CaVi of Catania. He is 
surrounded by busts of his four inti¬ 
mate friends, all literati, and vying 
with him for the palm of ugliness. 

Second Court. — Two columns of 
grey granite, and 12 more of various 
sizes and lengths from the theatre. 
A large sarcophagus of terracotta, and 
many huge amphorae and other pots of 
the same—all from Centorbi. Basalt 
from the Cyclopean Islands. 

Room of the Bronzes .—Here are nu¬ 
merous articles of bronze, both Greek 
and Roman — pots, buckets, lamps, 
strigils, and other articles of domestic 
use; weapons, ornaments, votive offer¬ 
ings, agricultural implements, many 
small figures of animals and birds, and 
more of divinities and heroes, some 
purely Egyptian, others archaic Greek. 
Among them notice a Mercury, some¬ 
what like that of Giovanni di Bologna 
in the Uffizj,—a Faun with the capis- 
\ trum for playing the double pipes, 





405 


ROUTE 26. — CATANIA—BISCARI MUSEUM. 


which are wanting,—Jupiter, thunder 
in hand, with one foot on the eagle,— 
an archaic bust of Pallas,—a female 
with a cornucopia,—many of Venus, 
and of Hercules, chiefly archaic, 
one resting on his club, and another 
in earlier style, with club raised, 
and lion’s skin on his arm,—Bacchus 
leaning against a column,—a nymph 
reclining, cymbal in hand,—a small 
head of Vitellius in silver,—a lamp, 
with a relief of Dirce and the bull, an 
ancient copy of the celebrated group 
at Naples, — fragments of statues of 
life-size,—lamps in the form of animals 
or monsters. 

Gallery of Sculpture. —This extends 
round two sides of the central courts. Its 
walls are lined with inscriptions, Greek 
and Latin, and with portions of mosaic 
pavements found among the ruins of Ca- 
tana; one with the motto “ utere feli- 
citer another with the heads of the 
months “Januarius ” and “ Martius 
the remaining fragment of this pave¬ 
ment is in the Benedictine Museum. 
Here are, moreover, some 60 statues, 
50 busts, and many reliefs in marble ; 
but few objects of much merit. The 
best is a colossal torso, supposed of 
Jupiter, found in the Augustine Con¬ 
vent, a fine fragment, often compared 
to the Belvedere torso of the Vatican, 
though inferior, and probably of Im¬ 
perial times, and perhaps, as some 
think, an Augustus.—Hercules, of life- 
size, arms wanting, and legs wretchedly 
restored. — Two Corinthian columns 
with their entablature; from the 
theatre. — A muse, draped, without 
head, arms, or feet; in very simple 
style.—Roman lady, with a garland 
in hand.—Female centaur, curious.— 
Busts of Roman emperors and heroes, 
among them one of Scipio Africanus.— 
An empress as Ceres.—A nice bas-relief 
of Greek times.—A pedestal inscribed 
“ Diodorus, son of Apollonius,” said to 
have been found in Argiro, the birth¬ 
place of Diodorus Siculus. — A nice 
bust of Venus.—A figure of the same 
goddess, with Cupid, of cinquecento art. 

ls£ Vase Boom. — The vases now 
exhibited form, it is said, but a 
small portion of those collected 
by the Prince, the rest having been 


sold or stolen in the revolutions 
which Sicily has undergone during the 
present century. The best have dis¬ 
appeared, but among those left may 
be noticed : — Two small amphorse 
from Girgenti, of brilliant varnish and 
good art, representing nymphs giving 
drink to warriors. — Two small am¬ 
phora;, of the form called pelilce, from 
Nola, and in the style of Magna 
Grsecia, representing the Toilet of 
Venus, and the Garden of the Hespe- 
rides.— Crater, with Perseus present¬ 
ing the head of Medusa to Jove, with 
Juno, Minerva, Neptune, and two 
Gorgons. — Crater from Girgenti, of 
late style and poor art, but curious; 
showing Hercules in caricature, bear¬ 
ing the two Cercopian brothers in cages 
on his back ; and Jupiter on his throne, 
also in caricature.— Lecythus, with a 
quadriga on a white ground, from 
Camarina, in the 2nd style.—Three 
celebse, in the 1st style, with very 
archaic figures of beasts and birds, 
found in the tombs of Catana. 

2nd ami 3rd Vase Booms. —Each has 
a large sarcophagus 'of terracotta from 
Centorbi in the centre. Here are nume¬ 
rous specimens of unfigured Greek 
pottery of different forms; rhyta in 
the shape of beasts’ heads; a small 
donkey of terracotta, with water-jars 
in panniers, just as they are carried at 
the present day; a curious vase with high 
reliefs of figures and foliage delicately 
moulded, on a pink ground; numerous 
lamps of various kinds and periods, 
Greek, Roman, and Christian, &c. 

Boom of Terracottas. —Many heads 
and busts nearly of life-size, evidently 
portraits, and mostly archaic, some re¬ 
taining traces of colour ; entire figures 
of different sizes, some quite Etruscan 
in character; others purely Egyptian, 
of smalt ; numerous small archaic 
figures of Ceres crowned with the 
bushel; others of later date and better 
art; Bacchantes ; groups of Venus and 
Cupid, &c. ; neurospasta or jointed 
dolls ; toys for children ; masks ; 
lamps of Roman times, bearing ob¬ 
scene subjects; ex-votos; figures of 
animals, &c. 

In 6 other chambers are collections 
of natural history, conchology, mine- 



406 ROUTE 26 . -CATANIA-PRIVATE COLLECTIONS-HISTORY. 


ralogy, especially the lavas, agates, 
marbles, ambers, strontians, and sul¬ 
phurs of Sicily'; fossils—among which 
notice a section of a petrified tree, of 
vivid colours, found near Palermo; old 
lace; cinquecento ivories; mediaeval 
weapons and armour, though nothing 
earlier than 1470. 

There was a large collection of coins, 
but all were carried off" when the Nea¬ 
politans sacked Catania in 1848. 

Gabinetto Recupero, Strada Quattro 
Cantoni, 114.—This museum now con¬ 
tains but a small portion of the rare 
and precious treasures once possessed 
by the family. Here are to be seen 
a few Greek vases; a large num¬ 
ber of coins, gold, silver, bronze, and 
copper — Greek, Roman, Byzantine, 
Norman, and other Sicilian dies of 
the middle ages ; a collection of mine¬ 
ralogy and conchology, chiefly fossil; 
and a gallery of pictures, viz.—a Ma¬ 
donna, ascribed to Pietro Perugino; a 
St. Catherine, School of Leonardo da 
Vinci; a Nymph with 2 Satyrs, as¬ 
cribed to Annibale Caracci; 3 hermits, 
by Novelli; and various pieces attri¬ 
buted to Guido, Tintoret , Murillo, 
Claude, &c. 

Gabinetto Ferrara, Strada S. An¬ 
tonio, 23.—The mineralogical collec¬ 
tion lias been presented to the Univer¬ 
sity of Palermo; but there are still a 
large number of ancient coins; many 
gems; inscriptions, both Greek and 
Latin ; vases, figures, lamps, and reliefs 
in terracotta; and an Etnean hortus 
siccus. 

Gabinetto Aradas, Strada S. Do¬ 
menico, No. 391.—Here is an exten¬ 
sive collection of molluscse, both fossil 
and existing, with numerous specimen 3 
of conchology in similar variety. 

Gabinetto Scuderi, 48, Strada Fara- 
one.—A gallery of some 200 pictures, 
with a large collection of sketches by 
various masters, and another of prints, 
reputed the best in Sicily. The pic¬ 
tures are of the Venetian, Bolognese, 
Neapolitan, and Sicilian schools. Here 
are, moreover, a number of speci¬ 


mens of early printing, a few relics of 
Greek and Roman antiquity, and a 
sarcophagus with a relief of the dead 
Saviour, by Gagini. 

Casa Gemmellaro, Strada Faraone.— 
Professor Carlo Gemmellaro, renowned 
throughout Europe for his many learned 
treatises on the eruptions and geology 
of Etna, has not only a good collec¬ 
tion of geological, concliological, and 
entomological specimens, but a nice 
gallery of pictures, among which notice 
a portrait by Tintoret; a half-length of 
Sta. Barbara, by Caracci; a Lot, by 
Pietro da Cortona; 6 hermits, by Sal¬ 
vator Rosa; several Poelembergs; and 
what purports to be the original sketch 
of the Madonna della Seggiola. 

Casa Gagliani, 336, Strada Gari¬ 
baldi.—Professor Carlo Gagliani has 
a large collection of Greek and Punic 
coins, some of great rarity and beauty. 
Signor Domenico Gagliani, Strada di 
Sta. Maria della Lettera, No. 25, has 
also a collection of similar character. 


History and Antiquities. 

What led the Emperor Frederick 
II. to confer on Catania the title of 
“ Chiarissima ” is not easy to say. 
The epithet in this case has certainly 
not its usual historical application, for, 
as has been truly said, were it not for 
Etna and St. Agatha, the annals of 
Catania would be barren and unin¬ 
teresting. The history of Catania is 
little more than the history of the 
volcano. 

Catana, which derives its name from 
its position “under Etna” — uar 
Atrvr)s —was one of the earliest Greek 
colonies in Sicily, founded by the 
Chalcidians of Naxos soon after their 
settlement of the latter town, and pro¬ 
bably about 730 b.c. The earliest 
event in its annals is its conquest in 
476 by Hieron I., who transferred its 
citizens to Leontini, and repeopled it 
from Syracuse and the Peloponnesus, 
giving it the new name of TEtna ; but 
in 461 the new citizens were driven 
out and the old ones restored. During 





ROUTE 26 . —CATANIA-ANTIQUITIES—THEATRE. 


407 


the Athenian expedition Catana be¬ 
came the headquarters of the invaders 
and the base of their operations against 
Syracuse. Dionysius took the city in 
403 b.c., and established there a body 
of Campanian mercenaries. In 396 
B.c. it fell to the Carthaginians in con¬ 
sequence of Himilcon’s great naval 
victory off this coast. Catana was one 
of the first places in Sicily that fell 
into the hands of the Romans, and 
under their rule it became one of the 
largest, wealthiest, and most flourish¬ 
ing cities in this island, as its relics of 
that antiquity abundantly testify. In 
ancient times Catana took no mean 
position in the scale of intellectual 
cultivation. It gave birth to the 
celebrated legislator and philosopher 
C'arondas, and attracted the poet 
Stesichorus, and the philosopher Xeno¬ 
phanes, as a residence. Here it is said 
men first learned to dance to the sound 
of the flute; and the first sun-dial ever 
seen in Rome was brought from this 
city. Under the Byzantine, Saracenic, 
and Norman domination, Catania 
maintained her importance, and still 
ranks in a material point of view as 
the third city of Sicily, though in in¬ 
tellectual eminence she yields to none. 

It is surprising that Catania, after 
having been repeatedly shaken down 
by earthquakes, and overwhelmed by 
torrents of fire, should retain any relics 
of ancient times, yet no city in Sicily 
surpasses her in the number and 
variety of her Roman remains. She 
boasts of possessing vestiges of an 
Amphitheatre, a Theatre, an Odeum, 
a Forum, a Gymnasium, a Basilica, 
a Curia, a Circus, a Naumachia, a 
triumphal Arch, several Temples, a 
Nymphamm, an Aqueduct, with nume¬ 
rous baths and sepulchres. Few of 
these remains are left standing above 
ground; of some the sites only are 
known, of many the nomenclature is 
doubtful, but several have been partly 
disinterred from the close embrace of 
the lava. 

Theatre. —Catania had a theatre in 
Greek times, for on the first invasion 
of the Athenians, 415 b.c., Alcibiades 
there beguiled the citizens with his | 


eloquence while his troops were 
treacherously taking possession of the 
city. Two centuries earlier the great 
lyric poet Stesichorus had introduced 
his musical choruses on the stage at 
Catania. But the structure now in 
part rescued from the lava is not the 
theatre of Hellenic days. It is pro¬ 
bably not earlier than the colonization 
of Catana by Augustus, though the 
massive uncemented masonry of the 
foundations suggests that it was erected 
on the earlier edifice. It was in great 
part destroyed by Count Roger, who 
used its materials in the construction 
of the new cathedral. The entrance is 
in the palace of the Principe di Guarda 
Savoja in the Largo di S. Francesco. 

The plan is a semicircle, with a 
diameter of 3104 feet, that of the 
orchestra being 77 feet. Two prse- 
cinctiones divided it into 3 parts, the 
two lower being devoted to seats, the 
upper to porticoes. The cavea was 
divided by 8 flights of steps into 9 
cunei , and there appear to have been 
33 tiers of seats, which were originally 
encrusted with marble. The orchestra 
was paved with marble and enclosed 
by a low podium of the same. In the 
centre of 4 alternate cunei on the lower 
tier are square recesses lined and 
floored with marble, for the seats of 
the most distinguished personages. 
Nothing remains of the scena , six 
columns from which now adorn the 
fa 9 ade of the Cathedral, but a small 
portion of the basement of the pro¬ 
scenium or stage is still visible. Not a 
vestige remains of the outer portico, 
some columns from which were also 
carried to the Cathedral, but its height 
can be determined by the vaults of 
the contiguous corridor, which are 
constructed of lava opus incertum, 
interrupted here and there by arches 
of brickwork to increase its stability. 
The walls of the corridors, however, 
like the rest of the structure, are of 
lava masonry. The theatre is so 
encumbered with modern buildings 
that not more than a quarter of it is 
uncovered. At the bottom of the large 
corridor is an aqueduct constructed of 
massive blocks of masonry, which may 
have belonged to the Greek theatre 



408 ROUTE 26 . —CATANIA—ODEUM-AMPHITHEATRE-BATHS. 


previously existing on this site. A 
flight of steps from the corridor leads 
to the 

Ocleum .—To the W. of the Theatre. 
On these steps is a block with a 
spirited relief of a man on horse¬ 
back. The Odeum is very similar in 
form, construction, and arrangement 
to the theatre, but much inferior in 
size. It served for the instruction of 
the choruses, and for musical and 
poetic contests. It was externally 131 
feet in diameter, and internally 48 
feet. It had no scena, corridors, or 
portico, but a simple stage with two 
orders of seats divided by a praecinctio, 
and externally was backed by a wall 
of lava, not semicircular, but in flat 
facets, 12 of which are visible from 
the outside. No seats are now to 
be seen in the cavea—only the con¬ 
verging vaults of opus incertum on 
which the seats rested. This building 
is also greatly encumbered with the 
houses of modern times. 

Amphitheatre. — This edifice lies 
beneath the Piazza Stesicorea, the 
greater part being covered by the 
modern city, so that it is difficult from 
the fragments visible to form a just 
conception of its dimensions. The 
entrance to it is from the Strada degli 
Arcibusieri. The precise date of its 
construction is unknown, but it pro¬ 
bably owes its origin to the colony sent 
here by Augustus; however that be, 
it evidences the great importance and 
population of Catana under the Roman 
emperors. In a.d. 498 it had already 
fallen into ruin, and the citizens be¬ 
sought Theodoric to allow them to 
demolish it for materials to repair the 
city walls. The king consented, and 
Gothic Catania thus destroyed the 
most splendid monument of her mag¬ 
nificence under the Romans. Yet so 
vast was the edifice, and so substantial 
its construction, that, notwithstanding 
tiie injury it suffered then and in 
succeeding ages, sufficient remains are 
still extant to attest its size, form, and 
architectural arrangement, though the 
greater part is covered by lava, or the 
debris of the city which has risen on 


the ruins. It is of the usual elliptical 
form; its entire length on the greater 
axis is 430 ft., and its extreme breadth 
366 ft.; while the arena measures 238 
ft. by 176. It thus ranks among the 
largest amphitheatres of antiquity, 
being inferior in size only to the 
Colosseum, and to those at Tarragona 
and Capua, and surpassing those of 
Syracuse, Pola, Verona, &c. The 
arena is now occupied by the Capuchin 
Convent. The only part of the struc¬ 
ture now visible is a portion of the 
corridors, a fragment of the external 
wall, some arches of the upper order, 
vaults of brickwork supporting the 
seats, some steps leadiug to the seats, 
which were of calcareous stone, traces 
of aqueducts flowing towards the arena, 
huge blocks of lava perforated for the 
posts of the velarium. The corridors 
are of lava opus incertum, with but¬ 
tresses and pilasters of lava masonry. 
The arches are of brick. In the inner 
and lower corridor you see the lava of 
1669, which overwhelmed the structure 
and filled the arena; and here also are 
2 dens lighted by apertures from above. 
A vaulted corridor appears to have 
surrounded the arena. Torches are 
necessary for the inspection of this 
amphitheatre. 

Le Terme, or Bagni Achillei, beneath 
the Cathedral.—After the earthquake 
of 1693 the upper portions were pulled 
down to fill up the lower, in order to 
strengthen the foundation for the re¬ 
construction of the Cathedral. For 
the few portions now visible the 
Catanesi are indebted to the zeal of 
Prince Ignazio of Biscari, who cleared 
out the rubbish, as far as the modern 
buildings would allow, and made the 
necessary restorations. A modem 
flight of steps, at the left angle of the 
facade of the Cathedral, leads down into 
a vaulted passage about 50 feet long, 
terminating in a lava arch of massive 
masonry, and with doors in the side- 
walls, one opening into a square vesti¬ 
bule with 4 isolated piers, and cross¬ 
vaults adorned with very pretty 
arabesques and reliefs in stucco. 
There are 4 parallel passages running 
from E. to W., and 3 crossing them 




409 


ROUTE 26. —CATANIA—ANTIQUITIES. 


from N. to S., supported on piers of 
lava masonry with capitals of brick¬ 
work. Here are several ancient aque¬ 
ducts, and the water of the Ame- 
nanus, deliciously cool and clear, still 
ilows through them in the thickness 
of the wall. The entire structure is 
composed of squared blocks of lava, 
and of brickwork lined with stucco. 

Le Stufe all' Indirizzo. —Under the 
Church of the Carmelites is an ancient 
Bath, which, though smaller than that 
just described, and for private use, has 
certain parts better preserved. You 
descend to a chamber with an aque¬ 
duct crossing it diagonally; from this 
you enter an octagonal hall, the 
apodyterium, or unrobing room, with a 
domed roof pierced with lights, and 
with niches in the walls for clothes. 
Beyond this are the hypocausta or 
furnaces, the tepidanum or tepid- 
chamber, the calidanum or vapour- 
bath, the balneum or hot-water bath, of 
marble, with other chambers to which 
other names might be given. The 
structure is of opus incertum of lava; 
the arches of brick, or of brick and 
lava alternating. The floors of many 
of the chambers were covered with the 
lava of 1669, which came up from 
below through the aqueducts, but did 
not rise to the vaults. Most of it was 
removed by the Prince of Biscari. 
In the hypocaustum observe the small 
columns of terracotta which support 
the floor. 

Sla. Maria della Itotonda, or II 
Panteone , near the Benedictine Con¬ 
vent. Other baths of ancient construc¬ 
tion stood to the N. of the Theatre, 
but of them now only remains an 
octagonal hall, roofed in by a hemi¬ 
spherical vault, like that of the Pan¬ 
theon at Rome, resting on 8 arches. 
It has long been converted into a 
church, and local tradition, which 
regards it as originally a Pantheon, 
states that it was consecrated to 
Christian worship by St. Peter himself 
in the year 44. One of the large arches 
leads to a vestibule of regular form, 
uniting the hall to the rest of the 
structure, fragments of which are 

[Sicily. 


seen behind the church. The edifice 
is constructed of lava masonry and 
brickwork, lined with a very fine 
stucco. The benitier is a Byzantine 
capital inverted. 

The other remains of Roman Catania 
within the walls are hardly worth the 
notice of the traveller ; we will do 
little more than enumerate them. 

Tempio del Sole, on the Salita della 
Maddalena, a fragment of a vaulted 
hall, covered with lava. 

Foro, in the Cortile S. Pantaleone.—- 
Remains of 10 chambers enclosed in 
modern houses, and commonly known 
as the Grotte di S. Pantaleo. 

Of the Circus and Naumacliia in the 
Stracla del Gallazzo, of the Gymna¬ 
sium in the Piazza of the Castle, and 
of the Nymphseum in the Piazza 
de’ Benedettini, no remains are now 
visible above ground. Beneath the 
Corso, especially in and around the 
Augustine Convent, are remains of 
ancient structures which are con¬ 
jectured to have been the Curia and 
Basilica, and a temple of Jupiter. 
From these ruins were drawn the 
beautiful torso of the Biscari Museum, 
and the columns which adorn the 
Piazza of S. Filippo, with other relics 
of ancient art. 

Tempio di Cerere, Bastione degli 
Infetti.—A few remains which have 
received this name from an inscription 
and a relief of Ceres found on the 

SJ30t. 

Arco di Marcello, Corso, 334.—Only 
the basement visible. 

Aqueduct. —Near the Bastione del 
Tindaro, the aqueduct which supplied 
ancient Catana with water from Li- 
codia, 16 m. distant, enters the city; 
and here is a large reservoir, called 
Castello del Tindaro, from whicli the 
water branches in different directions. 

Tombs. —The cemetery of the an¬ 
cient city lay to the N. and W., and 
there are several sepulchral monu¬ 
ments still visible, all of Roman times. 
They lie in the tract of argillaceous 
soil between the city and the Villa 
Carcaci, which has never been over¬ 
whelmed by lava. From the square in 

T 



410 


ROUTE 26 . —CATANIA—THE PORT. 


front of Sta. Maria di Gesii, a path to 
the 1. leads to the little chapel of Sta, 
Maria della Mecca, in the floor of which 
a flight of steps opens to a sepulchral 
vaulted chamber lined with stucco, 
with niches for the cilhe. Hard by, in 
the orange-garden of Signor Danielle, 
you see the lava of 1G69, which has 
baked the clayey soil it overwhelmed 
into a sand, red as brickdust. In the 
“ Selva,” or grounds of Sta. Maria di 
Gesii, is a large circular tomb of two 
stories, sunt: in a pit, and constructed 
of lava and brick rubble with cement, 
coated and lined with stucco. The 
lower story is well preserved, but the 
upper has almost disappeared. The 
interior of this tomb is vaulted with 
a dome almost conoidal, and in the 
walls are niches as if for cinerary urns. 
Yet the doorway, strange to say, is 
acutely pointed, and thus the sepulchre, 
which in other respects might pass for 
Roman, is proved to be of later times. 
Here is another tomb, quadrangular 
and of large dimensions, of Roman 
construction. In the Or to of the 
Minorite Convent, adjoining Sta. 
Maria to the S., is another sepulchre, 
with niches in its walls. In the 
grounds of the Villa of the Duca di 
Carcaci is a Roman altar of marble, 
which, from the inscription it bears, 
seems to have been used as a sepulchral 
monument. 

La Licatia. —Five miles N. of 
Catania, below Batiati, is an ancient 
monument now converted into a chapel. 
Externally it is square, but internally 
octagonal and vaulted. In 4 of its 
sides are arches, one serving for the 
entrance, the rest sunk in the wall. 
At first sight it seems to have been a 
bath, but its isolated position, and the 
absence of windows, renders it pro¬ 
bable its original purpose was sepul¬ 
chral. 

The Port. 

The Port of Catania is small and 
shallow, capable of holding only coast¬ 
ing craft and vessels of small tonnage, 
as its greatest depth is only 3^ fathoms. 
The commerce of the city is thus 
crippled greatly. In ancient times, 


when Catana was the chief port of 
export for the corn of the great Leon- 
tine plain, the harbour was of much 
superior size, and so it remained till 
the lava of 1GG9 encroached upon it, 
and reduced it to its present dimen¬ 
sions. Ever since the beginning of 
the 14th century the want of a Mole 
has been felt, and efforts have been 
made to construct one, but all failed 
till the work was undertaken in 1792 
by Giuseppe Zalira, who in 8 years 
constructed 85 yards of it. The work 
was not resumed till 1842, since which 
it has been extended 236 yards, the 
width being 47 yards. It is con¬ 
structed entirely of blocks of lava, and 
protected to seaward by a breakwater 
composed of rude masses of the same. 
It is creditable to the public spirit of 
the citizens of Catania that the work 
has been accomplished entirely at their 
own expense. Another mole parallel 
to the quay encloses a small basin 
called the Darsena. 

The port is overhung on the N. 
throughout its length by the old walls 
of Charles V., of massive lava masonry, 
in which open 3 gates—Porta Sara- 
cina, P. Grande, and the Arco alia 
Pescaria. To the E. these walls termi¬ 
nate in the large bastion of S. Salvatore; 
more in the middle, the Palazzo Biscari, 
and the Archbishop’s Palace, rest upon 
them—huge piles of an obsolete archi¬ 
tecture, in that exuberantly ornate 
style 'which in Spain would be called 
Churriguerresque. Next, the S. tran¬ 
sept of the Cathedral, with tall lancet 
windows pierced in its lava masonry, 
impends over the port. To this suc¬ 
ceeds the long and lofty wall of 
the Seminario, in which opens the 
Porta Grande or d’Uzeda, forming 
an imposing entrance to the city. 
The quay here widens out into a 
broad promenade, with an avenue of 
acacias and seats of marble, where 
the Catanesi take the cool in the 
summer evenings to the music of a 
military band. The Amenano flows 
into the port from beneath the Semi¬ 
nario. The street on the E. of the 
port leads to what Swinburne styles 
“ the greatest curiosity in Catania,” 









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411 


ROUTE 26 . —ETNA— 

Villa Sccilibrosa, a villa formed in 
the last centnvy by Prince Ignazio di 
Biscari, on the bosom of the lava of 
1G69, just where it flowed into the sea. 
Passing the Campo Santo, choked 
with the victims of the cholera in 
1837, you enter on the lava-torrent, 
which, black as coal, hard as iron, and 
tossed up into the wildest waves, 
seems to forbid even a pathway across 
its surface. Yet here the indefatigable 
Prince has smoothed down the rugged 
rock, erected houses, formed a garden, 
and planted trees in earth brought 
from a distance, constructed a carriage- 
road, and formed 2 large ponds of fresh 
water, supplied by springs that ooze 
through the lava. It is a dreary and 
forbidding spot for a residence, yet 
commands the finest view of Catania 
with Etna as its background. 


Etna. 

Etna, though known elsewhere only 
by its ancient name, in Sicily is more 
commonly called Mongibello, a hybrid 
word compounded of Mans and Gibel, 
the Arabic signifying the same thing 
as the Latin; the whole being empha¬ 
tically “ the mountain,” or “ mountain 
of mountains,” a term not inappro¬ 
priate; for, while the loftiest of the 
other peaks in the island hardly at¬ 
tains the altitude of G200 ft., Etna 
soars to the height of 10,874 ft. This 
at least is the result of Admiral 
Smyth’s trigonometrical observations 
in 1815, while in 1824 Sir John 
Herschel, by the barometer, obtained 
the height of 10,872J ft. It must be 
remembered, however, that the height 
of an active volcano cannot be de¬ 
finitively determined, being liable to 
vary from the elevation or depression 
of the cone consequent on eruptions. 
The average altitude, however, may 
be stated at something below 11,000 
ft. The circuit of the mountain 
by the high road along its lower 
slopes is 93 m. ; but its cir¬ 
cumference, as marked out by its 
natural boundaries, the sea, the Si- 
meto, and the Cantara, is at least 120 


CULTIVATED REGION. 

m. ; and if the entire district covered 
by its lavas be included, the circuit 
would be yet greatly extended. Those 
who seek a Phoenician origin for 
classical local names, and resolve such 
words as Herculaneum and Pom¬ 
peii into oriental elements, will main¬ 
tain that JEtna is derived from a 
Hebrew word signifying “ a furnace,” 
but its derivation from AWu will 
satisfy any reasonable philologist. 

This mountain has been justly re¬ 
marked to afford in itself an epitome 
of almost every climate in the world, 
being divided by nature into three 
distinct regions or zones, almost 
answering to those into which the 
globe itself is divided. 

Cultivated Region .—The lowest of 
these zones, called from its position 
Piedimontana , and from its charac¬ 
ter Colta, or Fertile, extends up the 
slopes to a distance varying from 
2 m. on the N. to 10 or 11 m. on the 
S. The soil, which is decomposed 
volcanic matter, is easily worked, and 
extremely productive, yielding the 
finest corn, wine, oil, and fruit in 
Sicily. “ No language can do justice 
to the scenery, fertility, and luxuriant 
verdure of this tract, whose bosom 
heated by subterranean fires, and situ¬ 
ated in the most favourable climate 
upon earth, teems with every flower 
and tree that can delight the eye, and 
every fruit that can gratify the palate; 
fields covered with golden gram or 
the purple vine, villages and convents 
embosomed in thick groves of ches- 
nuts and oriental planes, mossy 
fountains and transparent streams, 
exhausted craters covered with a 
verdant canopy of foliage, invite 
the tourist to these charming scenes.” 
— Hughes. Yet is this region far 
from being in its every part an 
earthly paradise. On every side of 
the mountain, but more especially on 
the western slopes, it is intersected 
by torrents of rugged black lava, 
which in past ages have overwhelmed 
all cultivation, and destroyed for cen¬ 
turies the capability of production, 
blasting wide tracts as with a curse, 
converting them into “ the abomina - 



412 


ROUTE 26 . -ETNA—WOODY AND DESERT REGIONS. 


tion of desolation.” The very fer¬ 
tility of the remainder of this region 
is owing to the same cause. Though 
on every hand the most luxuriant 
vegetation is seen in juxtaposition and 
startling contrast with the naked 
sterile lava, the soil which nourishes 
it is hut the bed of an earlier torrent, 
whose surface in the lapse of ages has 
been decomposed, and covered with 
rich mould; or it is volcanic ashes 
and triturated scoria? which in past 
eruptions have rained in showers 
of fire over the mountain. Such in a 
word is the fertility of the soil, that no 
other part of the island is so thickly po¬ 
pulated as this region of Etna, which 
contains 65 townships or villages, and 
nearly 300,000 souls; and nowhere in 
Sicily are the people so uniformly 
well housed, well clothed, and well 
fed, as on the lower slopes of Etna. 
These mountaineers revel in the en¬ 
joyment of their superior comfort, 
forget the peril of proximity to the 
fiery volcano, and philosophically 
“ seize the day,” troubling themselves 
with no anxiety for the future, or 
trusting in the veil of St. Agatha as 
their palladium. And, in truth, their 
danger is hardly so great as would 
at first appear, for very few eruptions 
—not more on an average than two 
in a century—extend their ravages 
into the “ Cultivated Region.” 

Woody Region. —Next succeeds the 
Regione Nemorosa or Selvosci, more 
commonly called II Bosco, a belt of 
forest, 6 or 8 m. in width, and afford¬ 
ing pasturage to numerous flocks and 
herds. The character of the forest 
differs in the several districts. In the 
Bosco of Paterno flourish the oak, 
the ilex, the beech, and the lime. 
Near Maletto are fine oaks, pines, 
and poplars. The Bosco of Bronte 
abounds in pines of large size. The 
Bosco of Catania, which extends from 
above Nicolosi to Zaffarana, produces 
the oak, fir, beech, cork, and haw¬ 
thorn. The Carpinetto, or the dis¬ 
trict between Mascali and Piraino, 
contains groves of cork-trees, and 
chesnuts of vast size; among them 
that vegetable marvel, the “ Castagno 


di Cento Cavalli.” And on the 
northern slopes, in addition to the 
forest-trees, are extensive groves of 
filberts. These woods are diversified 
by numerous cones, the craters of 
extinct volcanoes, a few still bare, 
and gloomy with ashes and scoria?, 
but most of them wooded to their 
summits, and with their basins also 
filled with luxuriant groves, present¬ 
ing sylvan scenes of Arcadian beauty. 
The scenery of this region is in gene¬ 
ral highly picturesque, in parts re¬ 
calling the finest park scenery of 
England; and the cool refreshing 
temperature is in grateful contrast- 
with the fervid heat of the lower 
region. Timber is not now cut to any 
extent; but of old the fleets of Syra¬ 
cuse were constructed with materials 
taken from this forest region of Etna. 
In this zone are found wild boar, 
roebuck, wild cats, foxes, badgers, 
ferrets, weasels, martens, hares, rab¬ 
bits, porcupines, hedgehogs, eagles, 
falcons, partridges, and a variety of 
game. Here, too, the flora of Etna, 
which reckons 477 species, seems to 
dispute at every step possession of the 
ground with the lava which is in¬ 
cessantly threatening it. 

Desert Region. —To the forest suc¬ 
ceeds the “ Desert Region,” commonly 
called Diserta , Netta, or Discoperta . 

“ pars camera frondet 

Arboribus; teritur nullo cultore cacumen.” 

Claud. Rapt . Pros . 

This commences, according to Ad¬ 
miral Smyth, at the height of 6279 ft. 
above the sea. The lower part of this re¬ 
gion produces a few lichens and stunted 
plants, but not a tree or shrub. All 
traces of vegetation, however, disappear 
as you ascend, and not a sign even of 
animal life is to be seen on the dreary 
waste of lava, ashes, and scoria? which 
forms the crest of the mountain, and 
where from a kind of plain rises the 
great cone itself, some 1100 ft. in 
height, eternally emitting sulphureous 
vapours. The whole of this upper 
part of the volcano is in winter 
covered with snow, which then de¬ 
scends far down into the woody region. 





413 


ROUTE 26 . —ETNA- 

but from June to October it is more 
or less bare—an expanse of black lava 
or grey ashes; the snow lying in 
patches only all the year round. Yet 
eternal winter reigns here. “In this 
lofty region, called by many the ‘ Re¬ 
gion of Snow/ the air is chill and 
piercing; every sign of life and vege¬ 
tation ceases; not an insect crawls 
over the cold surface of the ground; 
not a lichen adheres to the grey masses 
of the lava; not even the eagle’s wing 
soars so high to disturb the awful 
solitude of nature. Here only the 
thunder and the tempest, or the still 
more tremendous explosions of the 
volcano are heard.”-— Hughes. The 
extreme limit of vegetation on the 
mountain has been determined by the 
German geologist Hoffman to be at 
the height of 8628 ft. above the sea. 

Cones .—“ The most grand and ori¬ 
ginal feature in the physiognomy of 
Etna is the multitude of minor cones 
which are distributed over its flanks, 
and which are most abundant in the 
woody region. These, though they 
appear but trifling irregularities when 
viewed from a distance as subordinate 
parts of so imposing and colossal a 
mountain, would, nevertheless, be 
deemed hills of considerable altitude 
in almost any other region. Without 
enumerating numerous monticules of 
ashes thrown out at different points, 
there are about 80 of these secondary 
volcanoes of considerable dimensions; 
52 in the W. and N., and 27 on the E. 
side of Etna. One of the largest, called 
Monte Minardo, near Bronte,is upwards 
of700 ft.in height; and a double hill, 
near Nicolosi, called Monti Rossi, 
formed in 1669, is 450 ft. high and 
the base 2 m. in circumference, so 
that it somewhat exceeds in size the 
Monte Nuovo, near Puzzuoli. Yet it 
ranks only as a cone of the second 
magnitude amongst those produced by 
the lateral eruptions of Etna. On 
looking down from the lower borders 
of the desert region, these volcanoes 
present us with one of the most de¬ 
lightful and characteristic scenes in 
Europe. They afford every variety 
of height and size, and are arranged 
in beautiful and picturesque groups. 


-CONES—ERUPTIONS. 

However uniform they may appear 
when seen from the sea, or the plains 
below, nothing can be more diversified 
than their shape when we look from 
above into their craters, one side of 
which is generally broken down. 
There are, indeed, few objects in 
nature more picturesque than a wooded 
volcanic crater .”—Sir Charles Lyell. 

These secondary volcanoes appear 
to be formed entirely of ashes and 
scoriae The origin of the greater 
part of them is lost in the darkness of 
the prehistoric ages, but all belong to 
the present geological epoch. They 
are very numerous in the Woody 
Region, but diminish in number as we 
ascend, and very few are to be found 
near the summit of the mountain. 

Eruptions of Etna. 

The wonderful phenomena of this 
volcano were attributed by the ancient 
poets to the struggles of the giant 
Typhoeus or Enceladus (for the myths 
vary), who was buried beneath this 
mountain by Jupiter, after his victory 
over the Titans. Earthquakes were 
ascribed to his efforts to relieve him¬ 
self from the pressure ; the roars of 
the mountain were his groans; the 
fire and smoke were vomited from his 
mouth. 

“ Fama est Enceladi semi-ustum fulmine corpus 
Urgeri mole hac, ingentemque insuper yEtnam 
Impositamruptis flammam exspirare caminis; 
Et fessum quoties mutet latus, intremere 
omnem 

Murmure Trinacriam, et ecelurn subtexere 
fumo.” 

Virg. M?n. iii. 5?8. 

“ Vasta giganteis ingesta est insula membris 
Trinacris; et magnis subjectum molibus 
urguet 

Aatherias ausurn sperare Typhoea sedes. 
Nititur ille quidem, pugnatque resurgere 
saspe; 

Dextra sed Ausonio manus est subjecta 
Peloro; 

Lfeva, Pacliyne, tibi; Lilybaso crura pre- 
muntur; 

Degravat .Etna caput; sub quit resupinus 
arenas 

Ejectat, flammamque fero vomit ore Typhoeus. 
Siepe remoliri luctatur pondera terra 
Oppidaque, et magnos evolvere corpore 
montes. 

Inde tremit tellus, et Rex pavet ipse silen- 
tum.” 

Ovid. Met . v. 346. 




414 


ROUTE 26 . —ETNA—ERUPTIONS, TO 122 B.C. 


Another tradition represented Etna 
as the workshop of Vulcan and the 
Cyclops, who there forged thunder¬ 
bolts for Jupiter. Lucretius and other 
philosophical writers ascribed the 
eruptions to the escape of the winds, 
pent up in caverns in the heart of the 
mountain, which were supposed to 
abound in sulphur and other inflam¬ 
mable matter; or to the action of the 
waters of the sea upon the same 
materials. 

There are traditions of eruptions of 
Etna long before the historic era. 
Diodorus relates that, even prior to the 
Trojan War, the Sicani were driven 
from this side of the island by violent 
and frequent eruptions of the volcano. 
Homer, however, though he brings 
his hero Ulysses to the foot of the' 
mountain, says not a word of it, nor of 
its eruptions. Not till the period of the 
Greek colonization of Sicily have we 
authentic records of these phenomena. 

1st.—The first eruption on record 
happened in the time of Pythagoras, 
or dining the latter half of the 6th 
cent, n.c., but we know not the pre¬ 
cise date. It was on this occasion 
that Ampliinomus and Anapias, the 
“ Pii Fratres ” of Catania, so celebrated 
in ancient song and story, exhibited 
their filial piety. When the lava was 
invading the city, they thought not of 
saving their property, but placing their 
aged parents on their shoulders, they 
bore them away unharmed, the fiery 
torrent parting to leave a passage for 
their escape. Statues were raised and 
coins were struck in their honour, and 
the site of their sepulchres was for ages 
known as the “ Campus Piorum.” 

2nd—476 n.c.—This must be the 
eruption sung by iEschylus and Pin¬ 
dar. The former was in Sicily in 
471 b.c., and must have heard the 
eruption described by eye-witnesses. 
Pindar, also, only three years after the 
event, visited the Court of Hieron I. 
of Syracuse, and describes in language 
truthful as poetical “ the snowy Etna, 
the pillar of heaven, the nurse of sharp 
eternal snow, from whose deepest re¬ 
cesses are vomited forth purest foun¬ 
tains of unapproachable fire—rivers 
that by day pour forth a burning 


stream of smoke, but by night a ruddy 
rolling flame, bearing along rocks with 
loud crashing down to the deep level 
of the sea.” 

3rd—426 n.c.—Thucydides records 
another eruption in the 6tli year of the 
Peloponnesian War, which destroyed 
part of the territory of Catana. 

4th—396 n.c.—Thirty years later 
an eruption broke forth on the E. 
side of the mountain, and the lava 
flowed down to the sea, so as to com¬ 
pel Himilcon, the Carthaginian, on his 
way from Messana to Syracuse, to 
march his troops round the back of 
the mountain. “The course of the 
stream is yet to be distinguished a 
little to the S. of Giarre, and occupies 
the space of 24 m. from the summit to 
the sea, which it enters with a breadth 
of perhaps more than 2 m. The place 
is called Bosco cl'Aci. The torrent, 
covered lavas of still more ancient 
date.”— Ferrara. The volcano seems 
to have remained inactive for 2b cen¬ 
turies, as the next eruption recorded 
is during the Roman domination in 
Sicily. But in the interval there was 
a great eruption of Mount Epopeus, in 
Ischia, in the early part of the 3rd 
cent. b.c. 

5th.—In 140 b.c. in the consulship of 
C. Ltelius Sapiens and Q. Servilius 
Ciepio, when 40 people fell victims to 
the eruption. 

6th—135 b.c. —S. Flaccus and Q. 
Calpurnius Piso, Coss. 

7th. — In 126 b.c. the mountain 
poured forth streams of lava in various 
directions, accompanied by earth¬ 
quakes. The sea near Lipari toiled 
furiously; several ships were burnt 
by subterranean fires, and a quantity 
of dead fish were cast on the shore, 
which being devoured by the inhabit¬ 
ants, caused a fatal epidemic. 

8 th.—In 122 b.c. a terrible erup¬ 
tion iuflicted grievous injury on Ca¬ 
tana, burning many houses by showers 
of hot ashes, and the lava threatened 
the city with imminent destruction, 
when it suddenly turned at right 
angles and flowed into the sea, 1 m. 
to the N., in a stream £ m. wide. It 
is supposed to have issued from a 
crater a little above Gravina, about 



ROUTE 26 . —ETNA—ERUPTIONS, TO A.D. 1285 . 


2 J m. from Catania. In the year 92 
n.c. the volcano in Ischia again burst 
into activity. 

9th.—In 49 n.c., during the Civil 
War between Caesar and Pompey. 

10th.—In 44 n.c., immediately be¬ 
fore the deatli of the former. These 
two eruptions were believed to portend 
that event. Yirgil speaks of several 
eruptions at this period— 

“ Quoties Cyclopum effervcre in agros 
Vidimus undantem ruptis fornacibus AEtnam 
Flammarumque globos liquefactaque volvere 
saxa.” 

Georg , i. 471. 

11th.—In 38 b.c., during the Civil 
War between Octavianus and Sextus 
Pompeius, an eruption broke forth 
accompanied by fearful bellowings 
and bursts of flame, which so devas¬ 
tated the eastern side of the moun¬ 
tain, as to render it uninhabitable, and 
almost impassable from want of water. 

12th.—In 32 b.c. occurred another 
terrible outburst, which devastated 
the surrounding country. From this 
time the activity of the volcano ap¬ 
pears in great measure to have sub¬ 
sided. We hear of a partial eruption 

13tli—in a.d. 44, which frightened 
the Emperor Caligula away from 
Messina, but is not stated to have 
been attended with more serious con¬ 
sequences. 

14th —a.d. 72.—The next eruption 
occurred in the 2nd year after the 
capture of Jerusalem by Titus. 

For nearly 2 centuries /Etna re¬ 
mained quiescent, which may be 
explained by the sudden activity of 
Vesuvius, which in the year 79 burst 
forth into that terrible eruption that 
overwhelmed Pompeii and Hercula¬ 
neum ; and again broke out in 203. 

15th— a.d. 254.—In the reign of 
the Emperor Decius, /Etna was in 
eruption 9 days, vomiting with loud 
roars a torrent of lava which melted 
the rocks in its course, and threatened 
the city of Catania. It was on this 
occasion that the efficacy of St. 
Agatha’s veil was first tested. The 
terrified citizens rushed to the tomb of 
the saint, who had been martyred but 
the year before, and seizing the veil 
which covered it, bore it to the burn- 


415 

ing torrent, whose course was arrested 
on the instant. 

16th.— a.d. 420,—Another eruption is 
recorded as occurring in this year. The 
volcano after this appears to have 
slumbered for nearly 4 centuries ; at 
least we have no record of any eruption 
during that period, though Vesuvius 
was in activity 3 times—in a.d. 472, 
512, and 685. 

17tli— a.d. 812.—Etna now again 
burst forth, if we may credit Godfrey 
of Viterbo, who wrote 4 centuries later, 
and states that this eruption greatly 
alarmed Charlemagne, who happened 
then to be at Messina. 

Another interval of more than 3J 
centuries occurred, during which no 
less than 4 eruptions of Vesuvius are on 
record—in a.d. 993, 1036, 1049, and 
1139. That volcano then became 
dormant for a century and a half, while 
Etna resumed its activity. 

18th— a.d. 1169/—On 4th February, 
during the reign of William the Good, 
one of the most disastrous eruptions 
recorded in history took place. At 
daw r n on that eventful day, which was 
the vigil of the annual feast of St. 
Agatha, the cathedral of Catania being 
c-row r ded with people, on a sudden 
there occurred a most violent earth¬ 
quake, which shook all Sicily to its 
centre. Catania w r as in an instant 
one heap of ruins; not a house was 
left standing, and no less than 15,000 
persons were buried beneath the 
ruins. Lentini, and many other 
places in this district, were thrown to 
the ground. At Messina, the sea, 
after retiring a long way from the 
shore, rushed back with violence upon 
the city. The cone of Etna towards 
Taormina was shaken down. In 
many places new springs gushed 
forth, and old ones disappeared. 

19th.—Another eruption is recorded 
to have occurred in the reign of the 
Emperor Frederick II. (1197-1250), 
but the precise date is not knowm. 

20th— a.d. 1285.—In January this 
year, while Charles of Anjou, who had 
inflicted so much misery on Sicily, 
was on his deathbed, Etna was shaken 
by a tremendous earthquake, and a 
stream of lava burst forth on the E. 





416 


ROUTE 26 . -ETNA-ERUPTIONS, 1329 - 1447 . 


side of tlie mountain, and ran a course 
of 15 m. 

Iscliia, which had been dormant for 
14 centuries, broke again into activity- 
in 1302; and Vesuvius, which had 
slumbered for 167 years, burst out 
again in 1306, but after that remained 
quiescent for nearly 2 centuries more, 
during which time Etna had a series 
of eruptions. 

21st— a.d. 1329.—The first com¬ 
menced on 28th June of this year, 
and we have a detailed account of it 
from the pen of the chronicler Niccolo 
Speziale, who was at Catania at the 
time, and ascended the mountain to 
witness the phenomena more closely. 

A new crater, now called Montele- 
2 >re, opened above the rock of Mu- 
sarra, in the Val del Bove, on the 
eastern flank of the mountain, and 
vomited immense quantities of black 
smoke, which hung in the air like a 
dense cloud. Then, with a crash like 
thunder, a torrent of lava burst forth, 
while red-hot rocks were shot high 
into the air. The stream descended 
the eastern slope, which was shaken 
at the same time by violent and de¬ 
structive earthquakes. The eruption 
continued unabated till the 15th July, 
when another crater was opened near 
S. Giovanni Paparometto, 10 m. from 
the first to the S.E., and a new stream 
of lava burst forth. Then, after terri¬ 
ble shocks and crashing thunders, four 
other craters opened around it, vomit¬ 
ing lava and burning matter. The 
cone of the mountain was over¬ 
shadowed by immense columns of 
black smoke, illumined from time to 
time by vivid coruscations ; showers of 
ashes and sand obscured the air, and 
covered the whole surface of the coun¬ 
try, so that the cattle and birds 
perished for want of food, and these 
ashes and sand were even carried to 
Malta, a distance of 130 miles. The 
original torrent of lava from Montele- 
pre after a course of a few miles 
came to a stand. The lower stream, 
after filling several valleys in its de¬ 
scent, separated into three — two 
branches flowing towards Aci, the 
third approaching Catania; but the 
veil of St. Agatha displayed on the 


walls again proved efficacious in stay¬ 
ing its course. 

22nd—1333.—Four years later an¬ 
other eruption broke forth, recorded by 
the chronicler Silvaggio. 

23rd—1371.—An old MS. in the 
Sicilian dialect in the archives of the 
Duomo of Catania records an eruption 
of “Mungibeddu” on the 6th August 
of this j’ear. 

24th—1408.— On the 9tli November, 
in the reign of Martin and Bianca, 
a fresh outbreak occurred, first from 
the great crater, and then from several 
mouths which opened at the base of 
the mountain, above the convent of 
S. Nicola d’Arena, when the eruption 
of the great crater ceased. While it 
lasted, immense globes of fire were 
ejected, together with ashes and live 
coals, which fell near Messina, and 
even covered certain towns in Cala¬ 
bria. The venerable Benedictine 
monastery of Santa Maria Boscochiuso 
was burnt up by the lava of this erup¬ 
tion ; and the villages of Pedara and 
Tre Castagne were reduced to ashes. 
The eruption continued for 12 days. 

25th — 1444. — In this year the 
mountain was shaken by a violent 
earthquake, so that the greater part of 
the cone crumbled down into the 
crater, which was thus much increased 
in circuit. A torrent of lava at the 
same time threatened Catania, but 
after a course of 20 days was stayed as 
usual by the exhibition of St. Agatha’s 
veil. 

26th —1446.— Two years later a 
fresh eruption occurred on the 25th 
September, the lava bursting forth by 
the Bock of Musarra, near the site of 
the eruption of 1329; and the crater 
thus formed is supposed to be that 
now called Monte Fmocchio. 

27th—1447.—Another eruption is 
recorded on the 21st September of 
this year. 

t Diuing this series of 7 eruptions 
Vesuvius had remained in a state of 
inactivity, but it came again into play 
in the year 1500. For a period of 89 
years the fires of iEtna appeared ex¬ 
tinct. In 1533 the historian Filoteo 
descended into the crater, which was 
shaped like a funnel, and found at 




417 


ROUTE 26 . —ETNA—ERUPTIONS, TO 1603 . 


the bottom a hole hardly so large as a 
man’s head, which emitted a light sul¬ 
phureous vapour, very damp. So 
complete was the quiescence that it 
was hard to credit the stories of its 
past violence, for no eruption had oc¬ 
curred within the memory of man. 
Yet only 3 years later one of the most 
memorable eruptions of modern tunes 
took place. 

28th.—At the close of the 15th cent, 
occurred a memorable eruption, men¬ 
tioned by Bembo and Fazello, when 
the great crater threw out a torrent of 
lava which ran a course of 28 in., 
destroyed a large portion of Catania, 
and filled up the port of Lognina. 

29th—1536.—On the 23rd March a 
vast torrent of lava burst from the 
great crater, and from apertures newly- 
formed around it, and flowed down 
the slope into a hollow filled with 
snow, which it melted; so that the 
torrent, rushing headlong towards Ran- 
dazzo, swept away flocks and herds, 
houses and trees, and every obstacle it 
encountered in its course. At the 
same time another stream of lava 
flowed down towards Bronte and 
Aderno in a slow, intermitting cur¬ 
rent, like melted iron; while hor¬ 
rible convulsions shook the mountain, 
and fearful roars struck terror into 
its inhabitants. Three new craters 
were formed on the S. and W. 
slopes. The whole island was covered 
with the ejected ashes, which were 
borne across the Straits into Calabria, 
and even carried by the winds to 
Crete. On the 26tli twelve new cra¬ 
ters opened between Monte Manfre 
aud Monte Vituri on the S. slope, and 
vomited a vast river of fire, which 
overwhelmed the cli. of St. Leo in the 
Bosco, and continued its devastating 
course till 4th April, when it ceased to 
flow. 

30th—1537. — After a rest of 12 
months the volcano made a fresh out¬ 
burst in May, 1537, when for 12 days 
all Sicily was terror-struck by fearful 
peals of thunder, and frequent roars 
like discharges of artillery, but far 
louder, which were heard at Sciacca, 
Palermo, and even at Trapani, and 
were all attended by strong shocks of 


earthquakes. New mouths were 
opened near Le Fontanelle, on the S. 
slope, the lava from which flowed 
down with such fearful velocity that 
in 4 days it had run 15 miles, destroy¬ 
ing a great part of the villages of 
Nicolosi, Mompilieri, and S. Antonio. 
Ashes and dust were ejected in such 
quantities as to obscure the sun for 
many days, and to ruin the olive 
and silk-plantations at Messina, and 
even in Calabria as far as Cosenza, and 
to cover the sails of ships 300 miles off 
in the Adriatic. When the ashes 
ceased, the roars of the volcano re¬ 
commenced, and in the midst of them 
the cone, which since its fall in 1444 
had been renewed, again sunk within 
the crater, diminishing the altitude of 
the mountain by 320 feet. Towards 
the end of July almost the whole of 
Sicily was obscured in thick darkness. 
Soon after the eruption, Cardinal 
Bembo and the native historians Filo- 
teo and Fazello ascended the mountain, 
and found the lip of the crater on a 
level with the Piano del Lago. 

In the following year the volcanoes 
of the Phlegrman Fields broke into 
activity, and in 48 hours threw up the 
mountain called Monte Nuovo. In 
1542 a fearful earthquake shook the 
whole of Sicily. Palermo and even 
Trapani suffered severely, but the 
effects were most strongly felt in the 
Yal di Note. At Catania, Syracuse, 
Augusta, Mineo, Vizzini, Melilli, Mili- 
tello, and Caltagirone many buildings 
were destroyed. But no eruption of 
Etna took place. 

31st — 1566. — In November this 
year a new crater opened near Lingua- 
grossa, on the N.E. slope, and two 
others not far from it towards Ran- 
dazzo, which ejected streams of lava 
and large quantities of fiery matter. 
One of the latter craters, from the roars 
to which it gave vent, has received the 
name of “the Devils’ Caldron,” Cal- 
daja de Diavoli. Linguagrossa is in 
great part built on the lava of this 
eruption. 

32nd—1578.—A small eruption is 
recorded by Pirri as happening this 
year. 

33rd—1603.—Immense columns of 

t 3 





418 


ROUTE 26 . —ETNA—ERUPTIONS, 1607 - 1669 . 


smoke with flame rose this year from 
the crater, while the mountain was 
shaken by violent earthquakes. These 
phenomena continued at intervals for 
four years. 

34th—In 1607 a torrent of lava 
burst from the great cone, and flowed 
down into a small lake formed by the 
melting of snow, filling it up, though 
the site is still known as the Piano 
del Lago. The discharges of fiery 
matter continued with intervals till 
1610. 

35th—1610.—On 6th February a 
lava-stream burst from a new crater, 
and flowed towards Aderno, filling up 
the bed of the Simeto a little above 
the Ponte di Carcaci. A second tor¬ 
rent burst forth on 3rd May, and took 
the same direction in a stream 5 miles 
in length and 2 in breadth, over¬ 
whelming a large part of the Pinita, 
or Pine-wood, and many vineyards in 
the neighbourhood of Cisterna. 

36th — 1614.— After many earth¬ 
quakes, several craters opened above 
Randazzo, and the lava from all, 
uniting, ran a course of 10 m., and 
destroyed a large district of the Bosco. 

37th—1619.—A slight eruption took 
place this year. 

After these frequent outbreaks Etna 
was quiet for 14 years, while Vesu¬ 
vius, which had lain dormant for 131 
years, broke in 1631 into one of the 
most memorable and destructive erup¬ 
tions of modern times. 12 months 
only after Vesuvius had sunk to rest 
Etna resumed its activity. 

38th—1634.—On the night of 21st 
February, 1633, a violent earthquake 
shook Nicolosi, destroying a portion 
of the village, and burying 16 people 
in the ruins. This was the herald of 
the eruption of the following year, 
which commenced in December with 
tremendous earthquakes, which shook 
all the villages on the S. flank. On 
the 19th a new mouth opened 5 m. 
below the summit, just above the cone 
called Serrapizzuta, and in the midst 
of the snow, which then covered the 
mountain. The lava in 2 days co¬ 
vered a large and fertile plain; then, 
turning eastward, stopped awhile be¬ 
neath the mount called Salto del Cane, 


but did not finally come to a stand 
till it had run more than 6 miles. On 
the 27th another mouth opened, 2 m. 
to the E. of the former, and vomited 
smoke alone, which from that moment 
ceased to rise from the great crater. 
The eruption continued, attended by 
violent explosions and frequent earth¬ 
quakes, till 1638, by which time the 
lava torrent had covered a tract 18 m. 
in length by 2 in width, with a bed of 
matter 42 ft. in depth. 

In 1643 a great earthquake took 
place, which did much injury, espe¬ 
cially to Troina and in its neighbour¬ 
hood. 

39th—1646.—On 20th November a 
crater opened 5 m. below the summit 
to the N.N.E., and the lava flowed 
towards Castiglione, destroying much 
vegetation in its course. 

40th—1651.— A protracted erup¬ 
tion broke out in February this year; 
several new craters opened in the 
higher part of the mountain, and the 
lava came down in so impetuous a 
torrent that in 24 hours it ran a dis¬ 
tance of 16 m. with a breadth of 4, 
and threatened to overwhelm Bronte. 
But, after burning some houses of the 
town, it turned off and followed the 
declivity, stopping short just above 
the river Simeto. Etna was not 
wholly at rest till 1654, when it re¬ 
mained quiet for 15 years, while Vesu¬ 
vius broke into eruption in 1660. But¬ 
in 1669 occurred one of the most 
terrible eruptions of Etna on record. 

41st—1669.—There are many nar¬ 
ratives of this catastrophe extant, but 
the best for its scientific information is 
that of Alfonso Borelli, professor of 
mathematics; and, for its historical 
details, that of Tedesclii, of Catania. 
This eruption commenced on the 8th 
March, by the obscuration of the day 
like an eclipse of the sun, followed 
by a furious whirlwind, and earth¬ 
quakes, at first weak, but gradually 
increasing in strength, till on the 11th 
the people of Nicolosi could not keep 
their legs, and everything around 
them seemed to be heaving and rolling- 
like ships in a rough sea. Before 
noon the whole village was a heap of 
ruins. That same morning, after fear- 



419 


ROUTE 26 . —ETNA—ERUPTION OF 1669 . 


fill bcllowings, a fissure opened in the 
mountain, beginning at the Piano di 
S. Lio, and extending upwards in a 
tortuous line as far as Monte Fru- 
mento, only 1 m. below the summit. 
Its course was from N. to S. ; it was 
12 m. in length, but only G ft. wide, 
and of unknown depth. It emitted a 
vivid light. The same afternoon, 6 
other mouths opened in a direct line 
with the fissure, vomiting columns of 
sand and smoke to the height of 
1200 ft., accompanied by subterranean 
roars and terrible thunders, which 
could be heard at the distance of 
40 miles, and such convulsions of tire 
earth that Catania, 12 m. off, was tot¬ 
tering to its fall. At the close of the 
day another and still larger mouth 
opened a mile below the others, but 
in the same line, which to the same 
phenomena added the ejection of red- 
hot stones to an enormous height, and 
of sand and ashes in prodigious quan¬ 
tities, which covered the country to 
the distance of GO miles. From this 
mouth gushed a stream of lava which 
soon spread out to the width of 2 m., 
and on its descent encountered the 
wooded cone of Mompilieri, which it 
encircled with flames; then, turning 
westward, it next day reached Bel- 
passo, a town of 8000 inhabitants, 
which, in a short time, was entirely 
submerged in a sea of fire. The 
same day, that portion of the torrent 
which had encountered Mompilieri, 
forcing its way through subterranean 
caverns, issued from the opposite side, 
and by melting down its foundations 
caused the hill to sink, rending it at 
the same time into long open fissures. 
The same evening 7 fresh mouths 
opened round the large one, vomiting 
smoke and red-hot stones with terrific 
roars; and in 3 days they united with 
the original mouth to form one vast 
crater—a horrible chasm, some 2500 
feet in circuit. By the 23rd, the tor¬ 
rent, advancing with a front of 2 m., 
had overwhelmed many houses, and a 
good portion of the town of Masca- 
lucia. The same day, the great mouth 
cast up ashes, sand, and scorice in 
such quantities as to form an enor¬ 
mous double conical mound, now 


known as the Monti Rossi, and to 
cover the houses in the neighbouring 
villages to a depth of 6 feet, so that 
the peasantry were forced to seek 
refuge in Catania. On the 25th, vio¬ 
lent earthquakes shook down the 
great cone into the crater, so as to 
lower considerably the height of the 
mountain. The matter thus crum¬ 
bled down was hurled back again in 
black columns of dust, which ob¬ 
scured the day. The lava, mean¬ 
while, had separated into 3 streams, 
which committed fearful havoc. One 
destroyed the village of S. Pietro; 
another that of Camporotondo ; the 
third, at first J m. wide, devastated 
the land of Mascalucia, destroyed 
S. Giovanni di Galermo, and, fed by 
fresh streams till it attained the 
width of 4 miles, proceeded towards 
the town of Misterbianco, which it 
encircled with its fiery arms and ut¬ 
terly destroyed. After overwhelming 
14 towns and villages, some with a 
population of between 3000 and 4000 
souls, it turned towards Catania, and 
by 1st April it had reached Albanelli, 
hardly 2 m. from that city, where it 
lifted up and transported to a con¬ 
siderable distance an argillaceous hill 
covered with cornfields, and then an 
entire vineyard, which floated for 
some time on its burning bosom. 
Continuing to advance, it filled up a 
lake. La Gurna di Nocita, outside 
Catania, overthrew a large aqueduct 
and many ancient monuments, till at 
length it reached the walls at a 
spot called “ II Bctstione derjli Irifetti .” 
Meeting this obstacle, the lava-flood 
accumulated till it rose to the top of 
the rampart, which was 60 feet in 
height, and then tumbled over in a 
cascade of fire, overwhelming part of 
the city, with the ruins of the ancient 
Naumachia and Circus. The wall 
was not here overthrown by the 
weight of the torrent, for when un¬ 
covered long after by excavations it 
stood erect with the lava curling over 
the top like a rocky billow, as is still 
visible. In another part, however, 
the lava threw down the walls for the 
length of 120 ft., and entered the 
city through the breach. It con- 



420 


ROUTE 26 . -ETNA—ERUPTIONS, 1669 - 1688 . 


tinned its course to the Castle Ursino, 
tilling the fosses; and covering up the 
delightful gardens on this S. side of 
the city. On the 23rd April it reached 
the sea, which it entered in a stream 
2 m. wide, till it formed a promon¬ 
tory more than half a mile in advance 
of the original shore. Then began a 
contest between the water and the 
tire, which even those who were eye¬ 
witnesses felt it impossible to describe. 
The lava, cooled at its base by con¬ 
tact with the water, presented a per¬ 
pendicular wall 30 or 40 ft. high. As 
the fiery torrent, rolling onwards in 
a viscous mass, reached the adverse 
element, the water began to boil 
furiously, and shoot jets and scorije 
into the air, while clouds of steam 
rose with a horrible whistling sound 
to obscure the sun, and then fell 
again in a salt shower. At the close 
of April, the stream on the W. of the 
city, which had seemed completely 
consolidated, burst forth anew, and 
flowed into the garden of the Bene¬ 
dictine Convent, enclosing the build¬ 
ing on the W. and N., and splitting 
the walls with the intense heat. 
Here, however, it separated; one 
branch, flowing round the convent, 
entered the city, and burnt the clis. 
of S. Maria Maggiore and S. Gero- 
nimo ; the other took the direction of 
the Corso, and destined numerous 
houses. This being on the highest 
ground, the fiery torrent threatened to 
overwhelm the entire city; and at¬ 
tempts were made by erecting walls 
to stay or divert its progress. The 
method, however, which was attended 
with most success was to break open 
the outer crust on the flank of the 
great torrent, so as to allow the 
liquid matter to escape in a different 
direction. But on the new stream 
taking the direction of Paterno, 500 
men of that town took up arms and 
stopped these proceedings. While 
Catania was thus surrounded by lava, 
the light emitted at night j was so 
brilliant that the smallest print or 
writing could be read with ease in 
any part of the city. Four months 
elapsed before the flow of lava was 
finally stayed. Its course can still be 


traced in every part. “ This great 
current performed the first 13 m. of 
its course in 20 days, or at the rate of 
162 feet per hour; but required 23 
days for the last 2 m., giving a velo¬ 
city of only 22 feet per hour; and we 
learn from Dolomieu that the stream 
moved during part of its course at the 
rate of 1500 ft. an hour, and in others 
took several days to cover a few 
yards.”— Lyell. it covered about 50 
square miles with lava, in parts 100 ft. 
deep, and destroyed the dwellings of 
27,000 persons. Borelli estimated 
the quantity of matter thrown out to 
be 93,838,750 cubic paces, but this 
has been shown by Ferrara to be 
much below the mark, as the length 
of the stream was at least 15 m.; and 
its average width for a great part was 
4, and in the other parts 3 or 2 m. 
Two years after it had ceased to flow, 
on the mass being broken open, flames 
issued from the aperture ; and 8 years 
after, vapour might still be seen rising 
from the lava after a shower of rain. 
Of the vast masses ejected from the 
crater, Borelli calculated the diameter 
of one to be 50 ft.; it was hurled to 
the distance of a mile, and fell with 
such force as to penetrate the earth 
to the depth of 25 ft. 

In 1676, and again in August, 1682, 
Vesuvius was in eruption, and in Sep¬ 
tember of the latter year, Etna re¬ 
sumed its activity. 

42nd—16S2.—A new mouth opened 
a little below the summit to the E., 
and a lava-stream issuing from it with 
terrific roars, precipitated itself over 
the precipices into the Val del Bove, 
and readied the Rocca di Musarra, 
running a course of 4 m. This erup¬ 
tion is described by Massa, an eye¬ 
witness, to whom we also owe a record 
of that which followed. 

43rd—1688.—After 7 hours of in¬ 
cessant tliunderings, which seemed to 
shake the mountain to its base, an 
immense streanrof lava burst from an 
opening in the great cone, descended 
into the recently desolated Val del 
Bove, and filled it for the length of 
3 m. The burning torrent fell upon 
enormous heaps of snow and ice, which 
occasioned a fearful conflict of the 




421 


ROUTE 26 . —ETNA—ERUPTIONS, 1689 - 1782 . 


elements, attended by curious pheno¬ 
mena, among which may be noticed 
“ a vast cupola of snow, left standing 
to an enormous height, the fire having 
destroyed the internal part, and left 
the walls on which it rested.”— Fer¬ 
rara. 

44th—1G89.—On 14th March the 
lava burst from an opening in the Yal 
del Bove, 2 m. from the summit, and 
descending to the cultivated districts 
burnt up plantations and vineyards, 
and after a course of more than 10 m. 
stopped in a little valley near the 
village of Maccliia. This lava, which 
is that now called Serrapizzuta, is still 
sterile and desolate. While some 
Franciscan friars were looking at the 
lava from a hill near Montecaliato, 
the hill suddenly crumbled beneath 
their feet, and 4 of them lost their 
lives. 

45tli—1693.—This year was a most 
disastrous one for Sicily. On 9th 
January, Etna began to vomit smoke 
and flames. In the night a violent 
earthquake did much damage to Ca¬ 
tania, killing some of the citizens. 
The next day, at 3 p.m., after fearful 
subterranean rumblings, as of a pent- 
up wind, came another terrific shock, 
accompanied by an explosion, such as 
could only have been produced, says 
one who heard it, by all the artillery 
in the world being discharged at 
once ; and by an oscillation so violent 
that no man could keep his feet. In 
an instant Catania was a heap of ruins 
beneath which lay buried 18,000 of its 
inhabitants. The same shock de¬ 
stroyed in a moment 50 cities and 
towns, and shattered many others in 
various parts of Sicily; and no less 
than 60,000, some say 100,000, persons 
lost their lives. The Catanesi who 
remained alive found themselves pre¬ 
sently flooded by the sea, which was 
thrown on to the shore with immense 
violence, and inundated the city. 
Numerous long fissures opened, which 
threw out sulphureous water; and 
one in the plain of Catania, 4 m. from 
the sea, cast up salt-water. The 
earthquake was followed immediately 
by heavy rains, and a terrific thunder¬ 
storm, which drowned the cries of 


those buried beneath the ruins, and 
spread the', utmost confusion among 
the survivors of this catastrophe. At 
the moment of the earthquake a cloud 
of dust arose from the city, so dense 
as to obscure the day, and many 
streams of fire burst from the crater 
and rushed down the slopes, while a 
canopy of black smoke hung like a 
pall over the mountain, and reflected 
the glare of its fires. The great cone 
was much lowered by this eruption. 

46th—1694.—Etna and Vesuvius 
both broke into eruption in the month 
of March ; but the latter soon resumed 
its tranquillity, while Etna continued 
active to the end of the year. It does 
not appear to have ejected lava, but it 
vomited immense quantities of ashes 
and sand which were very destructive 
to vegetation, and most annoying to 
the inhabitants of Catania, and were 
carried by the wind as far as Malta. 

In 1696, 1698, and 1701, there were 
feeble eruptions of Vesuvius. Etna 
then recommenced. 

47th—1702.—On the 8th March, 
3 new mouths opened in the Contrada 
del Trifoglietto, at the head of the 
Val del Bove. The lava descended 
in many branches into the delightful 
valley of Calanna, which it devas¬ 
tated. The eruption ceased on the 
8 th May. 

Etna was now dormant for 21 years, 
while Vesuvius was 4 times in erup¬ 
tion during that period, viz. in 1707, 
1712, 1717, 1720. 

48th —1723. — In November the 
mountain uttered terrific roars, at¬ 
tended by earthquakes, while a dense 
column of black smoke rose from the 
crater, assuming the form of an enor¬ 
mous pine-tree, just as Pliny has de¬ 
scribed in the celebrated eruption of 
Vesuvius which overwhelmed Pom¬ 
peii. On the 23rd, a torrent of lava 
issued from the crater, and took the 
direction of Bronte, desolating the 
woody region and the cultivated coun¬ 
try below it: but it came to a stand 
in the May following, after running a 
course of 8 m. The crater, being 
filled with lava and scoriae by this 
eruption, assumed a new form. 

49th—1732.—In November, 1726, 



422 


ROUTE 26 . -ETNA—ERUPTIONS, 1735 - 1759 . 


there were several severe shocks of 
earthquakes, which did mischief in 
various parts of the island, but chiefly 
at Palermo, where many buildings 
were thrown down, and some hundreds 
of persons buried beneath the ruins. 
But no eruption occurred till 9th De¬ 
cember, 1732, when a lava-stream is¬ 
sued from the crater, and flowed down 
the western slope, but committed no 
serious injury, coming to a stand in 
January, 1733. In the interval between 
the last 2 eruptions, Vesuvius was twice 
inactivity—in 1728 and in 1730. 

50th—1735.—At the beginning of 
October the volcano uttered such 
tremendous roars, attended by earth¬ 
quakes, “ that for 3 days it seemed as 
though it were on the point of utter 
destruction.” The shocks were felt, 
and the roars heard, at the distance of 
30 m.; and Catania was in the greatest 
terror. On the 4th, the bellowing 
crater ejected flames and red - hot 
stones to an immense height with a 
terrific crash, and 3 torrents of lava 
issued from it, taking different direc¬ 
tions ; one towards Mascali, another 
towards Linguagrossa, and the third 
towards Bronte; but their course was 
so sluggish that they did not get be¬ 
yond the upper region of the moun¬ 
tain. The volcano was not at rest till 
July, 173G. 

51st—1744.—In 1737 Vesuvius was 
again active. In 1744 occurred a 
feeble eruption of Etna, which threw 
up vast quantities of ashes, but no 
lava, and continued to the following 
year. 

52nd—1747.—In September, after 
the volcano had been vomiting fire for 
some time, the lava forced a passage 
through the cone, and descended into 
the Val del Bove, which it continued 
to do till the new year, while the 
crater constantly ejecting red - hot 
matter, increased greatly the height 
of the cone. Vesuvius was in eruption 
in 1751 and 1754. 

53rd—1755.—From the beginning 
of the year the volcano had been dis¬ 
turbed ; but on 2nd March an im¬ 
mense column of black smoke rose 
from the crater, and hung over the 
eastern slope of the mountain, fre¬ 


quently emitting forked lightning, 
attended by tremendous detonations, 
which struck consternation into the 
inhabitants. Two streams of lava the 
same day issued from the crater, one 
of which came to a stand in the higher 
part of the mountain; the other flowed 
down to the E., and in 24 hours ran 
3 m., or as far as Montelepre. On 
the 6th an immense column of ashes 
was thrown out, which covered the 
country on the E. slope. Three days 
after, a new mouth opened behind 
the Kocca di Musarra in the Val del 
Bove, 4 m. below the summit, the lava 
from which ran a course of 3 m. in 6 
days. During this eruption the 
streams of burning matter, meeting the 
enormous masses of snow accumulated 
during the winter in the upper regions 
of the mountain, reduced them to tor¬ 
rents of water, which poured over the 
precipices of the Val del Trifoglietto, 
and rushed furiously down to the sea, 
8 m. distant, tearing up and bearing 
away everything they encountered. 
Their course may still be marked by 
the sand, scorise, and blocks of lava 
they brought down from the upper 
regions. The crater continued to eject 
fiery matter for some time, which, 
accumulating round it, increased its 
altitude. This same year is memor¬ 
able for the tremendous earthquake 
which, on 1st November, destroyed 
Lisbon and 60,000 of its inhabitants, 
and was felt with more or less severity 
in Italy, Spain, Barbary, Madeira, 
Turkey, Holland, Switzerland, Ger¬ 
many, Sweden, the British Isles, and 
even North America and the West 
Indies. In November, 1758, after a 
smart shock, which was most felt at 
Bronte, while the volcano was at per¬ 
fect rest, the cone, which had been 
elevated by the recent eruption, gave 
way and crumbled down into the 
crater. The same year Vesuvius was 
again active. 

54th—1759.—Shortly after the fall 
of the cone Etna again burst forth, 
casting up volumes of smoke and 
ashes, with terrific roars and explo¬ 
sions ; and many streams of lava over¬ 
flowed the crater, but did not descend 
below the desert region. This con- 





423 


ROUTE 26 . -ETNA—ERUPTIONS, 1763 - 1780 . 


tinued with intervals of calm to 
August, when, with a tremendous 
crash which struck terror into all the 
inhabitants of Etna, almost all the 
matter of the cone fell into the crater, 
leaving 2 points standing at opposite 
extremities, so as to give the mountain 
the appearance of being double- 
peaked. In December, 1760, Vesu¬ 
vius resumed its activity. In Sep¬ 
tember, 1761, heavy rains on Etna 
caused fearful floods on the eastern 
slope, which did immense damage, 
sweeping away great part of the 
houses of Aci Catena with 60 of the 
inhabitants. 

55th— 1763.—On February 6th, 
after Bronte had been shaken by a 
succession of violent earthquakes, a 
new mouth opened in the Bosco di 
Bronte, 4 m. below the summit, and 
10 above the town, between the old 
craters of Monterosso and Montelepre. 
Blowing the old lavas above it into 
the air, the new torrent flowed gently 
from this and from 4 other mouths, 
which opened one after the other in a 
direct line, and threw up with explo¬ 
sions and earthquakes, scoria}, and 
red-hot stones in great quantities. The 
lava extended down the slope in a line 
5 m. long, by 1 m. in breadth. On the 
18tli June there opened, 3 m. below 
the summit to the S., first one mouth 
and then many around it, ejecting 
volumes of smoke, ashes, and sand. 
From these mouths a fissure opened 
running downwards from N. to S. for 
more than 2000 ft., vomiting smoke 
and ret-liot matter. Lava also poured 
from the mouths, and, after a course of 
4 m., invaded the Bosco, burning the 
forest to a great extent. It then 
separated; one branch running 7 m., 
the other 10 m., down the slope, with 
a front 250 ft. wide and 25 ft. high. 
The eruption continued till Sep¬ 
tember. 

56tli—1766.—On the 28th March 
there was an eruption of Vesuvius; 
and before this had entirely subsided 
Etna burst forth afresh, commencing 
on 26tli April with earthquakes, in¬ 
creasing in frequency and violence 
till the evening of the next day, when 
with a thunder-crash a new mouth 


was opened a little below that which 
had thrown out so much lava 3 years 
before. With horrid roars it threw 
up enormous volumes of ashes and 
scoriae, which falling formed a large 
cone, over which the lava poured 
in a magnificent cascade of fire. 
Other mouths opened above this new 
crater, all in the same line, and 
the lava from them all uniting,, 
flowed downwards in a torrent 2 m. 
wide, and 40 ft. deep; traversed the 
woody region, which it devastated; 
branched to the E. and S., and, ad¬ 
vancing at the rate of 1 m. an hour, 
caused the utmost consternation in 
Nicolosi and Pedara. The earth for 
10 m. round was extremely hot, and 
in certain spots violently convulsed.. 
In May many other mouths opened, 
vomiting lava, smoke, and ashes. The 
eruption continued till November. 
For a long time afterwards a vivid 
light was emitted by the new crater. 
Brydone, who ascended the mountain 
4 years afterwards, describes it as still 
smoking, and making explosions like 
heavy cannon at a distance. The 
lava was not then cold, and in many 
places emitted volumes of smoke,, 
which were always increased after rain. 
Where it had run into gullies, and 
filled them up to the depth of 200 ft., 
it retained the greatest heat. Monte 
Nero, above the Grotta delle Capre, 
was almost submerged by this lava. 
The Canon Recupero, who has re¬ 
corded the phenomena of this erup¬ 
tion, relates that having ascended a 
small hill of ancient volcanic matter,, 
to witness the slow approach of the 
lava-stream, which was 2| m. broad, 
on a sudden 2 small threads of liquid 
fire burst from the main stream, and 
ran rapidly towards the hill. He and 
his guide had barely time to escape 
when they saw the hill, which was 50 
ft. high, surrounded by the lava, and 
in a quarter of an hour melted down 
into the burning mass, so as to flow on 
with it. 

Etna now slumbered for 14 years, 
while Vesuvius was 4 times in erup¬ 
tion—in 1767, 1770, 1776, 1779. 

57tli—1780.—After several severe 
earthquakes in the spring, which 



424 


ROUTE 26 . -ETNA—ERUPTIONS, 1780 - 1792 . 


were felt all over Sicily, tlie crater 
vomited copious flames and smoke, 
soon followed by an abundance of 
lava. The ejections were preceded 
and accompanied by violent shocks 
and tremendous explosions, which 
drove the terrified inhabitants into 
the fields all night. These convul¬ 
sions were felt most strongly in the 
direction of Messina. At All and 
Fiumedinisi they were so violent that 
a new volcano was expected to open 
in that neighbourhood. Vulcano, the 
nearest of the iEolian Isles, which had 
been extinct as a volcano for ages, 
broke into partial eruption. On 18th 
May, after tremendous roarings in the 
heart of Etna for many days, a fissure 
opened at the base of the crater to the 
S.W., and extended for 7 m. in that 
direction, till it terminated in a new 
mouth, at a spot called Tacca della 
Sciacca, whence issued a stream of 
lava. This, encountering the cone 
called M. Palmintelli, separated into 
2 branches, each 400 ft. wide. That 
to the W. expended itself in filling 
hollows in the mountain ; that to the 
E. in 4 days overran more than 8 m. 
of cultivated land. On the 25th, 
other mouths opened at a short dis¬ 
tance from the first, and the lava 
devastated the fertile country of Mon- 
temazzo and Realma. The eruption 
continued to the end of May. Its 
peculiarity was that the lava was 
ejected from these lateral mouths 
without the usual roars, and unac¬ 
companied by other volcanic matter. 
Though Etna was at rest, and Vul¬ 
cano had ceased to roar, Messina was 
shaken by earthquakes throughout 
the summer. 

58th—1781.—In April this year 
Etna renewed its explosions and inter¬ 
nal roars, and ejected a quantity of grey 
ashes, which fell in a shower to the 
distance of GO m. Shocks succeeded, 
followed by discharges of red-hot 
matter. The lava at length over¬ 
flowed the crater, and poured down 
into the Val del Bove. The volcano 
then sank to rest. But on 5th Feb¬ 
ruary, 1783, occurred that memorable 
earthquake which desolated Messina 
and the two Calabrias, overthrowing 


in 2 minutes the greater part of the 
houses in all the cities, towns, and 
villages, from Messina to the western 
slopes of the Apennines in Calabria 
Ultra, and convulsing the whole sur¬ 
face of the country for an area of 500 
squaro miles. Another shock fol¬ 
lowed on 28Ih March, with almost 
equal violence; and the 2 together 
are estimated by Sir William Hamil¬ 
ton to have destroyed at the time 
40,000 persons, besides 20,000 more 
who afterwards died in consequence 
of its effects. At the beginning of 
these convulsions Etna emitted a con¬ 
siderable quantity of vapour, while at 
the close it was completely at rest. 
In 1784 and 1786 Vesuvius was again 
in eruption. 

59th—1787.—In June Etna showed 
signs of an approaching outburst, and 
in July the lava overflowed the crater, 
which incessantly discharged ashes, 
sand, and red-hot scoria}, which fell 
in a rain of fire, driving the inhabitants 
from the villages on the slopes, and 
destroying the cultivation at the base. 
The higher regions of the mountain 
were covered with this matter to the 
depth of more than 3 ft. The burn¬ 
ing rocks heated the air, and the ashes 
obscured the day with so intense a 
gloom that people could hardly see one 
another at a short distance. All this, 
with the concussions of the earth, the 
explosions, and the subterranean 
roars, struck terror into the stoutest 
heart. The eruption continued to 
the end of August. It was witnessed 
by the Abate Ferrara, who lias re¬ 
corded the facts. 

Simultaneously with Etna on this 
occasion Vesuvius was in activity, 
commencing in July, and ending in 
December. The eruption, however, 
was but feeble. 

GOth—1792.—In March this year 
Etna burst forth afresh. Violent 
earthquakes ensued, felt most se¬ 
verely at Messina. Enormous volumes 
of black smoke, with vast columns 
of the same, were ejected with ter¬ 
rific roars from the crater, and to¬ 
gether assumed the ajipearance of 
colossal trees. The smoke, which 
was charged with ashes, looked, in 



425 


ROUTE 26 . -ETNA—ERUPTIONS, 1792 - 1800 . 


tiie liglit reflected from the crater, 
like black greasy wool; the smoke 
not so charged bore the appearance 
of soft white cotton. The vast masses 
of smoke driven southwards by the 
wind formed an enormous arch, which 
seemed to bridge over the sea between 
Sicily and Africa. One torrent of 
lava flowed for some miles towards 
Adernb; while another, still larger, 
precipitated itself into the Yal del 
Bove, and ran for 10 m., as far as Lo 
Zoccolaro. On 25th May a pit, now 
called La Cisterna, 40 ft. in diameter, 
opened in the Piano del Lago, eject¬ 
ing much smoke, together with pieces 
of old lava quite wet, and masses of 
clay soaked in water. The sides of 
the pit and all the land around it 
were soaked as if with heavy rain. 
Several mouths opened below this pit, 
all ejecting lava; but the chief was 
that opened on 1st June, in the Yal 
del Bove, the lava from which made a 
rapid course downwards, overwhelm¬ 
ing the cultivated country round Zaf- 
farana, near which town it came to a 
stand, after running 6 m. The de¬ 
scription of this eruption we owe to 
the Abate Ferrara, who witnessed it. 
“ I shall never forget,” says he, “ that 
this last mouth opened precisely in 
the spot where the day before I had 
made my meal with a shepherd. On 
my return next day he related liow, 
after a stunning explosion, the rocks 
on which we had sat together were 
blown into the air, and a mouth 
opened, discharging a flood of fire, 
which, rushing down with the ra¬ 
pidity of water, hardly gave him time 
to make his escape.” A few steps 
from this last mouth the lava had 
accumulated to a great height, and 
become very solid; the fluid matter 
then sinking some 30 ft., a bridge was 
formed of the lava, by which people 
were in the habit of crossing the 
fiery torrent. Tho lava again rose, 
and overflowed the bridge, and, again 
sinking, a covered gallery was formed, 
through which it continued to flow 
till the close of the eruptions. The 
grandest spectacle, says Ferrara, was 
presented by the Yal di Sugiacliino, a 
confined valley sloping down to the 


plains at the foot of the mountain. 
The lava flowing in from above filled 
up this valley, but the pressure of new 
matter from behind detached the mass 
from the sides of the valley, and the 
whole slid down—a moving mountain 
of fire, which presently broke up witli 
a terrific crash, and spread out over 
the plain beneath. This happened at 
night, and was the most magnificent 
sight Ferrara ever witnessed. The 
eruption came to a close towards the 
end of May, 1793. The quantity of 
matter vomited was enormous. Be¬ 
sides that from the crater and from 
the other apertures, the lava from the 
mouth last formed continued to flow 
for a whole year. It covered a tract 
perhaps 30 m. in circuit, and in many 
places w T as more than 300 ft. in depth. 

During the latter part of this erup¬ 
tion, from February, 1793, Vesuvius 
was also in action, and continued so 
till the middle of the following year. 

Gist—1797.—In the interval be¬ 
tween the last and this eruption Mes¬ 
sina and the opposite coast of Calabria 
suffered frequently from earthquakes. 
The crater this year threw up ashes 
and sand, but the eruption was very 
slight. 

62nd—1798.—The'eruption was re¬ 
newed with violence, attended by 
earthquakes, which were almost con¬ 
tinuous at Messina. Lava flowed 
from the crater in several streams. 

63rd—1799.—The discharges were 
yet more abundant in June this year, 
when the crater ejected volumes of 
smoke and vast quantities of red-hot 
matter. 

64th—1800. — On 27tli February 
the inhabitants of Etna were aroused 
at night by terrific explosions, and 
beheld immense columns of fire 
rising to a prodigious height, and fre¬ 
quently emitting forked lightnings. 
This eruption was renewed in the fol¬ 
lowing months, and was remarkable 
for the dense showers of ashes and 
scoriae, sometimes succeeded by hot 
rain, and for the frequency of tho 
forked lightnings, which darted from 
the pall of black smoke overhanging 
the crater. On 15th April a shower 
of red-hot ashes falling on the snows 



426 


ROUTE 26 . —ETNA—ERUPTIONS, 1802 - 1811 . 


about 2 m. below the crater, caused 
fearful torrents of water to invade the 
lower regions of the mountain. 

65th—1802.—In November, after 
the usual precursors, a new mouth 
opened on the E. slope between the 
Yal del Bove and the Bocca di Mus- 
sarra. The lava, favoured by the de¬ 
clivity, ran several miles in a few 
hours, but then became more slug¬ 
gish. Yet in a day and a half it had 
run a course of 12 m. In 1804 Vesu¬ 
vius was in eruption. 

66th —1805. — The crater again 
ejected burning matter, and in July 
an inner cone was formed, about 
1050 ft. in height. The eruption was 
maintained with intermissions in 1806, 
Vesuvius being simultaneously in ac¬ 
tivity in August, 1805. 

67tli—1808.—After a short period 
of utter quiescence, during which the 
Abbate Ferrara descended into the 
crater, the volcano again broke forth, 
emitting fire and smoke, accompanied 
by horrid roars and convulsions of the 
earth. 

68th—1809.— On 27th March the 
mountain was violently convulsed, 
and a new mouth opened below the 
crater to the E.N.E., which ejected 
enormous volumes of smoke charged 
with ashes. Two days later, after 
repeated shocks, more than 20 new 
mouths opened in the direction of 
Castiglione, one after the other in a 
line, at unequal intervals, the furthest 
being 6 m. from the first. Near them 
the earth opened in many long fis¬ 
sures, and in certain spots sunk in 
large tracts. These apertures ejected 
clouds of black smoke, which showered 
down scorim, and gave vent to fre¬ 
quent explosions, one after the other, 
backwards and forwards, like the 
running fire from a battery. Streams 
of lava also gushed forth, which 
uniting formed a torrent 450 ft. wide, 
and ran a course of 8 m. Bound the 
2 lower mouths, in which towards the 
close the eruption seemed to centre, 
were formed lofty cones. Within the 
great crater also a large cone was 
thrown up, almost level with the 
outer lips. The eruption ceased at 
the beginning of April, yet earth¬ 


quakes continued to convulse the 
island, especially the Val di Noto, 
till the beginning of 1810. In Sep¬ 
tember, 1809, after Etna had ceased, 
Vesuvius came into activity. 

69th—1811.—On 27th October a 
new aperture opened a little below 
the summit to the E., which ejected 
a thin jet of fire like a sky-rocket. 
Immediately many similar mouths— 
more than 30 in number—opened one 
after another, running eastward in a 
line for 5 m., all ejecting liquid fire, 
which in a few hours ran 6 m.; and 
when the wind blew away the dense 
smoke which rose with them, these 
jets d'eau presented a most beautiful 
spectacle. As the lower ones increased 
in strength, the higher were extin¬ 
guished. The earth along their 
course was split into long fissures,, 
running in various directions, and 
constantly emitting a damp smoke; 
some also emitted flames. Ultimately 
the eruption centred in the lowest of 
the mouths, that now called S. Si¬ 
mone, near the Bocca della Palomba, 
at the head of the Val del Bove. 
The smoke thrown out rose first in 
columns, which spread out into the 
form of prodigious pine-trees, which 
obscured the day, the edges of the 
clouds wearing the greasy appearance 
of black wool. Meanwhile the 
thunders and explosions resounded 
through the mountain as though it 
were the scene of a tremendous com¬ 
bat. The lava formed a huge river of 
fire a mile wide, which flowed down 
the slope for almost 10 m., till it came 
to a stand just above the village of 
Milo. The earthquakes were felt 
strongly at Catania; but in Mascali 
and the neighbouring villages the 
houses rocked fearfully at every 
shock. The eruption continued in 
full force till the beginning of 1812 
from that time it gradually declined,, 
and in April came to an end. The- 
great crater in the first days of the 
eruption vomited smoke, but had no 
part in the prolonged phenomena 
which ensued. The cone formed by 
this eruption was still smoking when 
Sir C. Lyell visited it in 1828. 

In 1812, 1813, and 1817 Vesuvius 



427 


ROUTE 26 . —ETNA—ERUPTIONS, 1812 - 1832 . 


was in eruption. Etna remained at 
rest till 1819, but in the interval Sicily 
was convulsed with earthquakes— 
especially the western side of the island. 
At Sciacca, in Dec. 1816 and Jan. 
1817, the shocks were so violent that 
the inhabitants entirely deserted the 
town, and took refuge in the country. 
It seemed as though furious winds 
were pent up beneath the mountain 
of S. Calogero, and were raging to 
find vent. Palermo, Caltagirone, and 
the E. coast of Sicily also suffered 
severely ; houses being thrown down, 
and lives lost. In March 1818, two 
enormous columns of water were 
thrown up with great force from 
apertures in the ground, some 6 m. 
inland from the Castello d’Aci, and 
the sea beneath that castle at the 
same time boiled up furiously for 2 
hrs. This was followed by a dense 
fog, charged with a bituminous odour ; 
and afterwards by a violent whirl¬ 
wind not less destructive than the 
earthquake. During all this time 
Etna remained in perfect tranquillity. 

70tli—1819.—In May this year 3 
large mouths opened very near those 
formed in 1811, which threw up 
flames, red-hot cinders, and sand with 
loud explosions. “A few minutes 
afterwards another mouth opened be¬ 
low, from which flames and smoke 
issued; and, finally, a fifth, lower 
still, whence a torrent of lava flowed, 
which spread itself with great vio¬ 
lence over the deep and broad valley 
called the ‘Val del Bove.’ This 
stream flowed 2 m. in the first 24 hrs., 
and nearly as far in the succeeding 
day and night. The 3 original mouths 
at length united into 1 large crater, 
and sent forth lava, as did the inferior 
apertures, so that an enormous torrent 
poured down the Yal del Bove. When 
it arrived at a vast and almost per¬ 
pendicular precipice at the head of 
the valley of Calanna, it poured over 
in a cascade, and being hardened in 
its descent, made an inconceivable 
crash as it was dashed against the 
bottom. So immense was the column 
of dust raised by the abrasion of the 
tufaceous hill over which the hardened 
mass descended, that the Catanians 


were in great alarm, supposing a new 
eruption to have burst out in the 
woody region, exceeding in violence 
that near the summit of Etna .”—LyelL 
This geologist states that when he 
visited the valley, 9 years after the 
eruption, he saw hundreds of trees 
on the borders of the black lava, the 
trunks and branches all leafless and 
barked by the scorching heat emitted 
by the molten rock. 

Vesuvius was in eruption in 1820, 
1822, and 1828, while Etna remained 
at rest till 1831. 

71st—1831.—In April the great 
cone threw out lava, which flowed 
down the northern slope, but soon 
came to a stand, the eruption being 
very slight. In July this year a new 
volcano, called Graham's Island, rose 
upon the sea, half way between 
Sciacca and the Island of Pantellaria r 
winch ejected volcanic matter and 
immense columns of vapour. It in¬ 
creased till it had attained the height 
of 200 ft., and a circumference of 
3 m.; then gradually diminished in 
size till, at the close of October, it had 
sunk again to the level of the sea.. 
In September this year Vesuvius again 
came into action. 

72nd—1832.—In October, without 
the usual warning phenomena, Etna 
broke into furious eruption. On the 
31st, a new crater opened in the Valle 
del Serbo, about 3 m. below the sum¬ 
mit, and above the town of Bronte. 
Three days later, 7 other mouths 
opened 3 m. below the first, and 
were subsequently blended into 2 or 
3. The lava that issued from one of’ 
those mouths flowed down the slope 
with fearful rapidity towards Bronte, 
to the great alarm of the inhabitants ; 
but on reaching more level ground,, 
its course was greatly retarded, and 
the supply of melted rock failed before 
it could reach the town, for it stopped 
1J m. short of it, after running a 
course of 12 m. The stream in its 
widest part was 1J m. broad, and ita 
depth was 30 or 40 ft. The damage 
it committed was principally in the 
Woody Begion. The Marquis of Or¬ 
monde, who visited Bronte during this 
eruption, has left a graphic description 



428 


ROUTE 26. -ETNA-ERUPTIONS, 1832-1843. 


of tlie lava-current and its effects. 
“ Some notion of its aspect and pro¬ 
gress may be formed by imagining a 
bill of loose stones of all sizes, the 
s um in if, or brow of which is continually 
falling to the base, and as constantly 
renewed by unseen pressure from be¬ 
hind. Down it came in large masses, 
each leaving behind it a fiery track, 
as the red-liot interior was for a mo¬ 
ment or two exposed. The impres¬ 
sion most strongly left on my mind 
was that of its irresistible force. It 
did not advance rapidly; there was 
no difficulty in approaching it, as I 
did, closely, and taking out pieces of 
the red-hot stone. The rattling of 
the blocks overhead gave ample notice 
of their descent down the inclined 
face of the stream; and a few paces 
to the rear, or aside, were quite enough 
to take me quite clear of them; but 
still onward, onward it came; foot by 
foot it encroached on the ground at 
its base, changing the whole face of 
the country, leaving hills where for¬ 
merly valleys had been, overwhelming 
every work of man that it encountered 
in its progress, and leaving all behind 
one black, rough, and monotonous 
mass of hard and barren lava.” This 
eruption of Etna was among the most 
.sudden, the most violent for its dura¬ 
tion, and at the same time the most 
harmless of any on record. In 1834 
and 1838 Vesuvius was in activity. 

73rd.—In 1838 occurred a slight 
eruption from the great crater of Etna ; 
the lava on one side flowing to the 
E., and finding its way into the Val 
del Bove; otf the other, taking a 
northerly direction for a few miles. 

74th—1842.—On 27th November 
Etna broke into eruption, the great 
cone discharging volcanic matter to 
a, prodigious height, and the lava 
bursting a passage through its side, 
some 300 ft. below the apex, and 
flowing down into the Val del Bove, 
in a stream some 600 ft. wide, ^and 
more than 10 m. in length. On 
28tli Dec. it came to a stand, after 
doing very little damage, as it did not 
reach the cultivated region. This 
eruption has been described by Pro¬ 
fessor Carlo Gemmellaro of Catania. 


75th—1843.—The volcano did not 
long remain quiescent. On 17th 
Nov. this year 15 apertures opened 
in a line very close together in 
the Desert Region, at the height of 
7000 ft. above the sea, and a little 
above the crater of 1832. They dis¬ 
charged at first scorhe and sand in 
great quantities, and then lava, which 
in a few hours ran a course of 2 m., 
when it separated into 3 branches ; 
that to the rt. taking the direction of 
the Bosco di Maletto; that to the 1. 
threatening the Bosco d’Aderno ; 
and that in the middle descending- 
straight towards Bronte. The outer- 
streams soon came to a stand; but 
the central one continued to increase, 
swelling out so as to cover the rugged 
torrent formed in 1832, as well as the 
far older stream from Monte Rovere. 
These 15 mouths in succession, at 
brief intervals, ejected vast columns 
of dense smoke charged with sand and 
scoriae, which descended in a continual 
shower. They all vomited also liquid 
lava, which, as it issued from the 
uppermost mouth, fell into the second, 
and being again discharged, ran from 
one to the other, till the matter from 
all uniting, flowed in a broad torrent 
from the lowest mouth. The entire 
line of these apertures, says Dr. Giu¬ 
seppe Gemmellaro, who ascended the 
mountain to inspect them, did not ex¬ 
ceed 400 paces in length, by 20 to 30 
in width. The lava torrent was about 
half a mile wide, and not more than 
10 ft. in height. Its velocity, in a 
descent of 25 degrees, was calculated 
by the same witness to be 3 ft. in 
a second, which was extraordinarily 
great. The heat at the distance of 
120 ft. from the current, even in a 
winter’s night, was as high as 90° Fahr. 
On the 24th another mouth opened, at 
the spot called Tacche di Coriazzo, and 
the lava from it flowed down towards 
the Bosco di Maletto. The inhabit¬ 
ants of Bronte, seeing the lava making 
directly for their town, were in great 
alarm. Fortunately, however, when 
2 m. off, it encountered the hill of 
Vittoria, which made it deviate to the 
S., when it covered the old and culti¬ 
vated lava of Paparia. It then reached 




429 


ROUTE 26 . —ETNA— 

the high road from Palermo to Bronte, 
which it crossed in a stream a quarter 
of a mile wide, and 30 or 40 ft. high, 
and threatened the richly cultivated 
slopes between this and the river 
Simeto. On the 25tli a singular but 
disastrous catastrophe occurred, which 
will long make this eruption memor¬ 
able in the annals of Etna. A crowd 
of people from Bronte were watch¬ 
ing the progress of the lava, and 
some were busy in cutting down 
trees, and in saving whatever they 
could from destruction; when on 
a sudden a terrific explosion oc¬ 
curred ; the face of the torrent was 
blown out in fragments; a dense 
cloud of vapour, charged with burn¬ 
ing particles, was ejected, and the 
fragments of this vast shell of nature’s 
formation levelled to the earth in 
an instant every object around. No 
less than G9 persons were struck 
down—36 dead on the spot, and 23 
surviving but a few hours. Their 
bodies and clothes were blackened 
as though they had been burnt. On 
the 28th. the lava came to a stand 
within a mile of the river Simeto, 
after having covered a tract more than 
6 m. in length, J m. in breadth, and 
from 20 to 40 ft. in height. The great 
crater, however, continued to show 
signs of disturbance, in the clouds of 
dense smoke it vomited, and the con¬ 
tinual roars and bellowings it uttered, 
which deafened not only the dwellers 
on the mountain, but those far off on 
the Neptunian and Hyblaean ranges, 
N. and S. On the 1st Dec. the vol¬ 
cano threw up showers of impalpable 
grey dust, in prodigious quantities— 
an unusual phenomenon for Etna— 
which poisoned vegetation. The dust, 
indeed, thrown out by this eruption 
was so charged with hydrochloric acid, 
that it turned the blue of umbrellas 
and dresses to red, and burned what¬ 
ever it touched ; even the foliage and 
grass were so poisoned by it as to 
cause a mortality among the flocks and 
herds. The eruption ceased in the 
course of the month. In 1845 and 1847 
slight eruptions of Vesuvius occurred. 

76th—1852.—On the night of the 
20th August, this year, Etna broke 


eruption of 1852 . 

out a<*ain into an eruption of unusual 
magnitude and violence. The first 
witnesses of it were a party of English 
tourists—3 gentlemen and 3 ladies— 
Avho had left Nicolosi with the intention 
of reaching the cone before sunrise. 
After they had passed the Bosco, the 
crater began to vomit fire and ashes,, 
yet they pushed on for the Casa In- 
glese. Near this, in a narrow defile, 
they encountered a hurricane so im¬ 
petuous that in an instant it prostrated 
the mules witli their riders, and blew 
them towards the verge of the pre¬ 
cipices of the Trifoglietto. Taking 
shelter under some masses of lava, 
they clung together during the storm ; 
but an earthquake suddenly shook the 
mountain, and their mules broke away 
in terror, and left them to return at 
daylight on foot to the Bosco. In the 
course of that night and the follow¬ 
ing day numerous openings were made 
in the Balzo di Trifoglietto, the great 
precipice which forms the head of the 
Val del Bove, from some of which 
scorire were ejected. Lower down a 
great fissure opened at the foot of the 
ridge called Giannicola Grande, and 
a crater was thrown up from it, which 
vomited for 17 successive days inces¬ 
sant showers of sand, scoria), and 
lapilli. On the 21st August the lava 
ran in 8 hrs. to the Dagala de’ Zap¬ 
ping 2J m. in a direct line. Here it 
forked, one branch flowing to the N.E., 
at the foot of M. Finocchio; the other 
to the Monte Calanna. In less than 
3 days this latter had traversed the 
entire Val del Bove to its entrance at 
the Portella di Calanna, when, chang¬ 
ing its direction to the S., it flowed 
towards the village of Zaffarana, de¬ 
vastating the highly cultivated lands 
in the lower border of the Woody 
Region. On the 25tli Aug. another 
crater opened behind the first, which 
greatly increased the flow of lava, 
both craters also ejecting vast quan¬ 
tities of scorioe and sand, which soon 
formed lofty cones around the aper¬ 
tures. The course of the lava was so 
sluggish that it gave abundant time 
to gather the fruit, to cut down the 
trees, or dismantle the houses it 
threatened. Meeting a hill capped 





430 


ROUTE 26 . —ETNA—EXCURSION TO NICOLOSI. 


by a solitary oak called Quercia del 
Vento, tlie torrent divided, one branch 
flowing towards Ballo, the other 
threatening Zaffarana. During the 
last days of August and the beginning 
of September the inhabitants of this 
village were in continual terror, for 
the lava was creeping slowly towards 
it; but it finally came to a halt about 
£ m. off. On the 2nd Sept. Dr. 
Giuseppe Gemmellaro went up the 
Yal del Bove, and obtained a near 
view of the eruption from Monte 
Finocchio di Sopra. This hill rocked 
so violently as to occasion a sensation 
like that of sea-sickness. Viewed 
from the summit, the whole Yal del 
Bove seemed like a sea of fire, so 
wide was the expanse of molten 
matter. For miles were to be seen 
ridges and deep hollows streaked 
with fire, and emitting a vivid light 
from numerous rents. Fragments of 
loose scoriae were everywhere rolling 
down the steep slopes of the ridges, 
showing the mass to be still in motion. 
Explosions like those of artillery were 
incessant, and scoriae were thrown up 
from the crater to great heights. In 
the first week of Sept, the eruption 
acquired new force. Fresh lava, ob¬ 
structed by the torrent at first thrown 
out, but now consolidated, accumu¬ 
lated till it overflowed this barrier, 
and pouring down on the further 
side, ran a rapid course to Fontanelle, 
•destroying orchards and vineyards, 
and threatening the village of Milo, 
above which it separated into 2 
branches. On 6th October, 2 fresh 
mouths opened below the first, and 
emitted lava, which flowed towards 
the Yal di Calanna, and reaching the 
head of it, cascaded over the Salto 
della Giumenta, a precipice more than 
400 ft. high, its fall sounding like the 
crash of metallic and glassy sub¬ 
stances. The eruption continued 
throughout November and December. 
On the 8th of the former month fresh 
lava again threatened Zaffarana, which 
in the midst of all these perils was 
yet preserved. ,On the 21st the 
lava a second time precipitated itself 
over the Salto della Giumenta, and 
spreading over the fertile plain at its 


base, destroyed some of the richest 
land in Sicily. During the first 3 
months of 1853, intermittent explo¬ 
sions and ejections of sc or iso took 
place; and so late as 26th April the 
lava was still piling itself up, one 
stream over another; nor was it till 
the 27tli May, more than 9 months 
from its commencement, that this 
eruption ceased. From time to time 
throughout its progress the great 
crater emitted dense clouds of smoke 
and red-hot scoria;. The united 
breadth of the several lava-streams 
is calculated to have been 2 in., and 
their length about 6 m. The height 
varied from 8 to 16 ft.; but where 
successive streams were piled over 
each other this height was greatly 
increased, and near the Portella it 
amounted to 150 ft. The volume of 
lava, indeed, poured forth during this 
eruption was enormous—greater, per¬ 
haps, than in any other on record, with 
two exceptions—that of 1669, and that 
very early stream which flowed from 
Mojo, in the valley of the Cantara, to 
the Capo Schiso. 


Excursion to Nicolosi and the 
Monti Bossi. 

Every one who visits Catania is 
desirous of seeing something more of 
Etna than is visible from that city; 
yet few, comparatively, are able to 
undertake the ascent to the summit, 
or to undergo tlie fatigue inseparable 
from a climb of nearly 11,000 ft. 
Most tourists, indeed, visit Sicily in 
winter, when the upper half of the 
mountain is impracticable for mules, 
on account of the snow which covers 
it, and the difficulties of the ascent 
are thus greatly increased, and are to 
be surmounted only by tlie young and 
vigorous. At any season the tourist 
may be deterred from making the 
ascent by cloudy weather or high 
winds. To all such we would recom¬ 
mend the excursion to Nicolosi and 
the Monti Rossi, which may be made 
in a day; and which, provided the 
weather be clear, is at all seasons en¬ 
joyable. The road to Nicolosi (12 m.) 




ROUTE 26. —ETNA—NICOLOSI. 


431 


is carriageable, though so steep that 
3 hours or more are required for the 
journey from Catania. A carriage, 
with 2 horses, may he hired for 3 
piastre; one with 3, for 4 piastre. 

You leave , Catania at the Piazza 
Gioeni, the termination of the long 
Strada Etnea, and at once begin the 
ascent. The first acclivities present 
an appearance at once cheering and 
depressing. On every hand are corn¬ 
fields and vineyards, luxuriant groves 
of olive, almond, and orange-trees. 
Neat white cottages by the road-side 
smile through their rich drapery of 
vine-leaves. Village succeeds vil¬ 
lage, surrounded by orchards, and 
displaying signs of ease and comfort, 
unusual in Sicily. Yet these waving 
crops, these flowery gardens, these 
richly-laden fruit-groves, are all grow¬ 
ing on lava, more or less pulverised 
by time. The neat villages, the 
.charming villas, are all built of lava; 
which here and there stands out from 
dhe rich foliage in all its hideous 
blackness and sterility, now in low 
.cliffs overhanging the road, now in 
huge dykes, whose bare and rugged 
■sciarre cover fields once as fertile and 
beautiful as those it now intersects. 

Everywhere by the side of present 
happiness and wealth we see the 
phantom of past desolation and 
misery, making us tremble for the 
future.” As you ascend you obtain a 
fine bird’s-eye view of Catania, which 
seen hence seems to lie in the midst 
of a vast olive-grove, and of the wide 
plain of the Simeto, traversed by the 
long straight road to Lentini. At 3 
m. from Catania you reach the village 
of Pasquale, just beyond which the 
road forks, the rt. branch running to 
Tre Castagne and Aci Reale. Three 
m. further you reach Gravina, a vil¬ 
lage with one long lava-paved street, 
with the double-papped Monti Rossi 
peering down it. A mile beyond is 
Mascalucia, a much larger village, or 
rather town, of 3600 souls ; just before 
which a path to the 1. leads to the 
ruined ch. of Sant' Antonio , founded 
in the year 1300, as is recorded in 
an inscription preserved there. The 
portal has a round arch, with foliated 


imposts—all oi lava—enclosed by a 
dentilled label of white stone, sur¬ 
mounted by a circular window, of the 
same materials alternating. The E. 
portal is of similar character. The S. 
door is pointed, and pointed forms 
also appear within the ch. From 
above Mascalucia, looking south¬ 
wards, you may distinguish the site 
of ancient Syracuse, seen dimly over 
the low headland of Santa Croce. 
Two m. further and you reach the 
hamlet of Torre di Grifo, pronounced 
Torrelifo, between which and Nico- 
losi is a dreary waste of lava and 
scoriae, sprinkled with broom and 
dwarf-oaks. This is the torrent of 
1537, which, issuing from the Monti 
Castellacci, in the Bosco di Paterno, 
separated into 2 branches, one of 
which flowed to Torre di Grifo, the 
other to Borello. A turn of the road 
just above Torre di Grifo shows Ni- 
colosi, with its white ch.; the double 
crest of Monti Rossi; and the shape¬ 
less vine-clad cone of Mompilieri 
below it to the 1.; the green cone of 
Santo Nicola, with the sharper peak 
of Serrapizzuta above it to the rt.; 
and still more to the E., the extinct 
craters of Monte Peluso and Monte 
Arso, prominent among the numerous 
cones on the slope of the volcano. 

Nicolosi (population 2717).— Inn: 
“ L’Etna,” kept by Giuseppe Gal- 
vagna, small, but clean, and very 
tolerable for a country locanda, for 
you can always get good wine, bread, 
eggs, and maccaroni; and what is of 
more importance on the return from 
the summit—repose. The village is 
“ a frightful assemblage of low huts,” 
one story high, built of lava and 
scoriae, at the height of 2264 ft. 
above the sea. It has suffered so 
fearfully from earthquakes in past 
ages that the inhabitants have learned 
to build their houses as low as pos¬ 
sible. There is nothing to see in Ni¬ 
colosi save the local naturalist, Dottor 
Giuseppe Gemmellaro, who receives 
strangers with great courtesy, and is 
ever ready to impart information re¬ 
specting the mountain, with which ho 
is so well stored that his conversation 



432 ROUTE 26 . -ETNA-MONTI ROSSI-FOSSA DELLA PALOMBA. 


is highly interesting and instructive. 
He may he styled “ the old man of the 
mountain,” for he has passed a long 
life upon it, and devoted it to the 
study of its phenomena, being known 
as the author of several treatises upon 
it, and of a map of its eruptions. As 
he keeps the key of the Casa Inglese, 
those who are bound for the summit 
would do well, while borrowing it, to 
consult him as to the state of the 
mountain, and the selection of a 
guide. Dottor G. Gemmellaro, who 
in the interest of travellers erected 
and keeps up the Casa Inglese, now 
stands in need of funds to effect ne¬ 
cessary repairs to that building. He 
will be thankful for any contributions 
from travellers towards that important 
object. 

A little to the N. of Nicolosi is the 
hospice of 8. Nicola dell'Arena, once a 
convent of Benedictine monks, the 
original of that magnificent establish¬ 
ment at Catania, founded in 1156 by 
Simone Count of Policastro, and 
nephew of Count Roger, the con¬ 
queror of Sicily. The monks, having 
on three occasions been driven from 
this convent by eruptions and earth¬ 
quakes, at length deserted it, leaving 
only a single friar in charge. It 
stands in the midst of vineyards, about 
| m. to the rt. of the road to the sum¬ 
mit, and at the height of 2449 ft. 
above the sea. A picturesque clump 
of pines fronts the hospice, and behind 
it rise the wooded and cultivated cones 
of Serrapizzuta and Santo Nicola. Not 
far from it once stood the little town 
of La Guardia, a favourite residence 
of Eleonora, queen of Frederick II. of 
Aragon; but it was destroyed by an 
earthquake, and hardly a vestige of 
it now remains beyond a cistern, 
called Cisterna della Regina. 

Monti Rossi. —A plain of black 
ashes and sand, sprinkled with broom, 
surrounds Nicolosi, and has to be 
crossed on the way to the twin- I 
craters of 1669, 2 in. from the village. 
These cones are composed of very 
fine ashes and scoriae, which last sub¬ 
stance, being of a dusky-brick colour, | 
imparts that ruddy hue to the hills j 


which gives them their name. The 
lower slopes show a few vines and 
shrubs, but all the upper part of the 
cones is bare. The loose ashes make 
it rather difficult to ascend, but the 
view from the summit, of the many 
cones on the slopes of Etna, and of 
the great plain of Catania, fully com¬ 
pensates for the little fatigue. The 
2 craters are separated only by a 
ridge. From them on the S. side 
issued the double stream of lava 
which nearly destroyed Catania, and 
which may still be traced by a fearful 
line of desolation, broad, black, and 
barren, down the cultivated slopes to 
the sea, separating and uniting again, 
and embracing a tract of luxuriant 
verdure with its naked arms. This 
cone, though a mere hillock—an ex¬ 
crescence only on the side of the mighty 
volcano, is 2 m. in circumference at 
its base, and rises to the height of 
450 ft. above the plain of Nicolosi. 
Between Monti Rossi and the Monte 
della Nocilla, 1 m. to the N., are 
many apertures in the earth, formed 
by the great eruption of 1669 ; no less 
than 15 may be counted in a line, 
running N. and S. These subter¬ 
ranean caverns, says Lyell, “ aro 
among the most curious features of 
Etna, and appear to have been pro¬ 
duced by the hardening of the lava 
during the escape of great volumes of 
elastic fluids, which are often dis¬ 
charged for many days in succession 
after the crisis of the eruption is 
over.” The most remarkable of them 
is the 

Fossa della, Palomba, in front of the 
Monte della Fusara. It is a low red 
crater, 625 ft. in circumference at its 
mouth, and 78 ft. in depth ; and at 
the bottom of its funnel-shaped hollow 
is a perpendicular shaft, leading to a 
second below it, and this to a third, 
and so on through many in succession 
till a large gallery, with walls and 
roof of rugged black lava, is reached, 
90 ft. long, and more than 50 ft. in 
height. The entrance of the pit is 
reached without difficulty. “ A ladder 
was then placed in the hole, and 
having descended about 10 ft. torches 



433 


ROUTE 26 . -ETNA-VAL DEL BO YE. 


were lighted, and an uncouth-looking 
personage clad in sheep-skins led the 
way down a rapid and extremely 
rugged declivity. The height of the 
vault increased as we advanced, but 
it did not in any part appear to be 
broader than 15 or 16 yards. At the 
foot of the slope a rude sort of wind¬ 
lass had been erected, hanging over 
the brink of a vertical descent of 80 
ft. A short thick stick having been 
made fast to the end of the rope, our 
conductor seated himself on it, and 
was lowered to the bottom. While 
standing there to receive us, and 
waving the torch over his head, the 
red glare, as it fell on the black and 
deeply-indented sides of the chasm, 
produced so strange an effect that it 
would have required no great stretch 
of imagination to convert him into 
a demon, who was ushering us on our 
way to the realms of darkness. We 
followed in turn, and scrambled on 
through a much loftier and more 
spacious part of the cavern. Having 
at length descended about 200 ft., and 
passed through a series of galleries, 
we came to a spot where the vault rose 
as abruptly as the shaft of a mine, 
and to such a height that the top 
could no longer be discerned. From 
the direction of the grotto and the 
distance we had come, it seemed not 
improbable that we were now under 
the small crater of Monti Rossi, in 
which case this might have been the 
vent to it. Leaving the principal 
gallery we entered a narrow chamber, 
at the termination of which we care¬ 
fully examined every nook, in the 
hope of discovering some chink that 
might lead us onwards, but in vain. 
The sides and roof of the cavern were 
as rugged as the surface on which we 
stood, jutting out and receding in 
every possible variety of form. ’— 
Marquis of Ormonde. 

The excursion may be pleasantly 
varied by returning from Nicolosi by 
way of Pedara and Tre Castagne, 
which, though a little longer, far sur¬ 
passes the direct road in beauty and 
interest, as it commands the entire 
coast and eastern slope of Etna. The 
road is carriageable. 

[Sicily.] 


Excursion to the Val del Bove. 

An excursion of great interest may 
be made to the Val del Bove, which 
lies on the E. slope of the volcano, 
about 20 m. N. of Catania. It can be 
reached either from that city or from 
Aci Rcale; and the road to it, or 
rather to the village of Zaffarana, at 
its mouth, is carriageable. It will 
take 4 hours from Catania to reach 
Zaffarana, and 3 horns on mules 
thence to the Val del Bove. 

The Val del Bove is a circular chasm 
or depression in the mountain, of vast 
size, and sunk to the depth of 3000 or 
4000 ft. It commences near the summit 
of Etna, and descends through the 
woody region to the verge of the cul¬ 
tivated district on the coast.. It is 
continued on one side by a second and 
narrower valley, the Val di Calanna; 
and below this by a long narrow ra¬ 
vine, the Val di S. Giacomo, which 
stretches down to the neighbourhood 
of Zaffarana. It is enclosed by nearly 
vertical precipices, varying from 1000 
to nearly 4000 ft. in height, the 
highest being at the upper end, and 
the altitude gradually diminishing 
with the sink of the slope. These 
precipices are composed of lava, tuff, 
and volcanic breccia alternately, and 
on every side are traversed by count¬ 
less vertical dikes of trachyte, or of 
compact blue basalt, with olivine, va¬ 
rying in breadth from 2 to 20 ft. or 
more. Being of harder matter than 
the strata they traverse, they have 
suffered less from atmospheric influ¬ 
ences, and stand out from the face of 
the cliffs, so as to give a most singular 
character to the valley. “ Let the 
reader,” says Sir C. Lyell, “ picture to 
himself a large amphitheatre, 5 m. in 
diameter, and surrounded on 3 sides 
by precipices from 2000 to 3000 ft. in 
height. If he has beheld that most 
picturesque scene in the Pyrenees, 
the celebrated ‘ Cirque of Gavarnie,’ 
he may form some conception of the 
magnificent circle of precipitous rocks 
which enclose the great plain of the 
Val del Bove. This plain has been 
deluged by repeated streams of lava ; 
and though it appears almost level 

u 




434 


ROUTE 26 . -ETNA-VAL DEL BOVE. 


when viewed from a distance, it is, in 
fact, more uneven than the surface of 
the most tempestuous sea. Besides 
the minor irregularities of the lava, 
the valley is in one part interrupted 
by a ridge of rocks, 2 of which, Mu- 
sara and Capra, are very prominent. 
They are of gigantic dimensions, and 
appear almost isolated as seen from 
many points. The face of the preci¬ 
pices already mentioned is broken 
in the most picturesque manner by 
the vertical walls of lava which tra¬ 
verse them. These masses usually 
stand out in relief, are exceedingly 
diversified in form, and of immense 
altitude. In the autumn their black 
outline may often be seen relieved by 
clouds of fleecy vapour which settle 
behind them, and do not disperse 
until mid-day, continuing to fill the 
valley while the sun is shining on 
every other part of Sicity, and on the 
higher regions of Etna. The strips 
of green herbage and forest-land, 
which have here and there escaped 
the burning lavas, serve, by contrast, 
to heighten the desolation of the 
scene. An unusual silence prevails; 
for there are no torrents dashing from 
the rocks, nor any movement of run¬ 
ning water in the valley. Every drop 
of water that falls from the heavens, 
or flows from the melting ice and 
snow, is instantly absorbed by the 
porous lava; and such is the dearth of 
springs, that the herdsman is com¬ 
pelled to supply his flocks, during 
the hot season, from stores of snow 
laid up in hollows of the mountain 
during winter. The stern and severe 
grandeur of the scenery is not such 
as would be selected by a poet for a 
vale of enchantment. The character 
of the scene would accord far better 
with Milton’s picture of the infernal 
world; and if we imagine ourselves 
to behold in motion, in the darkness 
of the night, one of those fiery cur¬ 
rents which have so often traversed 
the great valley, we may well re¬ 
call— 

‘ yon dreary plain, forlorn and wild, 

The seat of desolation, void of light, 

Save what the glimmering of these livid flames 
Casts pale and dreadful.’ ” 


Dr. Bnckland has pronounced this 
valley to be more worthy of the geo¬ 
logist’s attention than any single spot 
in Sicily, or, perhaps, in Europe ; for 
here is laid open a great part of the 
structure of the mass of the volcano, 
and the geologist thus enjoys the op¬ 
portunity of ascertaining how far the 
internal conformation of the cone cor¬ 
responds with what he might have 
anticipated as the result of that mode 
of increase which has been witnessed 
during the historic era. The circular 
form of this great chasm, and the oc¬ 
currence of these countless dikes, 
amounting, perhaps, to several thou¬ 
sands in number, so forcibly recall to 
mind the phenomena of the Atrio del 
Cavallo, on Vesuvius, that you at once 
regard it as a vast crater, on a scale as 
far exceeding that of Somma, as Etna 
surpasses Vesuvius in magnitude. 
And as the qua-qua-versal dip, which 
is so beautifully exhibited in the es¬ 
carpment of Somma, may also be 
traced in the walls of this great am¬ 
phitheatre, there is little doubt, says 
Sir Charles Lyell,* of the existence at 
some former period of a double axis, 
or 2 points of permanent eruption to 
Etna, as in some of the great volca¬ 
noes of Java, with a saddle, or inter- 
colline space, between them. The 
second axis, which lie calls the axis 
or cone of Trifoglietto, he places in 
that part of the Val del Bove called 
the Piano di Trifoglietto, at a point 
about half-way between the Serra 
Giannicola and the hill of Zoccolaro, 
and 3 m. to the S.E. of the central 
cone, or axis of Mongibello. “ We 
may assume the existence at an early 
period of 2 permanent centres of erup¬ 
tion (whether contemporaneous, like 
Kilauea and the summit crater of 
Mount Loa, in Owhyhee, or succes¬ 
sive, like Somma and Vesuvius), and 
at a later period the complete ascen¬ 
dency of what is now the principal 
focus, that of Mongibello, which con¬ 
tinues in full vigour, while that of 
Trifoglietto has long been spent. The 
latter may have been always a sub¬ 
ordinate vent, communicating at a 
great depth with the main cliim- 
* ‘ Philos. Trans./ 1858, Part ii. 



ROUTE 26 . —ASCENT OF ETNA. 


435 


ney, wliicli may never have materially 
shifted its position from the first.” 
The singular vertical dikes in the 
Avails of the chasm have been formed 
by the repeated fracture of the mass 
by the expansive force of vapours, 
and the injection into the fissures of 
molten matter, which after its solidi¬ 
fication has caused the severed parts 
to adhere more firmly than ever. The 
extension of the Val del Bove to its 
present dimensions, and the removal 
of the matter which formed the ori¬ 
ginal cone, are attributed by Sir C. 
Lyell in part to the subsidence of the 
ground, to lateral and paroxysmal ex¬ 
plosions unaccompanied by the emis¬ 
sion of lava, as well as to aqueous 
erosion. 

Ascent of Etna. 

Etna appears in all ages to have 
been ascended from the S. Strabo in¬ 
forms us that the little town of Mtna, 
between Catania and Centorbi, sup¬ 
posed to occupy the site of Sta. Maria 
di Licodia, Avas the usual starting- 
point for those who made the ascent 
in his day. The slope, indeed, is 
much more gradual on the S. and E. 
than on the W. and N., Avliile the 
distance to the cone is proportionately 
increased. From Catania to the sum¬ 
mit is about 29 m., Avliile it is only 18 
from Linguagrossa, and hardly 12 
from Randazzo. Catania is now in 
every respect the most convenient 
point from Avhicli to make the ascent, 
and no one dreams of attempting it 
from any other quarter. For the first 
12 in., or as far as Nicolosi, there is a 
carriage-road, constructed in 1835. 
Beyond this, the ascent is practicable 
for mules, in summer to the Casa 
degli Inglesi, at the foot of the cone; 
in Avinter only to the Grotta delle 
Capre, in the higher part of the 
Woody Region, and 8 m. from Nico¬ 
losi. From the Casa degli Inglesi to 
the summit, a distance of 2 m., must 
at all seasons be done on foot. A 
carriage may be hired at Catania to 
carry a party to Nicolosi, and bring 
them back the next day, for 5 piastre, 
all expenses included. At Nicolosi 


horses or mules may bo procured for 
the Casa degli Inglesi, at 1 piastra each. 
The traveller should stipulate for an 
English saddle. Guides for the summit 
are also to be had here ; their fee is 1A 
piastra each, exclusive of the hire of 
his mule. The best guide is Pasquale 
Geinmellaro; Salvatore and Angelo 
Carbonaro are also highly spoken of. 
The others are Antonio Nicolosi, An¬ 
tonio Leonardi, Pasquale Teurbo, and 
Giuseppe Bonanno. 

“ To those avIio have seen Etna,” 
says Spallanzani , “ Vesuvius appears 
like a mere cabinet-volcano.” Not 
only is it some 7000 ft. less in alti¬ 
tude, but it is of comparatively easy 
ascent; though it must be confessed 
that in summer the ascent of Etna 
involves less weariness than might be 
expected from the great height of the 
mountain, and the time occupied in 
the achievement—the principal fatigue 
being in the 5 or 6 hours’ climb by 
night from Nicolosi to the Casa degli 
Inglesi, Avlien the cold and rarefac¬ 
tion of the atmosphere create in some 
persons so much drowsiness that they 
can scarcely keep their saddles ; and 
in the scramble up the steep, almost 
precipitous, side of the great cone, 
where the loose ashes and cinders 
afford no firm footing. The fatigue, 
after all, is not so much that of the 
limbs as of the system, affected by 
the night-travel, the sudden change 
of climate, the rarefaction of the 
atmosphere, and, above all, by the in¬ 
haling of the sulphureous fumes of 
the cone and crater, Avliich in some 
produce such sickness as to preclude 
their ascent to the summit. It is 
rarely, however, that any unpleasant 
effects survive a good meal and a 
sound sleep. 

The best season for the ascent is 
from May to the middle of September. 
The tourist need then entertain little 
fear of rain; what he has more to 
dread is wind, and he must bear in 
mind that the stiller the atmosphere 
the better, the least disturbance being 
severely felt in the upper regions of 
the volcano. The early autumnal 
rains assume the form of snow at this 
altitude, but after the equinox the 

U 2 



436 


ROUTE 26 . -ASCENT OF ETNA. 


weather again becomes settled, and 
generally continues so till the middle 
or end of October. In muter, when 
the upper half or third of the moun¬ 
tain is covered with snow, the ascent 
becomes a matter of much more diffi¬ 
culty ; yet if the sky he clear, the 
weather settled, and the atmosphere 
calm, the attempt may be made with 
success. As the upper 9 or 10 miles, 
and by far the steepest portion of the 
ascent, however, have to be scaled on 
foot, good legs, good wind, and some 
pluck are requisite for the achieve¬ 
ment. Nor is it always at such sea¬ 
sons unattended with danger, though 
hardly such as would daunt a mem¬ 
ber of the Alpine Club. Snowstorms 
or snowdrifts may be encountered ; or 
the crust of snow may be so thinned 
by the sun as to give way beneath 
the tourist, and precipitate him into 
some gulley, or bruise him severely 
on the sharp lava crags beneath. At 
such seasons no one should attempt 
the ascent without a guide who is 
well acquainted with the surface topo¬ 
graphy of the mountain. 

Requisites for the Ascent .—These 
are very thick boots without nails, 
leather leggings, a stout iron-shod 
stick, a great-coat or cloak to throw 
over the shoulders when you have 
reached the summit and are heated 
with the ascent—all these are indis¬ 
pensable. To these you may add a 
pocket-compass and map of Sicily, 
and, if of a scientific turn, a baro¬ 
meter and geologist’s hammer. In 
winter a green veil to screen the eyes 
from the sun’s glare reflected from 
the snow is desirable, but it must not 
be so thick as to interfere with respi¬ 
ration. It will be well also for each 
person to take a thick wrapper to 
serve at once as mattress and blanket, 
in case sufficient halt is made at the 
Casa degli Inglesi, either on the as- 
scent or descent, to admit of repose. 
Provisions, too, which can be more 
readily procured at Catania than at 
Nicolosi, must not be forgotten—not 
omitting something in the way of a 
stimulant, for tired Nature needs a 
restorer on such occasions. Spirits 
and wine are thought by some to 


render them more susceptible of cold, 
or to produce nausea. To coffee there 
is no such objection. The guides 
must be reminded to bring charcoal 
from Nicolosi, or firewood from the 
Boseo. 

In the ascent of Etna, “ the thing ” 
is to see the sunrise from the summit. 
To accomplish this, the tourist should 
start from Catania soon after noon. 
The ascent being very steep, the 
journey of 12 m. to Nicolosi, whether 
on mules or in a carriage, seldom 
occupies less than 4 hours. Some 
time is generally consumed here in 
hiring guides and mules, and in 
making preparations for the ascent. 
Here also the traveller should dine. 
It is usual to start again for the sum¬ 
mit at 10 p.m. ; in which case, the 
interval will admit of a visit to Monti 
Bossi, the twin cones whence flowed 
the lava of 1609, about 2 m. only from 
Nicolosi. He who would see the sun¬ 
set from as great an elevation as 
possible must not delay at Nicolosi, 
but must push forward at once for 
the Casa degli Inglesi, where he must 
pass the night, and which he must 
quit 14 hour before dawn in order to 
reach the summit before the first 
blush of day. By leaving Nicolosi at 
10 at night, he may reach the Casa 
about 2.30 the next morning, in time 
to get a cup of coffee and some r re- 
freshment before starting . for the 
ascent of the cone. One hour on the 
summit will be found quite sufficient 
for his comfort, if not to satisfy his 
curiosity; and, if much fatigued, he 
may repose awhile at the Casa on his 
return. He must not then forget to 
visit the Torre del Filosofo, and, 
above all, to look down into the Val 
del Bove from the verge of the 
tremendous precipices which overhang 
it. It will take him some 3 or 4 
hours to return to Nicolosi, which 
may be reached by noon. In winter, 
when the tourist is compelled by the 
snow to trust to his legs for the 
greater part of the ascent, the excur¬ 
sion will consume considerably more 
time. At that season, when the Casa 
degli Inglesi is either completely 
buried, or so blocked up by snow as 



437 


ROUTE 26 . —ETNA- 

to be inaccessible, the tourist had 
better make the ascent by day. Start¬ 
ing.from Nicolosi at 4 or 5 a.m., he 
may reach the summit early in the 
afternoon, and return to Nicolosi before 
dark. In winter, indeed, the night- 
ascent is rendered very difficult by 
the frost, invariable at night at that 
altitude, which makes the slope too 
hard and slippery to afford a safe 
footing ; though, after a few hours’ 
sun, the snow becomes sufficiently 
crisp to give a hold to the feet. 

For the road to Nicolosi, and for an 
account of that place, see p. 431. 

At Nicolosi the tourist should not 
forget to call on Doctor Giuseppe 
Gemmellaro, to ask for the key of the 
Casa degli Inglesi, and for informa¬ 
tion respecting the state of the moun¬ 
tain. It would be well also to request 
that gentleman to select a guide for 
him. Here you leave cultivation, 
and enter on the middle zone, called 
“ La Boscliiva.” For some miles, 
however, above the village you have 
nothing but a wide tract of black 
ashes, sprinkled with broom. Then 
you cross a vast stream of grey lava, 
dreary and forbidding in its utter 
nakedness. It ceases at the Casa di 
Rinazzi, a shed for cattle, 4 m. from 
Nicolosi, and on the verge of the low 
forest of pollard oaks, with its carpet 
of ferns, which forms what is called 
the Bosco, on this southern slope of 
Etna. This was once a forest of ma¬ 
jestic trees; now hardly one is to be 
found that has not suffered from the 
axe or from fire. In consequence of a 
lawsuit pending for many years be¬ 
tween Prince Paterno and other pro¬ 
prietors of this district, no watch has 
been kept on the forest, and the 
mountaineers have freely lopped the 
trees, or set fire to their roots to de¬ 
stroy them, that they might fall into 
their hands as dead wood. If the 
trees were of larger growth, this 
would be like park-scenery, though 
the numerous green and tufted pyra¬ 
mids which rise from the forest on 
every side, the peeps of the vast bare 
plain far beneath, caught through 
the trees, and the towering snow of 
Etna, give it a very un-English cha- 


-CASA DEL BOSCO. 

racter. At the upper end of the 
forest, and about 2| hours or 8 m. 
above Nicolosi, is the 

Casa del Bosco, a low shed with a 
broken roof, which serves to shelter 
mules, and where the traveller must 
rest when the Casa degli Inglesi is 
blocked up with snow. It is about 
6233 ft. above the sea. Here on the 
1. rises the remarkable cone of Monte 
Vittoria, of a deep brick-red, sprinkled 
with trees; and on the other hand the 
large crater called Monte Nero, bare, 
dark, and forbidding. Not far from 
the Casa del Bosco is the Grotta delle 
Capre, a natural cavern, formed by a 
far-projecting rock, well known to the 
climbers of Etna half a century since, 
as affording the only shelter they 
could find between Nicolosi and the 
summit; but it has been neglected 
since the erection of the “ English¬ 
men’s House,” on the higher part of 
the mountain. In this neighbour¬ 
hood are large reservoirs of snow, 
preserved in grottoes or hollows, and 
covered with ashes, for the summer 
supply of Catania and the other cities 
of Sicily. At the Casa del Bosco the 
guides generally halt awhile to breathe 
their mules and take refreshment, for 
there are 9 m. yet to be crossed ere 
the summit is gained—9 m. of black, 
rugged surface, never varying but 
from loose ash to rough lava. Here, 
indeed, begins the Desert Kegion—a 
melancholy waste, at every step be¬ 
coming more desert, more lifeless. 
The ascent here is very steep and 
wearisome. With the exception of 
the cone, in fact, this is the most 
difficult portion of Etna to surmount. 
After toiling upwards for more than 
2 hours, you reach, where the ground 
is more level, a pile of lava-stones, 
raised as a landmark, and indicating 
also the half-way between the Bosco 
and the summit. Vegetation here 
entirely ceases; even the “ Spina 
santa," the low prickly thorn, which 
abounds lower down the slope, is no 
longer to be seen. On the rt. rises 
the long ridge of Montagnuola, rugged 
with lava-crags, and shutting out all 
view to the E. At its foot are large 



438 ROUTE 26 . -ETNA—CASA 

reservoirs of snow for the summer use 
of the Catanesi. Its E. side is a pre¬ 
cipice of rusty red rock, overhanging 
tiie Yal del Bove. You now cross 
wide fields of snow at a smaller in¬ 
clination, and after climbing a steep 
slope of loose ashes, you reach the 
Piano del Lago, so called from a lake 
of melted snow which existed here till 
it was filled by the lava of 1607. This 
so-called plain is level only in com¬ 
parison with the steep slopes above 
and below it; it forms the shoulder 
of the dome, as it were, of the vol¬ 
cano, and from it rises the great cen¬ 
tral cone of eruption. Here is the 
lava-built hut oalled the 

Casa decjli Inglesi, from having been 
erected by the English officers sta¬ 
tioned in Sicily in 1811. Over the 
door is inscribed “ iEtnam perlustran- 
tibus has codes Britanni in Sicilia, 
1811.” But it should rather be called 
“ Casa de’ Gemmellaro,” for it is to 
the exertions of the three learned 
brothers, Carlo, Mario, and Giuseppe, 
that its erection in the first instance, 
and its subsequent preservation, are 
due. In 1801 they built a cottage at 
their own expense on the edge of the 
Piano. This, being destroyed in 1806, 
was supplied by a second; but in 
1811 this was thrown down by an 
earthquake; and the brothers, having 
determined to erect it on a larger 
scale, requested assistance from Lord 
Forbes, then in command of the Eng¬ 
lish army of occupation. A subscrip¬ 
tion was formed, and a substantial 
house built, which has hitherto been 
sjaared by the volcano. It has three 
small rooms, and a shed for mules. 
The furniture it contains is of the 
coarsest description—it having been 
found necessary to avoid tempting the 
cupidity of the mountaineers. A few 
chairs and tables, and several beds 
with mattresses, have been provided 
by Doctor Giuseppe Gemmellaro from 
the contributions of travellers. As 
the maintenance of this building en¬ 
tirely depends on such assistance, and 
as it now stands much in need of re¬ 
pairs, it is hoped that travellers who 
visit Nicolosi will not forget this legi¬ 


DEGLI INGLESI—THE CONE. 

timate claim on their liberality. The 
key of the house is kept by that 
gentleman at his residence in Nico¬ 
losi. There is no store of charcoal or 
firewood; these necessaries must be 
brought up by the traveller. Even in 
the height of summer the cold at this 
altitude—9592 ft. above the sea—is 
piercing, and will be felt more severely 
from the rapid transition from the 
fervid heat of Catania. At the Casa 
degli Inglesi the traveller must leave 
his mules, and trust to his legs to 
carry him to the summit. Between 
this spot and the base of the cone 
there is but half a mile, and the plain 
is nearly level; but it is composed of 
a rugged sea of lava and scoriae, which 
makes it most difficult to traverse. 
One traveller compares his passage 
across it to that of a cat picking her 
way along the top of a wall covered 
with broken glass. He is fortunate 
who finds this tract covered with snow. 
The base of the cone is 9760 ft. above 
the sea, according to Admiral Smyth’s 
measurement. The cone rises 1100 ft. 
above this, and good lungs and good 
legs may win the summit in an hour, 
or even less, but the guides always 
reckon l.j hour at least to be neces¬ 
sary for the ascent. The lower part 
of the cone, composed of ashes inter¬ 
mingled with blocks of lava, is com¬ 
paratively easy to mount; it is when 
the lava ceases, and you enter on the 
mass of sulphur, ash, and fine dust, 
sprinkled with lapilli, which forms 
the upper part, that the great diffi¬ 
culty begins. In no case is it easy to 
climb a steep which rises at an angle 
of 45° or more, but here the difficulty 
is greatly increased by the looseness of 
the ash, which yields beneath the feet 
at every step, so that you often lose 
ground in the attempt to advance; 
and by the hot vapour charged with 
hydrochloric acid which gushes from 
the sides of the cone, blinding the eyes, 
disgusting the nose and palate, almost 
suffocating the lungs, already suffi¬ 
ciently oppressed by the rarefaction 
of the atmosphere, and disturbing the 
stomach sometimes to the extent of 
inducing sickness. Happy is he who 
to these difficulties has not to add 



ROUTE 26 . -THE CRATER-VIEW AT SUNRISE. 


439 


that of a strong wind, to contend with 
which, under these circumstances, is a 
severe trial of strength. After resting 
awhile on the summit the disagree¬ 
able sensations wear off, and the mind 
is left to the full enjoyment of the 
glorious scene around and beneath. 

The Crater .—The traveller’s first 
glance on reaching the summit is at 
the crater beneath him — the vast 
yawning chasm, ever vomiting smoke 
or vapour, which curls up its sides in 
dense clouds, and obscures the bottom 
of the abyss. The crater is subject to 
such changes, that it is impossible to 
give any description of it which may 
not bo quite inapplicable in a year or 
two. Even its circumference varies 
greatly at times, from the accumu¬ 
lation of fresh volcanic matter round 
its edge during an eruption, or from 
the crumbling back of this matter 
into the gulf. Thus, in one day, the 
cone has been enlarged from 3 m. in 
circuit to 6 m., but its general dimen¬ 
sions are such as Pliny and Strabo 
describe them, about 20 stadia, or 2J 
in. round. Admiral Smyth found its 
diameter in 1815 to be only 493 yds. 
In August, 1831, the bottom was a 
perfect level, interspersed with about 
20 small cones, hardly larger than a 
good-sized hay-cock, all emitting 
smoke but no fire. In 1832, before 
the eruption, the Marquis of Ormonde 
found the bottom of the crater choked 
with confused mounds of rock, “ like 
the rubbish of some quarry in the 
infernal regions,” and no chasm in the 
centre for the exit of the smoke, which 
found vent only from the cracks and 
crevices in the slopes. A few years 
later, it was described as an abyss of 
whioh the bottom could neither be 
seen, nor its depth guessed at by 
throwing in fragments of lava, for the 
last sound of this that reached the 
ear still indicated its passage down¬ 
wards. In 1838 Mr. Gladstone found 
it filled with lava to within a few feet 
of the brim. An inner cone occasion¬ 
ally rises within the exterior one, and 
to the same altitude. Sometimes the 
snow lies in enormous beds, disputing 
the pre-eminence of fire in the very 


heart of its dominions. Sir 0. Lyell 
found the crevices in the interior of the 
cone encrusted with thick ice, and hot 
vapours streaming out between masses 
of ice, and the rugged walls of the 
crater. The inner sides of the crater 
are generally covered with efflores¬ 
cences of sulphur, ammonia, and vitri¬ 
olic salts, of varied and brilliant 
colours, a bright orange predomi¬ 
nating, th.e yellow running, however, 
through innumerable shades, softening 
into the palest white, or darkening to 
a reddish brown. These inner slopes 
are generally much steeper than the 
outer, and therefore more difficult to 
climb. No one should venture to de¬ 
scend into the chasm, unless he has 
the assurance of his guides that he 
may do so without danger. 

Sunrise from the summit. — Some 
interesting phenomena occur at the 
moment of sunrise, which make it 
desirable that the traveller should be 
previously on the summit. As the 
sun lifts his bright orb above the 
Ionian Sea, or the mountains of Ca¬ 
labria, according to tho season, an 
immense shadow of the most delicate 
purple is projected from the volcano 
across the island, while without its 
range the mountain-tops aro waked 
into sudden and rosy brilliancy. Let 
the tourist now cast his eye westward, 
and, if the atmosphere be clear, he 
will perceive a distinct and perfect 
image of the mountain, diminished as 
if viewed in a concave mirror, darken¬ 
ing the warm mist on the far horizon. 
It gradually becomes more distinct 
with a double shade, like a pyramid 
seen in perspective; but as it darkens 
with the sun’s increasing brilliancy, 
so it gradually sinks below the hori¬ 
zon, though the broad pyramidal 
shadow still stretches well defined 
across the island. This effect lasts 
15 minutes or more. A still more 
curious and much rarer phenomenon 
is occasionally seen. The sun, instead 
of rising above the horizon of waters, 
seems to emerge from the sea beneath 
it, and to advance upwards through 
the waves till his orb actually appears 
in full glory above the horizon. This 





440 


ROUTE 26 . —ASCENT OF ETNA-THE SUMMIT, 


singular phenomenon is not of frequent 
occurrence, nor can we state the con¬ 
ditions under which it is likely to 
appear, but have heard it described by 
eyewitnesses of the highest authority. 

Of the glorious view from this spot 
no imagination, as Brydone has ob¬ 
served, has ever dared to form an 
idea. Perhaps from no spot on the 
earth’s surface are the splendours of 
creation seen to more advantage. This 
pinnacle on the brink of a bottomless 
abyss, which from time to time dis¬ 
charges rivers of fire and vomits burn¬ 
ing rocks to an immeasurable height, 
commands a prospect which for extent 
and majesty, and for the combination 
it presents of the sublime and beau¬ 
tiful, is unrivalled. For, unlike Mont 
Blanc and other mountains of great 
altitude, which are surrounded by their 
aspiring fellows, Etna rises from the 
plain in solitary majesty, without a 
rival to dispute his royal pre-eminence, 
or to obstruct the view. Seen from 
this height the whole of Sicily appears 
mapped out at your feet. “ To the W. 
the eye wandered along the summits 
of the mountains of Corleone, half- 
hidden by the vapour which concealed 
Mount Eryx from our view. Beyond 
this limit the sea spread far and wide 
on every side, serving as a frame to 
this glorious picture of nature. To the 
W. we saw the mountains of Palermo ; 
and to the N., still more clearly, 
Milazzo, the islands of Lipari and the 
black and regular pyramid of Strom- 
boli; while we could distinguish every 
undulation of the soil, and trace 
every indentation of the coast - line 
along the Straits of Messina and on the 
rocky shores of Calabria. To the S. 
the e} r e embraced in one glance, 
Augusta, Syracuse, and Cape Passaro, 
around which the coast seemed to 
bend back upon itself, disappearing 
finally amid the mist that enveloped 
it at Girgenti .”—De Quatrefages. The 
details of such a panorama are lost in 
its own immensity, yet all the promi¬ 
nent mountains in the island may easily 
be recognised. 

By the power of refraction, these 
mountains seem to be raised one over 
the other, as in a plane, almost per¬ 


pendicular to the horizon, and the sea 
appears rolled up a steep, in opposition 
to the laws of gravitation. In con¬ 
sequence of this, Catania, Syracuse, 
Taormina, and other familiar sites 
seem close beneath your feet, while 
Malta, the iEolian Isles, and other 
remote objects are greatly approxi¬ 
mated to the eye. Admiral Smyth 
calculates 150 m. as the radius of 
vision from the summit, which would 
give a circumference of about 937 m.; 
yet, when the horizon is clear, not 
only Malta, at the distance of 130 m.. 
but also Monte S. Giuliano, above 
Trapani, and the TEgadian Isles be¬ 
yond, some 1G0 m. off, are distinctly 
visible; and Lord Ormonde deposes 
to having seen the Gulf of Taranto 
sparkling in the sun, and the rugged 
outline of the mountains of the Terra 
di Lecce beyond it, thrown darkly 
against the sky, though at the dis¬ 
tance of 245 m. ! 

Etna itself, as viewed from this 
height, presents a most interesting 
and striking appearance, which would 
alone repay the labour of the ascent. 
The snow, according to the season, 
extends to a greater or less distance 
dowm the slopes, sometimes veiling 
the whole Desert Region with a pall, 
and even stretching far down into the 
woods beneath ; in summer whitening 
only the base of the cone. The Woody 
Region is seen girdling the volcano 
with a belt of the brightest green, 
interspersed with innumerable cones, 
filled with luxuriant foliage; “ while 
streams of lava radiating in every 
direction traverse the forest, like black 
roads, the highways of destruction to 
the country beneath.” But the grand¬ 
est view in all this wide panorama is 
to the E., where you look down into 
the Yal del Bove, which resembles a 
lower crater on a still larger and pro¬ 
founder scale, its lava-seamed hollow 
half-hidden by the clouds of smoke, 
emitted by its not yet slumbering 
cones. This magnificent abyss is seen, 
however, to more advantage from the 
verge of the precipices which over¬ 
hang it. 

By some the view from the summit 
at sunrise is thought to be less impres- 




441 


ROUTE 26 . -ETNA-TORRE DEL FILOSOFO. 


sive than that at sunset. The Marquis 
of Ormonde, who witnessed both, pre¬ 
ferred the latter; and said of the 
former that, indescribably grand as it 
unquestionably is, it wants that so¬ 
lemnity which so forcibly affects the 
imagination at sunset. The stillness 
of the air, the lengthening shadows, 
the fading light, and the dark sea 
rolling its mysterious waves into the 
unseen distance, all heighten at that 
hour the sublimity ot the scene. In 
the morning, on the contrary, nothing 
is left to the imagination; every object 
glitters in the broad glare of day. and 
the scene loses in impressiveness what 
it gains in splendour. Each period, 
however, has its peculiar charm. 

The cold on the summit is at all 
seasons intense. On the 26th May, 
though the thermometer stood at 76° 
at noon at Catania, Brydone found it 
27° at sunrise the next day on the 
summit. A traveller who left Catania 
on 26th March says the thermometer 
in the afternoon stood in that city at 
75°; at noon next day, on the summit, 
it was only 27°, though sheltered from 
the wind and exposed to the sun. 
In the height of summer, when it 
stands at 90° or higher at Catania, it 
will fall to 35° at the Casa Inglese, 
and to 28° on the summit. Such sud¬ 
den variations of temperature to the 
extent of 50° or 60° cannot but be 
trying ; add to which the pressure of 
the atmosphere is reduced one-third 
by the ascent. For, though a man of 
medium height, when on the level 
of the sea, may support a pressure of 
about 22,775 lbs., on the margin of 
the crater this pressure will not exceed 
15,258 lbs.; so that during his journey 
to the summit and back he is obliged 
twice to endure a variation of pressure 
of 7517 lbs. 

At the foot of the cone, on the S.E. 
side, not more than ^ m. from the 
Casa Inglese, a remarkable discovery 
was made in 1828 of a vast deposit of 
ice, preserved, perhaps for centuries, 
from' melting by the apparently ano¬ 
malous accident of a stream of red-hot 
lava flowing over it. The extraor¬ 
dinary heat of the summer of that year 
having caused the supplies of snow 


and ice to fail, which are regarded in 
these southern lands as a necessary of 
life rather than a luxury, the autho¬ 
rities of Catania applied to Signor 
Mario Gemmellaro, in the hope that 
his local kriowlege of the mountain 
would enable him to point out some 
crevice , or natural grotto where drift- 
snow was still preserved. He had long 
suspected that a small mass of peren¬ 
nial ice at the foot of the cone was 
part of a large and continuous glacier 
covered by a lava - current. With a 
large body of workmen he quarried 
into this ice, which was extremely 
hard, and proved the super-position 
of the lava for several hundred yards, 
so as completely to satisfy himself that 
nothing but the subsequent flowing of 
the lava over the ice could account 
for the position of the glacier. “ We 
may suppose,” says Sir Charles Lyell , 
“that at the commencement of the 
eruption, a deep mass of drift-snow 
had been covered by volcanic sand 
showered down upon it before the 
descent of the lava. A dense stra¬ 
tum of this flue dust mixed with 
scorise is well known to be an ex¬ 
tremely bad conductor of heat; and 
the shepherds in the higher regions of 
Etna are accustomed to provide water 
for their flocks during summer, by 
strewing a layer of volcanic sand a 
few inches thick over the snow, which 
effectually prevents the heat of the 
sun from penetrating. Suppose the 
mass of snow to have been preserved 
from liquefaction until the lower part 
of the lava had consolidated, we may 
then readily conceive that a glacier 
thus protected, at the height of 10,000 
feet above the level of the sea, would 
endure as long as the snows of Mont 
Blanc, unless melted by volcanic heat 
from below.” 

Torre del Filosofo.—On descending 
the mountain the tourist can visit the 
so-called “ Philosopher's Tower,” 
which stands on an eminence, not far 
from the Casadegli Inglesi, and some 
2 m. below the summit to the S.E. It 
derives its name from a tradition that 
Empedocles, the celebrated philo¬ 
sopher of Agrigentum, was wont to 



442 


ROUTE 26 . -ASCENT OF ETNA. 


resort to this spot for meditation. 
Some have taken it for a temple dedi¬ 
cated to Vulcan, or to Ceres ; others 
for a building raised for the accommo¬ 
dation of the Emperor Hadrian, when 
he ascended the mountain to see the 
sun rise. Whatever its original pur¬ 
pose, the ruin is clearly of Koman 
work, and can have no connexion 
with Empedocles, who lived more 
than 4 centuries b.c. It is a square 
of 25 ft., constructed of fragments of 
lava in opus incertum; hut with no 
place for a door. The story goes that 
Empedocles cast himself into the 
crater during an eruption, that he 
might be regarded as a god, not sup¬ 
posing that his death could be dis¬ 
covered; but the mountain cast up 
one of his sandals, which were of 
bronze, and revealed the fact to the 
world— 

“ Deus immortalis haberi 

Bum cupit Empedocles ardentem frigidus 
JEtnarn 

Insiluit.” Hon., Ars Poet. 

This ruin stands at the height of 9467 
feet above the sea. The most remark¬ 
able fact about it is its preservation— 
that it should still remain uncovered, 
though so near the crater, while towns 
and villages at a far greater distance 
have been buried again and again by 
lava or ashes. 

About \ m. below the Torre to the 
E., you reach the verge of the preci¬ 
pices of the Val del Bove, and look 
down into a vast pit or chasm, 5 m. 
wide and very long, stretching far 
away eastward to the sea ; but on 
every other side shut in by the stu¬ 
pendous precipices called Balzo eld 
Trifoglietto, which at your feet sink 
to the fearful depth of nearly 4000 ft. 
Many cones with wide yawniug 
mouths rise from the hollow, some 
now quiescent, others still emitting 
smoke and vapour, which curl up the 
dark precipices around, or lie in white 
lieecy clouds over the valley, deepen¬ 
ing by its shadow the gloom of the 
scene beneath. Among these cones, 
the two thrown up by the last erup¬ 
tion, in 1852, are the nearest and most 
conspicuous. Broad black streams of 
lava winding down the hollow and 


wide monotonous tracts of sand and 
ashes entirely fill the chasm, save 
where a patch of verdure has here and 
there escaped destruction; or where 
the abrupt masses of Monti Musarra, 
Capra, and Einocchio, stand amid the 
lava-torrents, like isolated rocks in the 
midst of a cataract. A more magni¬ 
ficent scene of desolation the imagi¬ 
nation cannot conceive. 

La Cisterna. — On the Piano del 
Lago, near the verge of the Balzo del 
Trifoglietto, and between the Torre 
del Filosofo and the Montagnuola, is 
a singular elliptical cavity, about 
120 ft. deep, produced in 1792 by the 
sinking of the ground, and deepened 
by similar subsidence in 1832. This 
has received the name of the Cistern. 


We make no apology for inserting 
an extract from the Journal of the 
Eight Hon. the Chancellor of the 
Exchequer, describing his ascent at 
the commencement of the eruption 
of 1838, which will be read with 
much interest and profit by every one 
who contemplates the expedition to 
the summit. 

Extract from the Journal of the Eight 
lion. W. E. Gladstone , M.P. 

Ascent or Etna. 

“30 th October, 1838.—The ascent is 
nearly uniform from Catania, though 
a part between Nicolosi and the Bosco 
is called plain. The country bears 
a volcanic aspect at every step, for 
lava meets the eye in a thousand 
forms, in roads, walls, houses; in the 
fields, where they are detaching from 
it the fine mould which gathers about 
it; in the multitude of hills which 
have sprung at different times from 
almost every pore of Etna, and which 
at different parts of the road would 
suggest that you are not on the ascent 
of a particular mountain, but travelling 
through a range of hills; and in the 
broad black lines which streak the 
sides of the giant himself, clearly dis¬ 
tinguishable in a bright sun from the 





ROUTE 26 . -ASCENT OF ETNA. 


443 


loose asli with which it is surrounded 
on the higher ground. 

“At Nicolosi we found clean beds, 
and undressed. I could not sleep 
during the hours allotted, namely 
from our dinner to 9 3 o’clock, but I 
listened with great interest to the dis¬ 
tant booming of the mountain. 

“ From Nicolosi the road passes to 
the Bosco through a tract which, al¬ 
though it belongs to the Cultivated 
Region, is as dismal as anything the 
traveller subsequently encounters. 
The Region of the Wood is losing 
some of its interest day by day, as it 
is cut down alike by authorised and 
by illicit destroyers ; of the latter we 
met some leading down their laden 
mules at one in the morning under 
the broad moonlight. However, for 
the present, this tract is very pic¬ 
turesque, like an English park, with 
its old oaks and abundant fern. There 
are also ilexes, beeches ( fagi ), broom 
of a very delicate form (as a small tree 
0 or 8 ft. high, and called ginestra), 
and pines. Oak and fern, however, 
on this side are the staples. The 
ground is infinitely varied, and in this 
respect it would be difficult to match 
it. Here we found flocks browsing : 
they are much exposed to sheep- 
stealers, who do not touch travellers, 
calculating with justice that men do 
not carry much money to the summit 
of Etna. We now began to feel the 
cold; and a fire lighted at the grotto 
where the guardian of the wood should 
be, was very acceptable to us while 
the mules were feeding. 

“ Tuesday, Oct. 31st .—By and from 
this time we had a peculiar and very 
enjoyable view beneath us. Light 
fleecy clouds lay upon the sea below 
us, which I would compare to those 
of Guido’s Aurora in the Rospigliosi 
Palace at Rome. The effect was pre¬ 
cisely similar. The line of the horizon 
was lost in the close approximation of 
the hue of the clouds to that of the 
ocean. The line of coast, and the 
objects formed by its undulations, lay 
beneath us almost as if at arm’s-length. 
I have seen this remarked before of 
the view from Etna, that it seems to 
bring the objects below very near to 


the spectator; and the reason given, 
that, as he stands in a rarer and they 
lie in a denser medium, the case is 
analogous to that of a pencil partly 
held in water, of which the lower 
part, according to a well-known law 
of optics, seems to be bent towards 
the eye. In the present instance I 
suppose it might be added that the 
effect was heightened by the circum¬ 
stance that the atmosphere was much 
more loaded with vapours below than 
where we stood. 

“ We now felt a small but very sharp 
wind, which continued for the whole 
night. The mountain is rarely with¬ 
out more or less of it. 

“ We passed on to the Casa degli 
Inglesi, occasionally walking for the 
sake of warmth through the Region 
of Snow, so called because in winter 
ordinarily covered with it. We saw, 
however (the weather having been 
very fine), but one patch of old winter 
snow, and the surface of that was 
covered with dark ash. It -lay in a 
recess fronting eastward. Our ascent 
was now very steep. The latter part 
of the stage lay over what is called 
the Piano del Lago; and indeed it 
has the requisites of a plain, except a 
level. It might more accurately be 
called a plane, because its surface, 
though not horizontal, is equable; 
and it lies between the Monte del 
Frumento on the 1., and the Monta- 
gnola and Torre del Filosofo on the 
rt., a dead waste of ash and sand, 
without a speck of vegetation, and 
hardly diversified by single pieces of 
lava here and there. 

“ The pace of the mules upwards is 
very slow, the road often rough and 
always very heavy, and the animals 
stop incessantly. 

“ The temperature was 33° at the 
Woodman’s Grotto, and 31° at the 
Casa degli Inglesi, but a slight wind, 
the slow pace of the mules, and above 
all the contrast with the solar heat in 
the day-time, give much greater effect 
to the cold than would be supposed. 

“ The Casa degli Inglesi has chairs, 
a sort of gridiron for a charcoal fire, 
sticks for the upward walk, and a low 
stand or two to serve the office of a 




444 


ROUTE 26 . -ASCENT OF ETNA. 


table. Fire ancl closed doors soon 
render it under tlie circumstances a 
comfortable home. Our active light¬ 
hearted guide had no spirits, but he 
drank some wine, of which I was 
afraid. It appears that most persons 
are attacked with sickness in their 
ascent. It came upon me before 
reaching the Casa degli Inglesi, and 
in consequence I did not drink wine 
there. Eating a little bread and a 
few grapes, I became perfectly re¬ 
established. 

“ We started on foot for the crater 
at a quarter to 6. From the Casa we 
were on the more especially volcanic 
part of the mountain, and in its pre¬ 
sent active state its influence on the 
outward air must be considerable. 
Day was breaking as we started, and 
we found the air on the top temperate 
and agreeable. The extra covering 
with which we started was deposited 
on the way. There was frost in many 
places on the surface of the ground; 
but it appears that in winter, while the 
snow lies 20 palmi deep below, the 
cone of the mountain is clear from it. 

“ As we ascended, the top had at first 
been covered with thick clouds. The 
guide, however, predicted that it would 
be clear, and the cone gradually dis¬ 
robed to our view, the showers of 
fiery stones becoming more and more 
clear, until we saw them shooting 
over the sides of the crater, and ren¬ 
dering it to all appearance wholly 
inaccessible. Bonanni doubted much 
of the practicability of ascending. At 
the Casa, however, he said there was 
a circuitous road round the cone, by 
which on the W. (the present active 
crater being on the E. side of the 
great crater) we might make our way 
up. 

“ We passed behind the Casa over a 
rude bed of lava, bearing to the 1. on 
the S. side of the cone, making way 
gradually over its lower region upon 
the ash, which really afforded a very 
good path; and I began rather pre¬ 
maturely to compare this with the 
wretched footing afforded by the ashes 
on the cone of Vesuvius. On the 
steeper and more regular part, how¬ 
ever, we found considerable difficulty 


from the frozen state of this ash; 
there were no pieces of lava, or very 
few, to tread on, and my nailed shoes 
absolutely refused to catch the hard 
surface; seriously it was not easy to 
avoid tumbling fairly down the wall¬ 
like side along which we were clam¬ 
bering. It was a luxury to me to get 
into masses of black ash, in which, 
although the foot sunk deep and slid 
far, yet it was sure to stop somewhere. 
However, we made our way to the W. 
side of the cone, and, just before we 
reached the lip of the crater, the guide 
exultingly pointed out what he de¬ 
clared to be ordinarily the greatest 
sight of the mountain, namely the 
shadow of the cone of Etna drawn 
with the utmost delicacy by the 
newly-risen sun, but of gigantic ex¬ 
tent ; its point at this moment rested 
on the mountains of Palermo, pro¬ 
bably 100 miles off, and the entire 
figure was visible, the atmosphere 
over the mountains having become 
and continuing perfectly and beauti¬ 
fully transparent, although in the 
hundreds of valleys which were be¬ 
neath us, from the E. to the W. of 
Sicily, and from the mountains of 
Messina down to Cape Passaro, there 
were still abundant vapours waiting 
for a higher sun to disperse them ; but 
we enjoyed in its perfection this view 
of the earliest and finest work'of the 
greater light of heaven in the passage 
of his beams over this portion of the 
earth’s surface. During the hour we 
spent on the summit, the figure of the 
shadow was speedily contracting, and 
taught us how rapid is the real rise of 
the sun in the heaven, although its 
effect is diminished to the eye by a 
kind of foreshortening. 

“ Stepping up to the edge of the 
crater, I heard the guide, who was 
just behind me, cry ‘ Diavolo !’ He 
proceeded to explain the reason. The 
whole space before us, said to be 
about a mile in circumference, was, 
when he last ascended, a few days 
ago, one fathomless pit, from which 
issued immense masses of smoke. It 
was now absolutely filled up to within 
a few feet of the brim all round. The 
rocky wall frowned upon it from above, 






445 


ROUTE 26 . -ASCENT OF ETNA. 


in some places begrimed from top to 
bottom with sulphur, or formed of it. 
Opposite to us, as we attained the 
western side, and turned to enjoy the 
spectacle, rose on the 1. the highest 
summit of the mountain, an old peak 
clothed with sulphur towards the 
crater, and reeking with its smoke 
upon its shelving or outward side ; on 
the rt. the small cone of the crater, 
from which issue the present showers; 
while full between them blazed the 
sun, now clear both of the ocean and 
of a deep bank of cloud, with a broad 
stream of tempered light. The im¬ 
mense pit presented to us a surface in 
some parts as if of grey heaps of ruin ; 
in the centre was a mass of what ap¬ 
peared like slate rocks; all the rest 
was the hard rugged impenetrable 
lava, in its wild forms, like the sea ar¬ 
rested at a moment of fury by sudden 
petrifaction. On looking at these 
masses we saw the red heat in the 
clefts, and on a further inspection the 
guide cried out, ‘ Ecco! cammina, 
cammina! ecco, come cammina! coin c 
hello!' A great mass of lava with 
black exterior was detaching itself by 
degrees from one behind, or rather 
was yielding to the forward pressure. 
It opened like an orange, and we saw 
the red-hot fibres stretch in a broader 
and still broader vein, until the mass 
had found a support on the new ground 
it occupied in front; as we came back 
on our way down this had grown black. 
At present we put a stick to it; it took 
fire immediately. We threw pieces of 
stone and lava upon it; they made 
hardly the slightest impression upon 
it, so hard is it while in the fluid state, 
but began immediately to acquire 
heat. We found within a few yards— 
as few as 10—bits of ice formed on 
the outside of the stones of the brink 
by Frost, which here disputes every 
inch of ground with his fierce rival 
Fire. These we threw on the lava ; 
they hissed for a moment, and were 
extinct. * A terra! ’ exclaimed our 
guide as the mass came to earth. The 
state of the crater made his enthusiasm 
red-hot. We i'were indeed extremely 
fortunate, and actually the first spec¬ 
tators of this great volcanic action. 


One would suppose that it portends an 
eruption, as the lava still everywhere 
proceeds, and the crater is nearly 
filled; but at all events it is what, if 
we were men of science, would make 
a figure in our journals. 

“To ascend the highest peak our 
choice lay between a precipice and a 
corner of the crater. We went over 
the lava in a very warm atmosphere, 
sometimes, on passing a rift, too hot 
for a moment or two to breathe. We 
got upon the back of the peak, and 
worked up through the sulphur-clouds, 
which here alone were seriously dis¬ 
agreeable. We here gazed upon the 
eastern view, embracing the Messina 
mountains and the fine kindred out¬ 
line of the Calabrian coast, so de¬ 
scribed by Virgil:— 

‘ Hajc loca, vi quondam et vastd convulsa ruina, 
(Tanturn sevi longinqua valet mutare vetustas) 
Dissiluisse ferunt, cum protenus utraque tellus 
Una foret; venit medio vi pontus, et undis 
Hesperium Siculo latuS abscidit, arvaque et 
urbes 

Li tore diductas angusto interluit sestu.” 

A?n. iii. 414. 

From thence it stretched all along 
the southern coast to Cape Passaro. 
But our chief object from this point 
was the crater of the opposite side, 
into which, having now reached a 
position higher than any part of it, we 
had a considerable insight. We en¬ 
joyed keenly our full clear sight of 
the volcanic action, and even at the 
moment I could not help being struck 
with the remarkable accuracy of Vir¬ 
gil’s account. The great features of 
this action are the sharp and loud 
clap which perceptibly shook from 
time to time the ground of the moun¬ 
tain under our feet; the sheet of flame, 
which leapt up with a sudden mo¬ 
mentary blast, and soon disappeared 
in smoke ; then the shower of red-hot 
stones and lava. At this time, as we 
found on our way down, lava masses 
of 150 or 200 lbs. weight were being 
thrown to a distance of probably a 
mile and a half; smaller ones we found 
even more remote. These showers 
were most copious, and often came in 
the most rapid succession. Even while 
we were ascending the exterior of the 
cone, we saw them alighting on its 




446 


ROUTE 26 . -ASCENT OF ETNA, 


fell ope, and sometimes bounding down 
with immense rapidity within perhaps 
some SO or 40 yards of our rickety 
footing on the mountain side. They 
dispersed like the sparks of a rocket; 
they lay, beneath the moon, over the 
mountain, thicker than ever the stais 
in heaven; the larger ones ascended 
as it were with deliberation, and 
descended first with speed and then 
with fury. Now they passed even 
over our heads, and we could pick up 
some newly fallen, and almost in¬ 
tolerably hot. Lastly, there was the 
black grey column, which seemed 
smoke, and was really ash, and which 
was shot from time to time out of the 
very bowels of the crater, far above its 
edge, in regular unbroken form. It 
was on account of this that, in ascend¬ 
ing, the guide said, ‘ Do not look to¬ 
wards the sky, or your eyes will be 
filled with sand.’ 

“ Now how faithfully has Virgil (2En. 
iii. 571 et seqq.) comprised these par¬ 
ticulars, doubtless not without ex¬ 
aggeration, in his fine description. 
First, the thunderclap or crack :— 

‘ Horrificis juxta tonat iEtna ruinis.’ 

Secondly, the vibration of the ground 
to the report:— 

‘ Et, fessum quoties mutet latus, intremere 
omnem 

Munnure Trinacriam.' 

Thirdly, the sheet of flame :— 

‘ Attollitque globos flammarum, et sidera 
lambit.’ 

Fourthly, the smoke :— 

‘ Et coelum subtexere fumo.* 

Fifthly, the fire-shower 

* Scopulos avulsaque viscera montis 
Erigit eructans, liquefaetaque saxa sub auras 
Cum gemitu glomerat, fundoque exa;stuat 
imu.’ 

Sixthly, the column of ash :— 

* Atram prorumpit ad asthera nubem. 
Turbine fumantem piceo et candente favilla.’ 

And this is within the limits of 12 
lines. Modern poetry has its own 
merits, but the conveyance of informa¬ 
tion is not, generally speaking, one 
of them. What would Virgil have 
thought of authors publishing poems 
with explanatory notes (to illustrate is 


a different matter), as if they were so 
many books of conundrums ? Indeed 
this vice is of very late years. 

“ But our position was not quite 
secure, as the winged lava every now 
and then hissed and whistled pasrt our 
ears ; and we sorrowfully turned away 
from a scene which with the com¬ 
bination of features it exhibited on 
this happy morning may well be 
termed one of the wonders of the 
world, and of itself amply repays the 
pains of our journey to Sicily, and 
obliterates from recollection the 
vermin and the mules. 

* sjt H 5 

We went down gratified, and yet 
really burdened Avitli the scene. On 
our way from the peak Ave visited the 
piece of lava which we had seen in 
progress. The torture in which it had 
writhed was over, and the whole sur¬ 
face black; any new propulsion from 
behind as yet Avas imperceptible. At 
the Casa Ave rejoined our mules and 
sinecure guide Giuseppe. He rubbed 
his eyes and our own with fresh snow, 
which Avas a very agreeable applica¬ 
tion. Descending, we took the road 
of the Casa della Neve, Avhich is a 
quarter of an hour shorter. The Casa 
itself is in miserable condition. We 
saw little on the way down but what 
the moon had previously shown us. 
We suav, hoAvever, a brace and a half 
of partridges at the top of the Bosco, 
probably 6000 ft. above the level of 
the sea. The cone Avas no longer 
spangled with the falling showers as 
last night; the breadth of daylight 
shamed even their burning hue. 

“ As the distance downwards to 
Nicolosi occupied nearly 4 hrs., I take 
it at 15 Eng. m., or thereabouts. 

“ I subjoin our times and distances to 
and from TEtna for the sake of clearness. 

“ The distances are commonly taken 
as follows :— 

Miles. 

Catania to Nicolosi . 12 

Nicolosi to Casa della NeA'e .. 7 

Casa della Neve to Casa degl’ 

Inglesi.8 

C. Inglesi to the top .. .. .. 2 

Total 29 




ROUTE 27 . -CATANIA TO MESSINA. 


447 


Catania to Nicolosi .. 
Nicolosi to the com¬ 
mencement of the 

p.m. 

1-30 

P.M. 

5 

Bosco . 

10-20 

11-45 

a.m. 

To the end of the Bosco 

11-45 

115 

To the Woodman’s 

a.m. 


Grotto. 

1-15 

1-55 


(Here the mules were 
baited by moon¬ 
light. This road 
was preferred as 
rather better than 
that by the Casa 
della Neve.) 

To the Casa degli 


Inglesi (wine, &c. 


and fire). 

To the brink of the 

2-30 

4-54 

great crater 

To the summit of the 

5-45 

7-5 

mountain, and spent 
about the crater .. 

• • 

8-5 

Descending to the Casa 



degli Inglesi (refresh¬ 
ments) . 

8-5 

9-5 

Casa degli Inglesi to 



the Bosco 

9.30 

11-20 

To the end of the 


P.M. 

Bosco .. .. .. 

11-20 

12-15 


P.M. 


To Nicolosi 

12-15 

1 -20” 


KOUTE 27. 


CATANIA TO MESSINA. 

Miles. Posts. 

Catania to Lognina . . 3 

Lognina to Aci Castello . 3 

Aci Castello to Trezza . , l 

Trezza to Aci Reale . . 4 If 

Aci Reale to Giarre. . . 10 11 

Giarre to Fiume Freddo . 6 
Fiume Freddo to Ponte di 


Caltablano .... 4 


P. di Caltabiano to Giardini 

2 

11 

Giardini to Letojanni . 

5 


Letojanni to Capo Alessio 
Capo Alessio to Savoca 

31 

1 

21 


Savoca to Zia Paola . 

3 


Zia Paola to Ali 

31 


Ali to Scaletta .... 

4 

11 

Scaletta to Santo Stefano . 

4 


Santo Stefano to Mili . . 

11 


Mili to Contessa . , 

3 


Contessa to Messina . . 

3 

11 


66 71 

This is the mail-post road : the cor ~ 
riera leaving Catania every Monday, 
Thursday, and Saturday, about 7 a.m., 
on its arrival from Palermo, and ac¬ 
complishing the distance in 10 hours. 
The mail carries only 3 passengers: 
fare, 3 ducats 3 tan, besides 5 baj. 
to the postilion at each stage. To 
post it, the charge is 15 due., or 12^ 
dol., with 5 tari 6 baj., the toll at the 
barriere or turnpikes, and 4§ tari to 
each postilion, making a total of 18 
due. 2 tari 6 baj., or 15 dol. 2 
tari 6 baj. Those who would travel 
more leisurely may hire a vettura with 
3 horses, which will do the distance in 
2 days, stopping the night at Giar- 
dini; doing the first day’s journey in 
7 hours, the second in 8. The charge 
should not exceed 8 dol., barriere in¬ 
cluded. A buonamano is expected in 
addition. This method gives the tra¬ 
veller the opportunity of halting on 
the road to enjoy more leisurely the 
many beautiful points of view along 
this coast, and especially of visitiug- 
Taormina, and the ruins of its magni¬ 
ficent theatre. To do this the travel¬ 
ler should leave Catania at an early 
hour, so as to reach Giardini soon 
enough in the afternoon to ascend to 







448 


ROUTE 27 . —CATANIA TO MESSINA. 


Taormina, and see its wonders before 
sunset. He may repeat bis visit next 
morning to see the sun rise, meeting 
Lis vettura at the foot of the hill on 
the other side. It is possible to ac¬ 
complish the distance from Catania to 
Messina in a day and a half, by mak¬ 
ing a long stage the first day to Zia 
Paola, where there is a better inn than 
at Giardini ; but in this case the visit 
to Taormina must be abandoned, 
though the traveller who would rather 
satisfy his eye than his appetite might 
even then pay a hurried visit to the 
theatre while the horses are baiting. 
The tourist who adopts the vettura 
mode of conveyance should see that 
his luggage is secured to the carriage 
as high as possible from the ground, 
as in crossing the many fiumare on 
this route it is liable to get wet. 

The road from Catania to Messina 
follows the coast, sometimes along the 
very shore, and rarely out of sight of 
the sea. For the first half of the way, or 
as far as Giardini, it traverses the east¬ 
ern base of Etna, crossing vast streams 
of lava In close succession, that have at 
various periods desolated the long and 
fertile slopes of the mountain, in many 
instances still refusing, after the lapse 
of centuries, to be clothed with ver¬ 
dure, and stretching out, mile after 
mile, a dreary wilderness of black and 
jagged rock. Yet though compara¬ 
tively deficient in picturesque beauty, 
this portion of the route is not without 
interest, from the close proximity of 
the mighty volcano, which fills the 
western half of the horizon, and from 
the ever visible traces of its power 
and wrath. The scenery beyond 
Giardini presents an entirely different 
character. The volcanic region, with 
its stern though sublime features, is 
passed, and you enter on a district 
differing as greatly in geological struc¬ 
ture as in superficial appearance. This 
portion of the coast is as picturesque 
and romantically beautiful as any in 
Sicily, resembling and rivalling the 
Riviere of Genoa, and the Sorrentine 
shores of the Bay of Naples. The 
mountains N. of Etna are the Nep¬ 
tunian range, of limestone and marble, 
and rise abruptly from the sea. The 


road runs at their base and close to 
the shore, winding round, or climbing 
over bluff, tower-capped headlands, 
and crossing, too frequently for the 
traveller’s comfort, the wide stony 
beds of torrents, or fiumare, which, 
after heavy rains, or the rapid melting 
of the mountain-snows, are sometimes 
impassable for days, causing a serious 
impediment to travelling in this 
bridgeless land. The mountain-slopes 
are clothed witli vines and corn, olives 
and mulberries; towns and towers, 
villages and villas, castles and con¬ 
vents, crown tlieir ledges and peaks : 
valleys, opening at almost every mile, 
afford charming vistas into the very 
bosom of the range ; orange, fag, pome¬ 
granate, and mulberry trees fill the 
hollows ; hedges of cactus and aloe 
border the road; while the stately 
date-palm, here and there towering- 
over the surrounding foliage, imparts 
a tropical character to the scenery. 
On the other hand, the Straits stretch 
out like a blue lake to the Calabrian 
coast, whose lofty mountains of many 
tints bound the eastern horizon. 

The road from Catania to Aci Reale 
lies entirely over lava : streams of 
different ages and in various stages of 
vegetation are crossed, affording not 
much of the picturesque, but abun¬ 
dant food for wonder and contempla¬ 
tion. The coast breaks into bold 
rugged cliffs, showing how the fiery 
torrents have been abruptly checked 
on meeting the adverse element, 
which has worn them into grotesque 
forms, and hollowed them into nume¬ 
rous caverns; some supported by huge 
piers, as if hewn by the hand of man. 
The great depth of the water close to 
the shore shows how much the lava 
has encroached upon the sea, driving 
it back for miles, perhaps, from its 
original boundary. This coast has 
charms also for the lover of ancient 
fable and lore. Here the crafty son 
of Laertes is supposed to have en¬ 
countered and escaped from the giant 
Polyplicme; this shore to have wit¬ 
nessed the loves of Acis and the fair 
daughter of Doris ; these rocks to have 
echoed the song of the amorous Cy- 




KOUTE 27 . -ACI CASTELLO-SCOGLI De’ CICLOPI. 


clops, and his tremendous roar when 
he overwhelmed the unhappy Acis. 

For the first 3 miles from Catania 
there is little cultivation, this part of 
the coast having been desolated by 
a lava-stream 122 b.c. ; and though 
other beds more recent by many cen¬ 
turies have long since been clothed 
with vegetation, this still defies atmo¬ 
spheric influences, and spreads out in 
a black, melancholy, rugged expanse. 

3 m. Lognina. —A small hamlet on 
the shore of a little bay, half choked 
with lava rocks ; though this name is 
more properly that of the bay itself; 
and the hamlet is known as S. Giovan¬ 
ni li Guti. The bay is thought to 
be the Portus Ulyssis , described by 
Virgil:— 

" Portus ab accessu ventorum immotus, et 
ingens 

Ipse ; setl liorrificis juxta tonat JEtna ruinis.” 

— JEn. iii. 5t0. 

The lava that choked it is that of an 
eruption at the close of the 15th cent., 
recorded by Bembo and Fazello. There 
is some little cultivation of vines, flax, 
olives, and oranges among the hollows 
of the lava between this and 

6 m. Aci Castello, a dirty village, 
taking its name from a massive square 
fortress of mediaeval times, now in 
a picturesque state of ruin, crown¬ 
ing a bold cliff, at the height of 250 
ft. above the sea. It was a fief of Roger 
Loria, the great Catalan admiral; and 
when he rebelled against Frederick II., 
in 1297, it was besieged by the latter, 
■who, after many fruitless assaults, 
erected a wooden tower as high as the 
walls, with a bridge made to let down 
on the ramparts, by which he fought 
the besieged on equal terms, and 
gained possession of the castle. The 
rock here is very singular. Besides the 
usual columnar basalt, it contains hol¬ 
low cylindrical masses of the same, 
some curved, but most of them straight, 
some standing upright, others lying 
horizontally over each other, like logs 
of wood. The hills above Aci Castello, 
called Nizzeti, are calcareous, overlying 
a bed of basalt, which has lifted them 
from their original position beneath 


449 

the sea. A mile beyond Aci Castello 
is the dismal-looking village of 

7 m. Trezza, built, like the little fort 
above it, entirely of lava. It stands 
on the shores of the same small bay 
of which Aci Castello occupies the 
southern horn. Directly opposite this 
village, at the mouth of the bay, and 
about half a mile from the shore, 
is the remarkable group of rocks 
called 

Scogli de' Ciclopi, or I Faraglioni, 
the “ Scopuli Cyclopum ” of the an¬ 
cients, fabled as those which Poly¬ 
phemus hurled at Ulysses when he 
had escaped from his cave, and was 
putting off to sea. They are huge 
masses of prismatic and amorphous 
lava, intermixed, capped with a stra¬ 
tum of grey marl or argillaceous 
rock, just as is seen in the heights at 
the back of the bay. There are 7 of 
these islets, of various sizes. The 
largest, the Isola d’Aci, is about 1000 
yds. in circumference, and does not 
rise more than 50 ft. above the sea. It 
lies about 450 j 7 ds. from the shore. 
Being more decomposed than the rest, 
it admits of the cultivation of vines 
and barilla. Steps cut in the rock, 
for a landing-place, lead to a cave, 
called Grotta de' Ciclopi , hollowed in 
the grey marl, which is based on the 
basalt. There is a well of sweet water 
on the highest part of the islet, and 
some traces of habitation in ancient 
times. 

About 45 yds. to the S. rises the most 
remarkable of the group. It is about 
GOO or 700 yds. in circumference, and 
rises to the height of 216 ft., tapering 
off almost to a point. “It consists 
principally of a mass of columnar 
lava, in prisms of from 4 to 8 sides, 
resembling those of the Giant’s Cause¬ 
way, but less regular in form. There 
is, however, this peculiarity about 
them, that, instead of standing, as it 
were, in ranks, they are divided into 
groups of 5 or 6, with a central column 
to each set. They vary in diameter 
from 8 to 20 in.; and the interstices 
are filled with a hard calcareous sub¬ 
stance, enclosing a multitude of fossil 



450 


ROUTE 27 . -ACI RE ALE. 


shells, many of which species are now 
found in the Mediterranean. The 
summit and northern side of the island 
are composed of stratified marl, rest¬ 
ing upon and apparently heaved up 
by the lava beneath. A deep fissure 
exposes to view the singular manner 
in which the basalt has cut into the 
clay, forcing it into the most extraor¬ 
dinary and fantastic contortions. The 
two substances are almost equally 
hard, and, though sufficiently distinct 
to the eye, are so firmly united as not 
to be separated unless by tlie stroke 
of a hammer.”— Marquis of Ormonde. 
The igneous rock here, though com¬ 
monly called lava, is more strictly 
trap. In it are embedded crystals, 
called zeolites or analcimes, very 
transparent, and almost as brilliant 
as diamonds. 

The next islet is also of conical 
form, but much smaller; and the 
others are still less. The smallest, or 
that nearest Catania, bears some re¬ 
semblance to a human head. 

It was off this part of the coast that 
in 396 b.c. the Syracusan fleet was 
defeated by the Carthaginian under 
Magon. Leptines, the admiral of Dio¬ 
nysius, relying on the separation of 
the land and sea forces of the Cartha¬ 
ginians, occasioned by an eruption of 
Etna, which obliged Himilcon to 
march round the back of the moun¬ 
tain, attacked the wary Magon, but 
was defeated by him with the loss of 
20,000 men. 

A mile beyond Trezza you reach 
the headland called Capo Mid ini, with 
the square tower of Sta. Anna on its 
crest. The rugged surface of the lava 
is in parts made to yield wine, corn, 
and flax; and its barrenness is relieved 
by scattered oaks, or by groves of 
oranges, lemons, figs, and almonds, 
which form a rich foreground to the 
snowy crest of Etna, with Tre Cas- 
tagne beneath the red cones on its 
slope, to Aci Reale, with its 5 domes 
in front, and to the broad blue of the 
Mediterranean. 

11 m. Aci Reale.— Inns: “ Albergo 
e Trattoria della Rosa,” and “Al¬ 
bergo del’ Leone,” both in the Strada 


di S. Sebastiano ; “ x\lbergo dell’ Au¬ 
rora,” in the Piazza del Duomo. 

Aci is the capital of one of the 
districts of the province of Catania, 
containing a population of 80,000 
souls. The city itself has 24,831 in¬ 
habitants. At a distance, with its 
many domes and spires, it has an. 
imposing appearance, which it loses 
in great measure on close inspection.. 
It is regularly built, however, and 
rather neat, and abounds in churches 
and convents, but, with few exceptions,, 
the houses are low and mean. Some 
are painted bright green or yellow; 
many have ugly heads in lava on the 
keystones of the doorways, and gro¬ 
tesque faces on the corbellings of' 
the balconies. The women wear 
coloured shawls on their heads, or 
mantillas of white wool, as at Gir- 
genti; the silk manto of Catania and 
Syracuse being rarely seen. The in¬ 
habitants have the reputation of in¬ 
dustry, growing much wine, fruit, 
cotton, and flax, and manufacturing 
gold filigree work, and diaper in 
large quantities. A fair of the pro¬ 
duce is held here in July, in honour of 
the patron, Sta. Yenera. The diaper is 
bleached on the banks of the Acque 
Grandi, below the town ; *and the 
adroit manner in which the women 
gather it up and place it in folds on 
their heads, without assistance, is 
worthy of notice. Aci possesses an 
academy which has produced some 
learned men; and has some free-schools- 
on the Lancastrian system. You may 
observe the Yia Lancaster and Strada 
Galatea in strange juxtaposition. 

e 

The Piano del - Duomo contains 
the Chiesa Matrice, the church of S. 
Pietro e S. Paolo, and the Casa Co- 
munale. The last building has very 
heavy, projecting balconies, resting on 
corbels, with masks of wondrous gro¬ 
tesqueness ; in short, it is a perfect 
carnival in stone. 

The Cliiesa Matrice is in the Italian 
style, the Corinthian doorway bearing 
date 1667. The campanile is of earlier 
construction, showing pointed arches 
in the lowest story, though the upper 



ROUTE 27 . - ACI REALE—LA SCALAZZA. 


451 


ones have Renaissance features. The 
whole is crowned with a spire, having- 
curious bead-work of various colours. 
The cli. is surmounted by a plain 
cupola. Internally -the architecture 
is simple. The altars are adorned 
with lavas and marbles, but there 
are no frescoes or paintings worthy 
of notice. 

S. Pietro e S. Paolo is also in the 
Italian style, with a fa$ade of two 
orders. The campanile is of earlier 
• late than the ch., and of similar style 
to that of the Cliiesa Matrice, though 
showing no pointed arches. 

S. Antonio cli Padova has a portal 
with an elliptical arch, and a high 
angular label crocheted, with pin¬ 
nacles at the angles—an ugly specimen 
of late Sicilian Gothic. An inscrip¬ 
tion invites you to seek the miracu¬ 
lous here : “ Si quseritis miracula ad 
Antonium venite.” 

S. Sebastiano has an ornate Italian 
facade of 2 orders, with statues 
of St. John the Baptist and St. 
Christopher flanking the portal ; 
while an army of saints in marble 
mount guard on the balustrade in 
front. The frescoes of the dome, 
choir, and the vault of the Chapel of 
the Sacrament, are by Pietro Paolo 
Vasta, a native artist, and are highly 
esteemed by the citizens. Those in 
the choir representing the martyrdom 
of S. Sebastian are the best. Those 
on the walls of the said chapel are by 
Vito cl' A nna of Palermo. 

II Suffrctgio is also in the Italian 
style, bearing date 1638. The altar- 
piece and frescoes are by Vasta. 

Aci Eeale cannot boast a founda¬ 
tion more remote than the tenth 
century ; but the original town having 
been almost utterly destroyed by the 
earthquake of 1693, the present is 
for the greater part of subsequent 
construction. The antiquities of Aci 
are mythical and geological. No less 
than six other places in the neighbour¬ 
hood bear the name of Aci, coupled 
with some distinguishing cognomen. 


But Aci Reale—the Aci par excel¬ 
lence —claims to occupy the very site 
of the loves of Acis and Galatea, 
where the favoured swain was crushed 
by the rocks thrown by his rival 
Polyphemus, and where the gods 
compassionately turned him into a 
rivulet, which bore his name in an¬ 
cient days, and is now known as the 
Acque Grandi. It rises at once a co¬ 
pious stream from the beds of lava, 
and, as if still in terror at the voice 
of the Cyclops, it hurries down with 
great rapidity, and falls into the sea 
only a mile from its source. It is the 
“ herbifer Acis ” of Ovid ; the “ cool 
water,” the “ ambrosial drink ” of 
Theocritus. 

Aci stands in a commanding posi¬ 
tion, on an enormous stream of lava, 
or rather on 7 different streams, which 
have at various periods flowed from 
the mountain into the sea, and are here 
piled up to the height of more than 
650 ft. No one who visits Aci should 
omit to see this tremendous precipice 
of igneous matter. It is but a mile 
to the cariccitore of La Scaletta, on the 
beach below the town, and a fine 
zigzag road, called La Sccdazzci , sup¬ 
ported on arches, or cut in the face of 
the precipice, leads down to the village. 
The several beds of black lava alter¬ 
nate with layers of burnt tuff, or the 
decomposed crusts of lava-currents, 
each baked and reddened to the colour 
of brick by the molten rock which 
flowed over it. Above all is a thick 
stratum of sconce, topped with vegeta¬ 
tion. The precipice is vulgarly called 
Timpe del Tocco. It is an example 
of a feature that in several places 
arrests the attention of the geologist 
on this coast of Etna, viz. a series of 
terraces terminating abruptly in es¬ 
carpments towards the E., and resem¬ 
bling sea-cliffs; composed either of 
lavas or of marine tertiary clay, with 
associated basalt. These cliffs, are 
found for more than 20 m. N. of Ca¬ 
tania, and are often from 300 to 600 
feet in height, whether they are 3 or 
4 m. inland, or, as at Aci Reale, have 
their bases washed by the waves. 
They are ascribed by Sir C. Lyell to 
the gradual upheaval of this coast. 



452 


ROUTE 27 . —GIARRE—RIPOSTO. 


which in parts has been raised 1000 ft. 
above its former level. 

A little N. of the Scalazza, at the 
base of a lava-torrent which flowed 
over the cliffs, between the Madonna 
dell’ Indirizzo and Sta. Tecla, opens 
a cavern, known as Grotta delle Co- 
lombe, 14 ft. high, and only approach¬ 
able in a boat. “ Here the rock is 
compact and columnar, the erect and 
often well-shaped pillars being com¬ 
posed of a dark dolerite. Over the 
cave, in a bed of lava, oblique and ir¬ 
regular prisms appear. Still higher 
up, a nearly horizontal stratum, 4 ft. 
thick, with a vertically prismatic struc¬ 
ture, is observable.”— Taj ell. 

2J m. to the W. of Aci Reale, close to 
the little ch. of Stci. Venera, is a curious 
spring rising in a circular well. Two 
vaulted chambers in ruins hard by, 
and apparently Saracenic, show that 
it was used in former times for baths. 
The water is turbid and strongly im¬ 
pregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen 
gas, which bubbles up to the surface 
with an offensive odour, and burns 
with a blue flame if a light be ap¬ 
plied. Sometimes it burns with a 
yellow or reddish flame, owing to the 
mixture of carbonic acid gas. 

On leaving Aci Reale the road leads 
through a long avenue, passing the 
Madonna dell’ Indirizzo. At the ham¬ 
let of Curaco it branches to the 1. to 
Via Grande and Nieolosi. The cul¬ 
tivated region around Aci is soon 
passed, and you enter on a waste of 
black lava, hidden in many places by 
beds of scoria;, with a scanty growth 
here and there of the vine or cactus. 
One ridge after another of these bare 
lava-torrents has to be climbed and 
crossed. As you advance, cultivation 
returns,—oaks, olives, and almonds, 
corn, flax, and vines ; but the bare, 
black lava still peeps out from its 
verdant covering. Near the Flume 
Mangano you enter on the stream of 
1329, which issued from a crater on 
the lower slopes of Etna and flowed 
down to Pizzillo, a fishing-village on 
the beach. At the hamlet of Pira a 
carriage-road branches to the 1. to Ni- 
colosi. 2 m. more, through a richly- 


cultivated country, lead to Giarre. 
This portion of the coast, from F. 
Mangano northwards to F. Freddo, or 
about 10 m., is exuberantly fertile ; and 
it owes this character to an alluvial 
deposit from 50 to 150 ft. deep which 
here skirts the shore, stretching in¬ 
land 3 or 4 m., and forming a platform 
on which Giarre and other towns are 
built. 

21 m. Giarre (pop. 18,345).—Inns; 
several; but the “ Albergo della 
Pace,” kept by Guglielmo Leila, is 
the best; very decent for a country 
town in Sicily. Giarre has some neat 
and even respectable houses, many of 
the inhabitants being growers or ex¬ 
porters of wine, and well to do in the 
world. It is traversed by one long 
and wide street, called Strada Calli- 
poli, Giarre laying claim to be the 
representative of the ancient Callipo- 
lis, an honour disputed by Mascali. 
This street is paved with lava, to say 
nothing of maccaroni, which is spread 
on mats at every door, and hangs in 
every window. One traveller singles 
out the inhabitants of Giarre as pre¬ 
eminent for dirt and ugliness; but 
they arc not peculiar among Sicilians 
in these respects. 

About 1 m. below Giarre is the 
shipping-port of Riposto, a place that 
has grown during the present century 
to a town of 5000 inliab. It is a neat 
little place, regularly built, and pro¬ 
tected by a small fort. Its port is 
always full of small craft, many of 
which are constructed on the spot. 

Giarre is the best point from which 
to visit the celebrated chesnut-tree of 
Etna, commonly called 

Castagno di Cento Cavalli, which 
lies on the slopes of the mountain, in 
the Bosco, or Woody Region, some 5 
m. above this town. The road is steep 
and rugged; and the excursion will 
take nearly as many hours. Horses 
or mules may be hired for 8 tari each, 
of Maestro Giuseppe, a shoemaker of 
Giarre, who will provide side-saddles 
for ladies. 

A straight road of 1 m. leads to La 
Macchia; and 1 m. beyond is S. Gio- 



453 


ROUTE 27. -CASTAGNO DI CENTO CAYALLT. 


vanni; both small villages. The path 
at first ascends between vine-terraces, 
then becomes steep and rugged, for it 
crosses the lava-beds of 1689 and 
1735, which in parts, however, pro¬ 
duce vines in abundance, shaded by 
oaks and cliesnuts, orange, mulberry, 
fig, and cherry trees. It also crosses 
a wide dry bed, said to have been 
formed by a torrent of hot water, 
which in the eruption of 1755 was 
caused by the sudden melting of the 
snow in the upper regions of the moun¬ 
tain, and which rushed down to the 
sea with irresistible violence, bearing 
away houses, trees, and other obstacles 
in its furious career. At 4£ m. from 
Giarre you reach the village of S. 
Alfio, among clumps of pines and 
cypresses. Plence you ascend to a 
grassy plain, studded with trees, and 
bounded by vineyards and forests, 
above which rise the bare ridges of 
the upper or Desert Region of Etna. 
Here, on a gently rising ground, at 
the height of 4000 ft. above the sea, 
stands the venerable chesnut, the 
“father of the forest,” reputed the 
oldest tree in the world. He who ex¬ 
pects to behold one vast trunk will be 
disappointed. He will see a group of 
4 decayed trees, or portions of trees, 
growing in a circle, eacli with a hol¬ 
low trunk of venerable antiquity, 
covered with ferns or ivy, and stretch¬ 
ing out a few gnarled brandies with 
scanty foliage. There were 5 of these 
stems in the circle until the spring of 
1852, when one was cut down to be 
sold. The traveller at once complains 
to his guide, as Brydone did, that he 
lias been imposed on; that he here 
sees a clump of separate trees, not 
one single tree. “They assured us 
that, by the universal tradition and 
even testimony of the country, all 
these were once united in one stem. 

. . . We began to examine it with more 
attention, and found there was, indeed, 
an appearance as if these five trees had 
really been once united in one. The 
opening in the middle is prodigious ; 
and it does, indeed, require faith to 
believe that so vast a space was once 
occupied by solid timber. Mr. Glover 
and I measured it separately, and 


brought it exactly to the same size, 
namely, 204 feet round. If this was 
once united in one solid stem, it must 
with justice have been looked upon as 
a very wonderful phenomenon in the 
vegetable world, and was deservedly 
styled the glory of the forest.”— Bry¬ 
done. The measurements of travellers 
differ, from the 163 ft. of Admiral 
Smyth to the 204 ft. of Brydone ; but 
assuming the medium of 184 ft. to be 
correct, and allowing a quarter of that 
for the diameter—the usual mode of 
calculating the size of trees—this, if 
one entire tree, must have contained a 
solid mass of timber, 46 ft. square, “ a 
most startling supposition for any per¬ 
son, unless of determined credulity.” 
On the other hand, it should be said 
that the Canon Recupero, the Abate 
Ferrara, and Mr. Swinburne, vouch for 
the fact, that by digging they found 
all these 5 stems united in one body 
at a very small depth below the sur¬ 
face. If it be meant that they have 
been ascertained to form parts of one 
solid bed of wood, from which the 
roots diverge, the question is settled ; 
but till this is proved there must al¬ 
ways be room for incredulity; for a 
number of trees of so large a size 
growing in such close proximity would 
naturally intertwine their roots, so as 
to give any but the very careful ob¬ 
server the idea of their being united. 
It has been often asserted that the 
outer face only of each stem is covered 
with bark; but this is not the fact. 
To the southern stem alone will this 
description apply. One of the masses 
still standing is a complete tree in 
itself, though smaller than the rest, 
and shows the bark all round. But 
though it appears impossible to admit 
that the space marked out by the 
separate stems was ever filled with 
one solid mass of timber, it is not in¬ 
consistent with probability that they 
all had one common progenitor, and 
were offsets from one enormous tree, 
which occupied the central space, and 
has long since perished. This appears 
to be the real solution of the problem. 
As they stand, the several portions 
are noble old trees, one measur¬ 
ing, even in its ruin, 38 ft. in girth. 




454 


ROUTE 27. —MASCALI—FIUME FREDDO. 


The tree is said to have derived its 
name from one of the Queens of Ara¬ 
gon having taken shelter in its trunk, 
with her mounted suite of 100 per¬ 
sons ; but this story must not be taken 
literally. A hut once stood in the 
central area, in which the fruit was 
stored. A public path now crosses 
the space. The fruit, though still 
abundant, is small, and without much 
flavour. 

About a furlong to the N.E. are 2 
other enormous trees of the same 
description, and much greater won¬ 
ders, because indubitably single. The 
smaller, called L'Imperio, measures 
45 ft. in circumference. The other, 
called La Nave, is a magnificent tree; 
its trunk, though hollow below, so as 
to allow of a passage through it, unites 
above, and then throws out noble 
branches, with luxuriant foliage. Its 
girth at 3 ft. from the ground is 57 ft., 
which is 5 ft. more than that of Lord 
Ducie’s celebrated chesnut at Tort- 
worth in Gloucestershire. A little 
more to the E. are 2 other cliesnuts, 
also large, though inferior to La Nave. 
All these trees are branded with the 
royal mark, which will preserve them 
from the fate of their “ 100-horse ” 
brother, which belongs to the Commie 
of Mascali. 

11 m. higher up the mountain is 
another venerable chesnut, called Cas- 
tagno della Galea, which is the finest 
of the whole, and perhaps the largest 
tree in the world. It rises, says Bry- 
done, from one solid stem to a con¬ 
siderable height before it branches. 
He measured it about 2 ft. from the 
ground, and found its girth to be 76 ft. 
These trees must be of great antiquity, 
having seen not less, and probably 
many more, than 1000 summers. They 
owe their luxuriant growth in part to 
the humid atmosphere of the Bosco 
elevated above the scorcliing arid 
region of the coast, and in part to the 
wonderful richness of the soil, which 
is composed of volcanic ash pulverised, 
•containing nitrous particles, mixed 
with decomposed vegetable matter, 
and is of the colour of tobacco. The 
luxuriance of the vegetation on these 
slopes of Etna cannot fail to attract 


the attention of the traveller. “It 
seems as if the finest of all soils wore 
produced from the most agonising 
throes of nature, as the hardiest cha¬ 
racters are often reared amidst the 
severest circumstances. The aspect of 
this side of Sicily i3 infinitely. more 
active, and the country is cultivated 
as well as most parts of Italy.”— W. 
E. G. 


At 1 m. beyond Giarre the road 
passes the hamlet of La Stracla, marked 
by a noble stone-pine. A little beyond, 
it crosses the Fiume di Carabba, and 
traversing a district of luxuriant fer¬ 
tility, at 3 m. from Giarre it branches 
to Mascali, on the lo wer slopes of Etna, 
2 m. to the 1. 


Mascali, a little town of 3051 souls, 
rapidly decaying in importance. It 
has an old Saracenic fortress and other 
remains of earlier times, which induced 
Fazello to take it for the ancient town 
of .ZEtna, though Cluver regards it as 
the site of Callipolis, a Greek town 
founded by a colony from the neigh¬ 
bouring Naxos, and besieged by Hip¬ 
pocrates of Gela, at the beginning of 
the 5th cent. n.c. It does not again 
appear in history, unless the mention 
of it by Silius Italicus, as an ally of 
the Romans in the Second Punic War, 
be so considered— 

“ Romana petivit 

Foedera Callipolis, lapidosique Engyon artus.” 


You here traverse a region of won¬ 
derful richness—yielding grain and 
wine in abundance, with almonds and 
lupins. The castor-oil plant also grows 
plentifully, and attains a large size. 
You have the towns of Mascali, An- 
nunziata, and Piedimonte on the slopes 
of Etna, above the road ; and passing 
through the hamlet of CuticheUi, you - 
reach the 

27 m. Fiume Freddo, or F. del Cas- 
tellaccio, as it is more commonly called. 
This is a clear, rapid stream, flowing- 
in a rocky bed between cliffs of lava, 
and at all seasons meriting its reputation 







ROUTE 27 . —THE CANTARA—NAXOS. 


455 


for coldness. It lias been reported to 
be injurious, yet it will do the passing 
drinker no harm, and its trout and eels 
are delicious. It is probably fed by 
the snows of Etna, for though it gushes 
from the lava at the distance of only 
£ m. above the bridge, it may flow in 
subterranean channels from the higher 
parts of the mountain, and thus become 
charged with the gases and minerals 
which .are said to affect its purity. 
The bridge which spans it bears the 
ill-omened name of Ponte della Dis- 
e/razia. The road here forks, the branch 
to the 1. being the old road from Pa¬ 
lermo to Messina, by Bronte, Randazzo, 
and Piedimonte, now no longer pur¬ 
sued by the corri&ra , j T et carriageable 
aril round the mountain, and meeting 
'.the high-road from Catania to Palermo 
at Ademo. On the rt. bank of the 
F. Freddo, at the distance of 1^ m. 
.below the Ponte della Disgrazia, and 
;about 1 m. from the sea, are some 
•curious mud-volcanoes, like the Macca- 
lube in the neighbourhood of Gigeuti, 
-but here known by the name of 
Bagnara. 

From the F. Freddo the road mounts 
a ridge, commanding a glorious view 
over vineyards to Taormina and the 
mountains of Calabria, which stretch 
along the eastern horizon ; the Castle 
of Calatabiano standing prominently in 
the middle distance on a conical 
hill, the last of a series of similar 
heights which here sink to the valley 
of the Cantara. This ridge is sup¬ 
posed to be the lava stream of 396 b.c., 
which stopped Himilcon on his march 
along the coast against Syracuse, 
obliging him to make the circuit of 
the volcano. Its surface is now covered 
with a rich cultivation. At the 193rd 
milestone, a road branches to Calata¬ 
biano, but the carriage-road to that 
town turns off a mile beyond, at the 
bridge of the same name. The town 
lies 1 m. to the 1., in the midst of corn 
land and at the foot of heights feathered 
with wood. A mediaeval castle crests 
the hill above it. Both town and 
castle are of Saracenic origin; the 
town, now containing only 1800 souls, 
formerly stood on the hill; the castle 
was rebuilt about a.d. 1400. 


31 m. Ponte di Calatabiano, a bridge 
of 3 arches, spanning a muddy stream, 
flowing through a bed of lava-blocks. 
This is the Cantara, the Onobalas of 
antiquity, on whose banks stood a 
celebrated temple of Venus. 

The Cantara, or Alcantara, lias had 
its course altered at various periods by 
streams of lava. It skirts the northern 
base of Etna, flowing beneath Ran¬ 
dazzo, Fraucavilla, and Castiglione, 
and separates the volcanic region of 
Etna from that of the schist and 
limestone of the Neptunian range. 

At the Cantara you pass from the 
province of Catania to that of Mes¬ 
sina. A little beyond, a road 
branches to 1. Francavilla, 10 m. 
distant, but is carriageable only part 
of the way. 

Naxos. —On the shore somewhere be¬ 
tween the Cantara and Giardini stood a 
celebrated altar of Apollo Archagetes, 
with the small statue of that god 
erected by the first Greeks who colo¬ 
nised Sicily, and which stood here for 
ages after the destruction of Naxos, 
being extant in the war between 
Augustus and Sextus Pompeius, 36 
b.c. Naxos itself stood on the pro¬ 
montory, now known as Capo Sehiso, 
just to the E. of the Ponte di Calata¬ 
biano, formed by a very early stream 
of lava, dating long before the historic 
period, as Naxos was built upon it 
735 b.c. Tliis -was the first settlement 
of the Greeks in Sicily^, founded one 
year before Syracuse by some Chalci- 
deans from Euboea, and some Ionians 
from the island of Naxos, who raised 
on the neighbouring shore the Altar 
of Apollo just mentioned. Naxos so 
rapidly increased in power and popu¬ 
lation, as in 6 years after its own 
settlement to send out colonies and 
found the cities of Catana and Leontini. 
It was reduced by Hippocrates, Tyrant 
of Gela, at the beginning of the 5th 
cent, b.c., and in 476 b.c. by Hieron, of 
Syracuse; but it recovered its inde¬ 
pendence, and with the other Ionian 
cities of Sicily allied itself to Athens 
in her expeditions against Syracuse. 
Naxos, indeed, was chosen by Nicias 
as his quarters for the winter of 415- 



ROUTE 27 . —GIARDINI-TAORMINA. 


456 

414 b.c., after the Athenians had 
made a fruitless landing, but before 
they laid siege in earnest to that city. 
Naxos thus incurred the hostility of 
Syracuse ; but it was not till 403 b.c. 
that Dionysius gained possession of 
this city, razed its walls and houses, 
and sold its citizens as slaves. In 358 
b.c. the Naxians of Sicily, collected 
by Andromachus, founded a new city 
on Mount Taurus above the old site, 
giving it the name of ,Tauromenium. 
The promontory seems not to have been 
reinhabited in ancient times ; it is hut 
slightly elevated above the sea, and is 
rugged with ridges of black lava, pre¬ 
serving no vestige, save in broken 
pottery, of its occupation in ancient 
times. Yet the site should he visited 
for the superb views it commands of 
Etna on the one hand, and of Taormina 
on the other. 

Capo Schiso forms the southern 
horn of the little bay whose northern 
ridge is crested by Taormina, and 
whose bight is occupied by Giardini. 
The road runs along the shore to this 
latter town, passing a marble statue of 
S. Pancrazio on the beach, from whose 
pedestal we learn that it was set up in 
1691 “ in honour of the first Bishop of 
Taormina and of all Sicily, who was 
ordained by the Prince of the Apostles 
in the year 40, and first opened the 
gates of Sicilian faith with apostolic 
keys, wrought signal miracles in the 
city, and won there the purple crown 
of martyrdom.” 

33 m. Giardini. Inns — three:— 
“ Albergo della Yittoria, di Rosario 
Longo ” (Anglicised—“Hotel ofVit- 
tory, by Rosary Long ”), is the best; 
the house and beds are clean, the 
landlord civil and attentive. The 
“ Albergo all’ uso del paese,” by Giu¬ 
seppe Galeano ; the “ Albergo della 
Gran Bretagna,” by Pietro Galeano; 
both on the rt. or towards the sea. 
Giardini is a small fishing-town of 1630 
inliab., containing nothing of interest 
beyond its inns, and cursed with malaria 
in the hot season. The fish of this 
shore, especially the mullet and barbel, 
were famed in times of old; thus 
Juvenal,— 


“ Mullus erit domino quern misit Corsica; vel 
quem 

Tauromeni tanas rupes.” 

It lies in a little bay between the Capo 
S. Andrea and Capo Schiso. To 
Taormina on the former height the 
distance is 2 m. by the short cut and 
4 by the high road, and as the former 
path is very steep and rugged, the fair 
and feeble should take the latter and a 
carriage. The heights are formidable, 
but must be scaled, for Taormina is a 
sine qua non in the tour of Sicily. 


Taormina. 

Theatre. —The first object that 
meets your eye on surmounting the 
steep is the ruins of the Theatre, the 
largest in Sicily, and the only theatre 
in Europe that retains its scena in any 
state of preservation. Like other an¬ 
cient theatres it rests against the side 
of a hill in a natural hollow adapted 
by art, the seats of the cavea being 
hewn from the rock. It stood at the 
height of 850 ft. above the level of the 
sea, at the brow of the steep, facing 
W.S.W., and, like most other theatres 
of antiquity, looking seaward. The 
idea was fine and ancient to place the 
edifice intended for public amusement 
and instruction in such a position that 
it should command the grandest objects 
of nature ; yet such a view as the spec¬ 
tators here enjoyed was perhaps beheld 
from no other theatre of ancient times. 

“ It is certainly one of the finest views 
in the world, and one of which words, 
and even the pencil, can impart but a 
faint idea. The ruins of a Greek 
theatre, with a sea of amethyst seen 
through its broken arches, might suffice I 
of itself; but then comes Etna beyond, 
displaying the whole of its magnificent 
flank, and sweeping down to the ocean. 
Bits of the town, an old fortress above, 
a sugarloaf village beyond,- with va¬ 
rious peaks and heights more or less 
distant, fill up a scene which is ren¬ 
dered doubly enchanting by the atmo¬ 
sphere, and the sun that reveals it so dis¬ 
tinctly and so brilliantly. Turn round, 
as you stand on the upper row of seats, 
and you have the mountains and the 








457 


ROUTE 27 . -TAORMINA-ANCIENT THEATRE. 


coast all the way to Messina—a com¬ 
bination sufficient of itself to make 
the reputation of any other place. 
Nothing can surpass Taormina.”— G. 
Knight. 

As usual with these classic ruins 
you can enjoy nothing except through 
the medium of a custode, who is here 
Francesco Strazzeri, “ at your service,” 
and resides in a cottage hard by. 

Though of such vast size as to have 
been capable of accommodating 40,000 
persons, this theatre was constructed 
with so perfect a knowledge of acoustics 
that the voice is conveyed without 
effort to the remotest part of the struc¬ 
ture. The plan is a semicircle, or 
nearly so, the cavea being extended 
on either side some 10" or 11 ft. 
The external diameter is 377 ft.; 
that of the orchestra 108 ft. Of the 
seats, which were cut from the rock, 
hardly a vestige remains. Five may be 
traced on the E. side, below the first 
prcecinclio, and a few at the higher 
part of the cavea towards the middle. 
Time has, moreover, so eaten away 
the solid limestone that it is not easy 
to distinguish the 2 prsecinctiones or 
corridors that divided the cavea into 3 
tiers. Above the cavea runs a third 
vaulted corridor, enclosed by a wall of 
brickwork, resting in parts on the 
solid rock, in others on a basement of 
opus incertum. In this wall open 10 
vomitories, leading to an external cor¬ 
ridor. Between every 2 vomitories 
are 4 niches in the inner brick wall, 
36 in all, alternately arched and pedi- 
mented. By some these have been 
supposed to have served for the echea, 
or bronze vessels used in ancient 
theatres to throw out the voice; but 
it is more probable that they were 
for statues of small size. Above this 
wall rose a colonnade, of which 6 
granite columns are still standing. 
Outside the wall was a double corri¬ 
dor, vaulted over with rubblework, 
and having openings in the middle 
wall corresponding to the vomitories 
in the inner. Of the portico which 
surrounded the whole externally, the 
foundations of the piers of opus incer¬ 
tum are visible at the verge of the 
cliff. 

[Sicily. 


The great glory of this theatre is 
the Scena, which remains in a better 
state of preservation than that of any 
ancient theatre in Europe, being only 
surpassed by that of the Theatre of 
Aspendus, in Pampliylia. It is a thick 
wall of brickwork, with 3 gates, the 
central one, or “royal gate,” being 
much larger than the lateral, or 
“ stranger gates.” The inner wall, 
which was once cased with marble, 
has 3 niches for statues between each 
2 gates, and one niche beyond each 
side-gate. The niches are flanked by 
Corinthian columns of various mate¬ 
rials, granite, cipollino, or dark-red 
marble, which have been found among 
the ruins, and set up of late years. 
Above this was an upper story, with 
another tier of columns, whose places 
are distinctly traceable. There was a 
passage along this story, and a door¬ 
way in it, retaining its marble thresh¬ 
old and jambs. The outer face of the 
scena has been stripped of all orna¬ 
ment ; it rested on a podium of brick¬ 
work, in which opens the arched 
mouth of a channel or sewer, which 
runs beneath the scena and orchestra. 
Of the proscenium , or stage, the founda¬ 
tions, of brickwork, alone remain. It 
was probably of wood, and was 77J ft. 
long, and 38 in depth. The orchestra 
is now strewn with remains of steps, 
seats, and fragments of columns of red 
and grey marble. No trace of the 
thymele, or altar of Bacchus, which 
stood in it, is now visible. A subter¬ 
ranean vaulted passage runs beneath 
it from the centre of the cavea, and 
opens in the basement wall of the 
scena. This must have served to 
drain the theatre. Another similar, 
but narrower passage, vaulted and 
at a higher level, crosses it at right 
angles, and must have been beneath 
the stage; perhaps the bronteium, where 
brass vessels containing stones were 
kept for the imitation of thunder. 
The depth of the orchestra, from the 
proscenium to the 'podium of the cavea, 
is 54 ft. This podium is surrounded 
by a corridor, originally vaulted. In 
each parascenion, or wing to the stage, 
is a lofty and spacious chamber, vul¬ 
garly called the Temples of Apollo 

x 




458 


ROUTE 27 . —TAORMINA-NAUMACHIA-TEMPLE. 


and Bacchus, but more probably vesti- 
aria, or the actors’ robing-rooms. The 
recesses and niches in their walls may 
have suggested tire idea of temples. 

The origin of this theatre has been 
disputed. As the scena and porticoes 
of brick, the marble columns and ar¬ 
chitectural adornments are unquestion¬ 
ably Roman, and the features of the 
plan hint at the same origin, the entire 
structure has been ascribed to that 
people. But its vast size, so much be¬ 
yond what would be required by a 
provincial town under the Romans, 
favours the opinion of many anti¬ 
quaries that this was originally a 
Greek theatre, altered and rebuilt in 
Roman times. This view is confirmed 
by fragments of masonry in the scena 
and parascenia, now enclosed by the 
brickwork ; and by portions of 3 Greek 
inscriptions, carved on blocks which 
formed part of the lower seats of the 
cavea. 

An inscription on the scena records 
that the theatre was destroyed by the 
Saracens, who, like the Goths and 
Roundheads in other lands, have to 
answer for all sins of this kind in 
Sicily, and that it was put in order in 
1748-9. The real Saracen in this case 
was a certain Duca di Santo Stefano, 
who carried off* all the statues and ar¬ 
chitectural adornments to enrich his 
palace. 

The custode of the theatre shows 
a small marble sarcophagus of late 
Roman times, with various other relics, 
in his little cottage. As cicerone to 
the town and the other antiquities of 
the site he offers his services; or the 
traveller may ask for Giacinto Bene- 
nato, who is to be found in Taormina. 

Before entering the town we will 
lead the traveller to the other anti¬ 
quities around it. 

Naumachia. —One of the first objects 
to which lie is conducted is a large 
structure of Roman times, to which 
this name is assigned. The only wall 
now standing is nearly 400 ft. in 
length. The area within it is divided 
by pilasters into 18 large circular re¬ 
cesses, alternating with others smaller 
and square. The building is con- 


l structed of large brickwork without, 
and massive masonry within. The 
channels which supplied it with water 
are still visible, and prove it at least 
to have served as a reservoir, perhaps 
for baths, perhaps to supply the town 
with water in case of a siege ; for it is 
hard to believe that a town situated 
like this would have required any other 
naumaebia than the sea. On the hill 
above it are 5 reservoirs, or “piscine,” 
of similar form, but smaller size. The 
best preserved is called the Piscina 
Mirabile, 110 ft. by 41, divided by 8 
square piers into 2 aisles—very like 
the piscine shown at Raise and many 
parts of Italy. At one end opens a 
conduit for the water, which was 
brought from the Mountains of Mon- 
giuffi, some miles to the N.; and in a 
side vault is a pipe, by which the 
reservoir was emptied. Behind the 
Capuchin Convent are the remains of 
the aqueduct, and it may be traced 
quite across the hill northwards. 

S. Pancrazio. —Outside the Porta di 
Messina is the little cli. of S. Pan¬ 
crazio, built on the ruins of a Greek 
temple. It must have been without a 
peristyle, though it had a portico of G 
columns, now no longer standing ; but 
a large portion of the walls of the 
cella, now forming those of the ch., 
still remains, together with the steps 
of the basement. The cella was 45 ft. 
in width, but its length cannot now be 
determined, though it probably ex¬ 
ceeded 100 ft. It faced the E. as 
usual. There are 3 stejrs to the sty¬ 
lobate, and the masonry, which is 
regular, and undoubtedly Greek, rises 
above to the height of 9 courses, or 
134 ft. By some this temple has been 
taken for that raised to Apollo Area- 
getes by the first colonists of Naxos, 
though we are told that the altar to 
that god stood on the coast by that 
town, probably near the banks of the 
Fiume Cantara. 

Close to this are the foundations of 
some Roman building lined with 
marble; and nearer the gate are the 
remains of a brick edifice, vulgarly 
called “ La Zecca but probably a 
tomb. To the N. and E. of the town, 







ROUTE 27 . -TAORMINA—CHURCHES. 


459 


especially at tlie back of the Theatre, 
on the brow of the hill facing Messina, 
are several Homan sepulchres of brick, 
or opus incertum, once adorned with 
stuccoes and frescoes, and containing 
niches for urns or lamps. One of 
these, called Grotta di S. Leonardo, 
retains traces of frescoes on its walls. 
Beneath the garden-wall of the Padri 
Osservanti are several tiers of sepul¬ 
chral niches hollowed in the rock, 
which are either Saracenic or of the 
Low Empire. Here is the ch. of S. 
Pietro, a specimen of late Sicilian 
Gothic, with some curious features. 
The capitals of the piers of the arch 
of triumph within the ch. are curious, 
being composed of 2 tiers of foliage, 
meeting from above and below, and 
appearing to grow from the stone. 

Taormina, a poor and dirty town, 
of between 4000 and 5000 inhab., now 
represents the ancient grandeur of 
Tauromenium. Anywhere but in 
Sicily a spot so full of interest would 
be a fortune to innkeepers ; here there 
is not a locanda where the tourist can 
stay to enjoy at leisure the wonderful 
combination presented of the utmost 
magnificence of natural scenery with 
most attractive remains of ancient and 
mediaeval art. The town is built on 
a narrow ledge or platform between 
a precipice and the lofty rock on 
which the castle stands, so that it 
contains little beyond a single street, 
more than a mile in length. It 
is surrounded by a Saracenic wall, 
with square towers at intervals, re¬ 
paired and strengthened in the 16th 
cent, by Charles V. Its churches and 
convents are numerous; it has many 
quaint old mansions of feudal times, 
and is full of interesting morsels for 
the architect, and most tempting 
scenes for the portfolio. There is 
much medimval as well as classical 
interest in Taormina, and this is to 
be found both in the ecclesiastical 
and domestic architecture. 

The Ghiesa Matrice , or Arcivescovato, 
dedicated to S. Nicola, has an Italian 
fa§ade; but the N. door is sharply 
pointed, and presents a good speci¬ 


men of the style of Sicilian Gothic 
peculiar to this town. Its 3 orders 
are moulded, and rest on very slender 
shafts with small foliated capitals. It 
has a marble lintel resting on brackets, 
and adorned with a scroll moulding 
and figures of Our Saviour between 
St. Peter and St. Paul, in quatrefoil 
medallions. The head of the arch is 
filled in with masonry, but adorned 
with large trefoil cusps in lava. The 
door, from the bottom to the apex of 
the arch, is encircled with grape fo¬ 
liage, apparently growing from vases 
on the ground; and the whole is en¬ 
closed by a label of black lava, resting 
on slender lava shafts with white 
marble capitals. The S. door is of 
similar character, but with dog-tooth 
mouldings continuous on abacus and 
lintel. These doors must be of the 
15tli cent., though the ch. shows 
features of an earlier date. It con¬ 
tains a painting in tempera of the Holy 
Family, of some merit, but greatly in¬ 
jured. In the piazza in front of this 
ch. is an octagonal fountain with 2 
basins, the lower resting on 4 boys: 
the upper on 4 monsters, and crowned 
by a centaur and a boy holding a ball 
and cross. 

L' Addolorata contains an early 
diptych of the Visitation, painted in 
tempera on a gilt ground. 

S. Agostino. —This cli., on the verge 
of the steep, commanding a magnifi¬ 
cent view of Etna and the coast, has 
a simple pointed portal, with a lintel 
resting on brackets, and a lava label, 
corbelled. The belfry-tower is battle- 
mented, with pointed lights, which, 
as well as the labels, corbels, string¬ 
course, and cornice above, all show 
the dentil-moulding. Behind the choir 
in this ch. is a quattrocento triptych. 

Sta. Caterina contains a statue of 
the saint in white marble, bearing- 
date 1473. 

T Cappuccini. —The door of this 
cli., which is just outside the town, is 
very similar to that of the Chiesa 
Matrice, but the outer shafts are 

x 2 



460 


ROUTE 27 . -TAORMINA—PALACES. 


twisted, with a nail-head heading be¬ 
tween the twists. 

La Madonna della Lettera has a 
round-headed portal, cusped, with a 
large dentil-moulding within the 
label. 

The finest specimens of mediaeval 
architecture that Taormina can show 
are her palaces. In the principal 
piazza stands the large 

Palazzo Corvaja, once a fine speci¬ 
men of Sicilian Gothic ; now retaining 
that character only in the upper story, 
which has 4 windows divided into 
double lights by a slender shaft with 
bossed capital, and dominated by an 
ogee arch. The facade is crowned 
with battlements. Between the stories 
runs a stringcourse diapered with 
black lava and white stone, and bear¬ 
ing Latin inscriptions defining the 
Christian virtues. The quadrangle 
within shows pointed double win¬ 
dows ; on the staircase are bas-reliefs 
of Eve rising from Adam’s side, the 
Temptation, and the Expulsion from 
Paradise. 

The Palazzo Ciampoli is not unlike 
the P. Corvaja. Over its plain pointed 
portal it has a stringcourse similarly 
diapered; and above this a row of 
very graceful windows with double 
lights and cusped heads, but without 
a dominant arch. Both these palaces 
must date from the loth centy. 

Palazzo del Duca di Sio. Slefano .— 
This is a large square pile of yellow 
stone, presenting a specimen of earlier 
Sicilian Gothic. The lower story has 
double lights pointed, with lava labels, 
all undecorated. The upper has large 
windows sharply pointed, divided into 
double lights by slender columns ; 
the heads of the lights being trefoiled, 
and those of the dominant arches 
filled in with tracery. The parapet 
is machicolated with triple chevron 
and trefoil corbellings—all in black 
lava. Beneath the palace is a vaulted 
bath, supported on granite columns, 
with foliated capitals of marble. The 
date of the vault is about 1300. 


This palace stands by the city-walls 
and close to the Porta Catania, which 
is double; the inner gate having a 
round arch of the date of 1440; the 
outer gate, Porta Toca, being pointed, 
with a flat lava label; both are sur¬ 
mounted by machicolations. Between 
these two gates is the little ch. of 
S. Antonio, which has a pointed portal, 
very like the N. door of the Cliiesa 
Matrice. 

Palazzo Cipulla, another Gothic 
palace, burnt in 1848 by the Neapoli¬ 
tan soldiers. 

Palazzo del Conte Paladino shared 
the same fate. In the' cortile within 
are preserved some antiquities from 
the theatre and other parts of the 
ancient city, architectural fragments, 
and one long Greek inscription in 
small letters. 

Many private houses in Taormina 
have simple pointed or elliptical door¬ 
ways and windows, generally without 
mouldings, but with lava labels, and 
voussoirs of lava and marble, black 
and white alternately, with string¬ 
courses banded and diapered, of the 
same materials. Many doors have 
lintels resting on brackets, with the 
family crest on the keystone. 

Badia Vecchia. — The most pic¬ 
turesque bit of Gothic architecture in 
Taormina is this old abbey, opposite 
the Madonna del Carmelo, and at the 
base of the precipices of the Castle- 
rock. It has 3 sharply-pointed win¬ 
dows with double lights in the upper 
story, whose heads are filled with 
circles and cusped tracery ; the span- 
drils are diapered with lava and 
marble, and a stringcourse of the 
same runs beneath the windows. 
Below is a large pointed window now 
broken away. The whole is sur¬ 
mounted with battlements. It is quite 
a ruin, but rich and picturesque, and 
a study both for the architect and tho 
painter. 

Tauromenium. — The ancient city 
was not confined to the narrow limits 
of the modern town, but extended 











ROUTE 27 . -TAUROMENIUM-—MOLA. 


461 


over the entire height, including the 
space to the E. on which stands 
the Theatre. The walls may be 
traced by fragments round the verge 
of the steep, and show the city to 
have been fully 4 miles in circuit. 
In various parts of this area, not 
now occupied by houses, are found 
traces of ancient habitation. From 
the midst rises the lofty height of the 
Acropolis, now crowned with the ruins 
of a Saracenic castle, and named from 
an old chapel on the summit, La Ma¬ 
donna della Rocca. It is difficult to 
conceive of a position of more natural 
strength than this. The yellow rock 
is so scarped by nature as to be 
utterly inaccessible, save where one 
path winds up the steep. 

Tauromenium is not of very remote 
antiquity. On the destruction of Naxos 
by Dionysius of Syracuse in 403 b.c. 
he delivered the territory of that city 
to the Siculi; these settled on the hill 
of Taurus, and built a fortified city 
there, which they called Taurome¬ 
nium. In 358 b.c. Andromaclius, father 
of the historian Timams, gathered the 
surviving exiles from Naxos, with their 
descendants, and established them on 
this site, and to him, some say, the 
city owes its name. Tauromenium was 
favoured with great prosperity, and 
increased rapidly in wealth and power. 
Here Timoleon landed when he came 
from Corinth to deliver Sicily from her 
tyrants. It was taken by Agathocles, 
who, to punish it for having sided with 
the Carthaginians against him, put the 
principal citizens to the sword. In 
278 b.c. Pyrrhus, when invited to Sicily 
by the Greek cities to assist them 
against their Punic foes, landed at 
Tauromenium. In the treaty which 
Hieron II. made with Rome, 263 b.c., 
this city fell to the share of the Syra¬ 
cusan monarch. It suffered, in com¬ 
mon with other Sicilian cities, from 
the rapacity of the praetor Verres. 
It espoused the cause of Sextus Pom- 
peius against Augustus, and suffered 
greatly in consequence, most of its 
citizens being expelled, and their places 
supplied by a Roman colony planted 
here by the victor. In Strabo’s time 
Tauromenium was one of the most po¬ 


pulous cities in the island after Messana 
and Catana; in 902 it was taken by as¬ 
sault by the Saracens after a protracted 
siege, and its inhabitants were put to 
the sword. It was wrested from them 
in 1078 by Count Roger, the Normau, 
6 years after his conquest of Palermo. 

Mola .—High above Taormina, and 
far out-topping the lofty Castle-rock, 
towers the isolated peak of Mola, 
crested by the little village of that 
name, a miserable hamlet of 800 souls, 
which has little interest for the tourist 
beyond the panorama it commands of 
wonderful extent and beauty. The 
ascent to it is very steep and tedious, 
for when you have only reached the 
base of its tremendous precipices of 
yellow limestone, you look down into 
the grassy court-yard of the Castle, or 
La Rocca. As you toil up the rugged 
path beneath the cactus-hung cliffs, 
remember it was by this very track 
that Dionysius of Syracuse climbed 
one winter’s night, 394 b.c., when the 
snow lay thick on the ground, and 
surprised the Sicilian garrison. Then 
descending and attacking the city, he 
effected an entrance, but was speedilj’’ 
driven out, and in his flight rolled 
down the steep liill-side, barely escap¬ 
ing from his enemies, and not without 
a wound. There is only one entrance 
to Mola, by a gate which bears date 
1578. The principal cli. has a sin¬ 
gular portal, with a round arch, rest¬ 
ing on pilasters of red marble, and 
containing cusps enclosed by a den¬ 
til-moulding ; very similar to the 
door of La Madonna della Lettera 
in the town below. In the wall of 
the ch. is embedded a Greek inscrip¬ 
tion. The summit of the rock is 
crowned by the ruins of a mediaeval 
castle. The magnificence of the view 
from the ch.-porch or from the ruined 
castle is worth all the labour of the 
ascent. 

The traveller who would see Taor¬ 
mina en ‘passant, if coming from Mes¬ 
sina, may leave his carriage a mile or 
two beyond Letojanni, near the 200tli 
milestone, just before the turn of 
the road round the headland of S. 





462 


ROUTE 27 . —CAPO S. ANDREA—CAPO S. ALESSIO. 


Andrea; and the steep path up the 
hill-side will lead him to the Messina 
gate of Taormina, near the cli. of S. 
Pancrazio. His carriage may proceed 
to Giardini, and if he have left Mes¬ 
sina in the early morning, he will have 
abundant time to see Taormina and 
its Theatre, and to reach Giardini be¬ 
fore dark, descending by the short cut 
on the S. side of the hill. The tra¬ 
veller en route for Messina, if he leave 
Giardini early in the morning, may 
send his carriage on to wait for him 
at the foot of the path on the N. side 
of the height, while he climbs the 
steep on the S. side, which will lead 
him into the town of Taormina, not 
far from the Theatre. 

The high-road winds round the 
Capo St. Andrea, cut in the face of 
the lofty cliffs of mica-slate and varie¬ 
gated marble, which are hung with 
cactus and carobs. At the barriera 
by the 198tli milestone a carriage- 
road branches to the 1., winding up to 
Taormina, hence 2 m. distant. At the 
point of the headland you look down 
into two romantic little bays or coves, 
shut in by bold rocks of marble which 
project into the sea, and are hollowed 
into large caverns, full of wild pigeons. 
One of the bays contains a little-island 
with a ruin on it. The traveller who 
is coming from Messina should, in 
rounding this Cape, halt awhile a 
little beyond the barriera to enjoy the 
magnificent view, which here bursts 
upon him, of Etna and the southern 
coast—a similar view to that obtained 
from the Theatre of Taormina, but 
wanting the imposing and all pic¬ 
turesque masses of the scena for its 
foreground. On the road northwards, 
on turning the point, the whole of the 
glorious coast towards Messina, with 
its succession of bold headlands and 
tower-capped peaks, comes into view, 
the eye reaching to the very Straits, 
shut in by the opposing mountains of 
Messina and Keggio. The road winds 
round beneath the height of the an¬ 
cient theatre, and proceeds along the 
coast to 

38 m. Letojanni, alias Gallodoro, a 
small village without an inn. Its 


fiumara, for every village between this 
and Messina has a fiumara, is worthy 
of a sketch, with its bold bare heights 
rising from a sea of olives, almonds, 
and lemons. These fiumare are the 
stony beds of mountain torrents, too 
wide in most cases to be bridged over, 
and which, though dry or nearly dry 
in summer, yet after heavy rains, or 
on the first melting of the mountain- 
snows, are frequently swollen to a 
dangerous extent, so as to be unford- 
able for days together. Each fiumara 
takes its name from some town or 
village on its banks, which iu most 
instances has a dependent hamlet of 
the same name on the coast, desig¬ 
nated by the prefix of “ Marina,” or 
the two are distinguished as “ the 
upper ” and “ the lower ” town—“ su- 
periore,” or “ di sopra,” and “ infe- 
riore,” or “di sotto.” 

A mile or so beyond Letojanni 
the Ponte di Landro spans a tor¬ 
rent issuing from a wild gorge. 
You have here full before you the 
bold tower-crested headland of S. 
Alessio, overhung by the village of 
Forza cl’ Agro, with its ruined fortress, 
perched like an eagle’s nest on the 
summit of the serrated ridge which 
rises steeply from the cape. As you 
approach the headland, cliffs of varie¬ 
gated marble, green, grey, and red, 
overhang the road, and huge masses 
hang on the face of the steep, appa¬ 
rently ready to detach themselves, and 
crush the passing traveller. After 
crossing the Fiumara del Fondaco del 
Parrino you mount by a steep ascent 
to Capo Alessio , which here rises in a 
sheer precipice of yellow limestone 
from the sea, crested by a castle, while 
a larger fort or barbican commands 
the pass. Both are said to date from 
the English occupation of Sicily in 
the beginning of this century. This 
road is the only pass along the coast, 
the height of Forza and the moun¬ 
tains further inland being quite im¬ 
passable. Imagination indeed is at 
fault to discover how the tremendous 
precipices on which Forza stands are 
to be scaled. The road is hewn in 
the face of the cliffs overhanging the 
| sea, which rise high overhead, hung 





ROUTE 27 . —SAYOCA—ZIA PAOLA—FIUMEDINISI. 


463 


with cactus and grey crags, while on 
the beach lie enormous boulders which 
have fallen from above at some former 
period. From this point, on looking 
back, Taormina, or rather the square 
mass of the Theatre-hill, the conical 
castle-height, and Mola on its peak 
high over all, shut in the beautiful 
little bay and bound the horizon to 
the S. On passing the ridge a prospect 
of rare beauty opens; the richly- 
wooded shore studded with villages, 
the mountain-peaks crowned with 
castles, and the horizon bounded by 
the headland of Scaletta and the grey 
coast of Calabria. 

The first place you reach on de¬ 
scending from the pass is the village 
of Alessio, on the shore, buried in 
orchards and orange.-groves. Just 
beyond it you cross the wide Fiu¬ 
mara d' Acjro, or “ F. d' Aro ,” as it is 
called by the peasantry, the widest 
on this coast, and yet the most diffi¬ 
cult to ford after heavy rains. The 
hills here recede somewhat from the 
shore, and are bare, save a scanty 
cultivation of corn or vines. At the 
town of Limina, up the gorge, are 
coal-mines. One mile beyond Alessio 
you reach the 

44 m. Marina di Savoca, a village 
lying at the mouth of its wide fiumara, 
up which, at the distance of 2J m. 
inland, on a prominent height, stands 
the town of Savoca, pronounced 
“ Saoca,” founded by Count Roger, 
who also peopled it with Saracens and 
built its castle. It lies in a hollow be¬ 
tween two ruin-capped peaks, and its 
tall tower shooting up between them 
recalls Fiesole, though on a bolder 
scale. It is famous for the best wine on 
this'eoast. Classical antiquities it has 
none, and the ch. of S. Michele, with its 
2 doors, highly decorated, is the only, 
though a rich specimen of Sicilian 
mediaeval architecture. Beyond the 
Marina of Savoca is the village of 
Santa Teresa, with its fiumara, some¬ 
times called F. di Fulci, or di Man- 
danice, from an abbey of Basilian 
monks, founded by Count Roger, some 
miles inland, on the 1. bank. 


47 m. Zia Paola, or Marina di 
Palma, better known by the former 
name, the cognomen of an “ aunt ” or 
“ granny ” who in past times kept an 
hostelry in this village. Of inns there 
are now three. The “ Albergo di Do¬ 
menico Mastroni;” “Antica Locanda 
della Zia Paola,” kept by Stellario 
Guillemi; and “ L’ Aurora,” kept by 
Benedetta Fazio. The last, which is 
at the Messina end of the village, is 
to be preferred, for the character of 
the accommodation, the cleanliness, 
the cuisine, and above all for the 
civility and brisk attendance of Pe- 
pina, the factotum. This is unques¬ 
tionably the best inn between Catania 
and Messina, and on this account 
many vetturini make Zia Paola their 
halting-place for the night, instead of 
Giardini. At the S. end of this vil¬ 
lage is a fine round tower of Norman 
date standing by the road-side. From 
Zia Paola you obtain a glorious view 
of Etna with his crest of snow. 

Half a mile beyond Zia Paola is 
Scifjlio, and at the same distance fur¬ 
ther on is Roccalumera, at the mouth 
of its fiumara. It is so called from 
its alum-mine, close to Roccalumera di 
Sopra, up the gorge, and beneath the 
Castle of Fiumedinisi. Next succeeds 
the small town of Fiumedinisi, re¬ 
markable for nothing but a ruined 
fort in the street, dated 16G6. It 
stands at the mouth of a wide fiumara, 
with clumps of mulberry and fig-trees 
growing in islands in its channel. 
Three miles up it, on the rt. bank, 
stands Fiumedinisi di Sopra, a town of 
nearly 3000 souls, with its ancient castle 
crowning a lofty peak on an opposite 
height. The neighbouring mountains 
abound in metals and minerals—silver, 
lead, copper, cinnabar, alum, antimony, 
and marcasite ; and some of the mines 
were worked by the ancients, the re¬ 
mains of their shafts being still appa¬ 
rent. The hills here recede somewhat 
from the sea, and open up a view of the 
lofty and grand mountains of the inte¬ 
rior, among which Monte Scuderi soars 
pre-eminent, while the luxuriant fruit- 
groves in the valley form a rich fore¬ 
ground. Monte Scuderi is one of the 
loftiest of the Neptunian range, ris- 







4G4 


ROUTE 27. -ALI-SCALETTA. 


ing, says Smyth, to the height of 
3190 ft. Its summit commands both 
seas, and on it there is said to be 
a deep cavern from which there 
constantly issues a cold blast, so vio¬ 
lent as to render it difficult of ap¬ 
proach ; but this cavern has been 
sought in vain by those who have 
ascended expressly to visit it. 

50J m. All. This village is re¬ 
nowned for its warm mineral baths, 
efficacious in palsy, paralysis, rheu¬ 
matism, and cutaneous disorders. The 
waters contain “ iron, salt, carbonic 
acid gas, hydrogen gas, sulphate of 
iodine, phosphate of lime and of mag¬ 
nesia, bicarbonate of soda, of lime, 
and of magnesia, muriate of potash, 
of soda, of lime, and of magnesia.” 
The temperature is 102° Fahrenheit. 
These baths are much resorted to 
from all parts of Sicily during the 
summer, from 5th June to the end of 
August. Two or three miles up the 
Fiumara d’ All, and high on the moun¬ 
tains, stands All Super lore, renowned 
for its wines and its beggars. All 
Inferiore is overhung by steep cliffs 
of breccia, but a little beyond the 
town they are of yellow limestone, 
and show curiously contorted strata 
of various hues. About a mile beyond, 
the road crosses the bluff headland 
called Capo Grasso or Capo cV All, 
crested by a round tower, and mark¬ 
ing, with the Capo dello Armi, on the 
coast of Calabria opposite, the en¬ 
trance to the Straits of Messina. On 
passing this headland a new view 
opens of the coast to the N., with the 
white villages of Itala and Scaletta 
on the shores of the wooded bay, of 
which Capo Scaletta and the castled 
heights behind it form the boundary. 
The intervening mountains rise steeply 
from the sea, and are wooded or cul¬ 
tivated to their summits. Those of 
Calabria opposite shut in the blue 
Straits like a lake. The soil here is 
quite purple from the detritus of the 
dark marble rocks. The first village 
on the shores of this lemon-scented 
bay is Itala, whose fiumara is full of 
fruit-groves, above which rises the 
tall tower of Itala Superiore. On the 


other side of the fiumara is the vil¬ 
lage of Vidamarzo. On the olive-clad 
heights inland, about 2 m. from the 
sea, but not visible from the road, 
stands the old Norman abbey of St. 
Peter and St. Paul, another of the 
many religious establishments founded 
by Count Roger. A few monks of the 
order of St. Basil still occupy it. Half 
a mile beyond Itala is 

54J m. Scaletta. A decent village, 
the first post from Messina where the 
traveller who is approaching that city 
lias to satisfy the docjanieri that he 
carries nothing contraband. Crowning 
the steep limestone heights overhang¬ 
ing the village is Scaletta di Sopra, 
with a looplioled fort in ruins, half¬ 
way up the ascent, commanding the 
road, and a venerable feudal castle of 
the 14th centy., high on a cliff above 
the town. The road next ascends to 
Capo Scaletta, a low headland, but pic¬ 
turesque with a tall watch-tower in 
ruins on its point, and many rocks 
scattered on the beach and in the sea 
at its base. From this you descend to 
the village of Giampilieri, in a small 
bay surrounded by orange-groves ; 
and its superior brother is seen up 
the fiumara, a mile inland, rearing 
its tall church-tower on the olive-slope, 
high above the orange-clad hollow. 
Half a mile beyond Giampilieri is the 
hamlet of S. Paolo, at the mouth of 
the Fiumara della Briga. Just beyond 
it is a narrow ravine, spanned at its 
mouth by a bridge. A path hence on 
the rt. bank leads to the Benedictine 
monastery of S. Placido di Calonerd, 
a fine edifice of Italian architecture 
among the mountains, about 2 m. in¬ 
land, and containing about 40 monks. 
It is not visible from the road. From 
S. Paolo Messina comes into view, 
with its castle and lighthouse jutting 
into the Straits. The mountains on 
this part of the coast are much broken, 
affording many views into their re¬ 
cesses ; the lower heights are covered 
with olives or sprinkled with the 
cactus. The level strip between their 
base and the sea is dark with groves 
of oranges and mulberries, varied by 
market-gardens, carefully irrigated by 























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KOUTE 27. —S. STEFANO MILI—CONTESSA. 465 


means of the zenia, the old wooden 
cog-wheel for raising water from the 
well, introduced by the Saracens, and 
still in use throughout Spain and the 
East, but here in most instances im¬ 
proved into a compact iron apparatus 
on the same principle, sometimes in¬ 
closed in a tower 15 or 20 ft. high. 

58J m. Santo Stefano, a hamlet at 
the mouth of a fiumara which is very 
wide, and in wet weather difficult 
to ford. The view up it is fine. 
The 3 villages of Sta. Margherita, 
Menzana, and Santo Stefano di Sopra, 
are seen gleaming from the rich 
foliage ou the banks of the stream, 
and above them rise slopes dark with 
wood, and overhung by a glorious 
mass of mountains. The next village 
reached is Galati, with a very narrow 
fiumara, enclosed between walls. Ga¬ 
lati Superiore is seen up the stream, 
about a mile inland. Messina is now 
full in view, with its lighthouse and 
castles, and the mountains on both 
sides apparently meeting to close the 
Straits. 

GO m. Milt, a small hamlet with a 
barn-like ch., containing a picture by 
Antonello Riccio. The mountains on 
the coast are here broken into fine 
forms—bare crests, over slopes sprin¬ 
kled with the olive and cactus. On 
the shore is a luxuriant vegetation of 
oranges and lemons, mulberries and 
figs, growing over vines, corn, flax, or 
lupins, cultivation being carried down 
to the very beach. In the villages 
are many silk-houses, for the pre¬ 
servation of the worms, and for wind¬ 
ing off the cocoons. Half a mile up 
the fiumara is Mili Superiore , which 
possesses an abbey founded by Count 
Roger. In 1855 a deluge from 
the mountains carried away many 
houses on the banks of this fiumara, 
and 24 human beings were drowned. 
A little beyond Mili is the Fiumara 
di Larderia, with the village of that 
name, and another called Zaffaria, up 
the hollow some miles from the road. 
To this succeeds Tremisteri, with a 
neat Italian tower to its ch., and a 
fiumara as usual. Among the moun¬ 


tains above this village stands the 
Abbey of Sta. Maria Roccamadore, 
founded in 1197 by Count Paterno, and 
now famed for its choice wine. The 
next village on the shore is Pestumida 
or Pestuna, separated only by a fiumara 
from 

63 m. Contessa. Here the Swiss and 
Neapolitans landed in the last attack 
on Messina in 1849, and their march 
on that city was marked by an nil- 
broken line of desolation—houses, 
churches, convents, hospitals, sacked 
and burnt up to the very gates. This 
and the intervening villages are now 
recovering from that fearful devasta¬ 
tion, but hero and there traces are 
still extant of the paternal tenderness 
which Ferdinand II. boasted of dis¬ 
playing towards his people. From 
this to Messina there is a continuous 
suburb, divided nominally indeed into 
villages, with pretty villas at intervals, 
the suburban retreats of the wealthy 
Messinese. In Gazzi the silk-factory 
of Mr. Gregory, with its tall chimney, 
is a conspicuous, though not a pic¬ 
turesque feature, testifying to the in¬ 
dustry of this part of Sicily, where 
the production of silk lias been main¬ 
tained ever since the introduction of 
the worm from Greece by King Roger. 

You enter Messina by the Porta 
Ciera. 

66 m. Messina. 

Messina. 

Hotels: “La Vittoria,” kept by Wil¬ 
helm Moller, is esteemed the best. It 
is situated on the Marina, and com¬ 
mands a delightful prospect over the 
harbour, the Straits, and the moun¬ 
tainous coast of Calabria. The entrance 
is in the Strada Garibaldi. The apart¬ 
ments are large, lofty, and well fur¬ 
nished. The attendance and cuisine 
are good. Table-d’hote at 5 p.m., at 4 
francs. Though “ La Vittoria ” will 
appear a paradise to him who has 
just made the tour of the island, and 
welcomes the novel comforts of a civil¬ 
ized hotel, travellers fresh landed from 
Palermo, Naples, or Malta, consider 
hemselves entitled to grumble. The 

x 3 







466 


ROUTE 27. —MESSINA-HOTELS—CONVEYANCES, &C. 


charges are certainly higher than at 
the “ Trinacria ” of Palermo ; and, 
what is no fault of the landlord, the 
society is decidedly inferior, being 
principally composed of commis voy- 
ageurs from all parts of Europe. A 
rival hotel is “La Trinacria,” kept 
by Nobile, situated also on the 
Marina, but generally pronounced infe¬ 
rior, though some English families who 
have tried it have found it quiet and 
comfortable. The “Europe,” also on 
the Marina, is rather a 'pension than 
an hotel. The “ Aquila d’Oro ” in the 
Strada Garibaldi, opposite the Yittoria, 
is not much frequented by English 
travellers. The same may he said of 
the “Aurora” and the “Londra,” in 
the same street. The “ Albergo 
d’ltalia ” is in the Piazza, Strada Gari¬ 
baldi. In the Piazza del Duomo are 
the “Hotel du Belvedere,” alias the 
“ Great Britain Hotel and the 
“ Grand Lion de France,” both of 
respectable appearance. The “ Lion 
d’Or ” is in the Strada dell’ Universita; 
the “Hotel du Nord” in the Strada 
della Scuola Pia. The hotels of Mes¬ 
sina are principally frequented by na¬ 
tives and by mercantile men, which 
gives them a very different character 
from those of Naples and Palermo. 
Tourists do not care to stay more than 
a day or two at Messina. No one 
thinks of making it a winter residence, 
as is so often the case with Palermo. 

Cafes and Icehouses .—The cafes of 
Messina are not of a superior descrip¬ 
tion. The best are the Caffe del Pe- 
loro, and C. Cambria in the Corso, and 
the C. Nuovo in the Strada Garibaldi. 
The C. Greco, on the Marina, beneath 
the Hotel Yittoria, is in good repute for 
its ices. 

Passports .—Under the Bourbon re¬ 
gime the traveller used to be subjected 
to great inconvenience at Messina on 
account of his passport. On lauding 
from Naples, or any other port of Italy, 
or from Malta, he will still probably be 
asked for his passport, but it will be 
returned to him at once. On leaving 
for Civita Veccliia he will require the 
signature of the Papal Consul, and for 
Malta that of the British Yice-Consul; 
otherwise he is now free to enter or 


leave Messina, by sea or by land, with¬ 
out let or hindrance. 

British Vice-Consul. —Mr. Joseph 
Rickards, Strada Garibaldi. 

Bankers. —Messrs. Fischer, Brothers; 
Mr. Stephenson; Messrs. Cailler and 
Co., Strada Garibaldi, house of the 
British Vice-Consulate : these gentle¬ 
men are McCracken’s agents. Messrs, 
Wolzer and Co. 

C antin'a Monete, 293, Corso. 

English Church .—Divine Service is 
held every Sunday at 11, in a room 
set apart for the purpose, on the 
Marina. The chaplain is the Rev. 
Thomas Gough Clay, M.A. 

Physicians and Surgeons. — The 
medical men at Messina generally act 
in both capacities. Dr. Pispisa, how¬ 
ever, confines his practice to medicine. 
Dr. Pomara, Dr. Cambria, Dr. Mena, 
are general practitioners of high reputa¬ 
tion ; all are connected with the hos¬ 
pital. There is no resident English 
medical man at Messina. 

English Store. — Rickards, Strada 
Garibaldi, who sells pale ale, tea, pa¬ 
tent medicines, perfumery, cigars, sta¬ 
tionery, and other articles acceptable to 
English travellers. 

Sellers of Terracotta Figures .— 
Gaetano Gemmaro, and Antonio Lan- 
serotto, on the Marina, sell little figures 
carved in wood, or modelled in clay, of 
the peasantry, or religious orders of 
Sicily. They have often more fidelity, 
character, and spirit, than excellence 
of execution, and are inferior to those 
made by Buongiovanni at Caltagi- 
rone. Their prices are low in pro¬ 
portion, those of wood being about 5 
francs each coloured, those in terra¬ 
cotta, which are more artistic, being 
somewhat dearer. 

Vetturini .—Vincenzo Cianci, Fran¬ 
cesco Mola, and Giovanni Fornaro, can 
all be recommended as reasonable, 
obliging, and civil. The charge for a 
carriage with 3 horses from Messina to 
Catania, which can be done in 2 days, 
is 10 piastres. If the traveller would 
stay an entire day at Taormina, the 
charge will be 12J dols. Donkeys 
may be hired for excursions round Mes¬ 
sina at 2 tari the hour. 

Public Conveyances .—There are but 




ROUTE 27 . —MESSINA—STEAMERS. 


467 


two high roads leading from Messina; 
one along the E. coast to Catania and 
Syracuse, which is also the stradone to 
Palermo; the other along the northern 
coast as far as Patti. The corriera 
runs to Catania 3 times a week—Sun¬ 
day, Wednesday, and Friday, at a 
very early hour in the morning, fare 
2 dollars 7 tan; to Patti on Mondays 
and Thursdays, fare 18 tari. 

Boats. — The tariff for a boat to 
any vessel in the harbour, with a 
moderate quantity of luggage, is 2 
tan each person ; but this does not 
prevent any agreement for a smaller 
sum. Row-boats ply daily between 
Messina and S. Giovanni on the oppo¬ 
site coast, 4£ m. distant; fare, 2 tan 
each passenger. It takes about an 
hour to cross. The charge for a boat 
taken expressly for an excursion to S. 
Giovanni and back, stopping an hour 
or two there, is piastre. Row-boats 
used to run daily between Messina and 
Reggio, but they have been discon¬ 
tinued since the establishment of the 
steamers. A boat for an excursion to 
Reggio, which will occupy 3 or 4 hours, 
will cost 2 5 or 3 piastres. A boat to 
the Faro, 7 m., starting before the turn 
of the tide, so as to run with it each 
way, may be had for 1 piastre. 


Steamers, 

To Naples .—There is steam commu¬ 
nication between Messina and Naples 
4 or 5 times a week. The boats 
sometimes run direct, doing the voy¬ 
age professedly in 16 or 18 hours; 
but these professions are not to be 
implicitly trusted. The boats of the 
Messageries Imperiales are to be pre¬ 
ferred, though those of the Societa 
Florio are scarcely inferior. One of 
the Messageries boats leaves for Naples 
every Monday at 5 p.m. ; one of the 
Valery Company every Thursday at 
2 p.m. ; one of Florio’s every Friday at 
6 p.m. All these run direct to Naples, 
and continue their route to Leghorn 
and Genoa, the French boats touching 
also at Civita Veccliia on their way to 
the north of Italy and Marseilles. Be¬ 
sides these there are other boats which 


touch at certain ports in Calabria on 
their way to Naples. A Florio boat 
leaves Messina every Wednesday at 
2 p.m., touching at Reggio, thus length¬ 
ening the voyage by 2 or 3 hours. A 
mail-steamer of the Acossato Company 
sails every Sunday at 2 p.m. for Naples, 
touching on alternate weeks at Pizzo 
and Paola, and continuing her voyage 
to Leghorn and Genoa. A boat of the 
Compagnia delle due Sicilie sails every 
Friday afternoon, touching at Reggio, 
Pizzo, and Paola, on her way to Naples; 
but the boats of this Company are not 
recommended. The fares to Naples by 
all the boats are, 1st class, 34 50 francs ; 
2nd class, 22*50 francs. 

To Genoa and Marseilles .—A boat 
of the Compagnie Marseillaise leaves 
Messina every Saturday for these ports 
direct, professing to reach Genoa in 50, 
and Marseilles in 74 hours. Office, 
Fratelli Orlandi, 17, Marina. Fares 
to Genoa (including food), 1st class, 
160 francs ; 2nd class, 114*40 francs. 
To Marseilles, 1st class, 207*70 francs; 
2nd class, 146 francs. Some reduction 
will be made when there are two or 
more in a family. 

To Marseilles direct .—The mail-boat 
of the Messageries Imperiales calls at 
Messina on her way from Constan¬ 
tinople every Monday; and another 
from Alexandria on the 3rd, 13th, and 
23rd of every month. They run through 
the Lipari group and the Straits of 
Bonifazio, and profess to accomplish 
the distance in 58 hours. Fares, 1st 
class, 220 francs; 2nd class, 154 francs 
(food included). 

To Palermo and Marseilles.— An¬ 
other boat of the Messageries Impe¬ 
riales leaves Messina every Monday 
for Marseilles, touching only at Pa¬ 
lermo, which lengthens the voyage 
10 or 12 hours. Fares the same as by 
the direct boats. Fares to Palermo : 1 st 
class, 25 francs ; 2nd class, 18 francs. 

To Palermo .—Besides the French 
boat just mentioned, there is a 
steamer of the Florio Company which 
runs to Palermo every Wednesday at 
4 p.m,, and another of the Valery 
Company which sails on Thursdays. 
The voyage generally takes 12 hours. 
Every Sunday a Florio boat leaves for 





468 


ROUTE 27.-MESSINA-STEAMERS-SITUATION. 


Palermo, touching at various spots on 
its way. One Sunday at midnight it 
leaves for Lipari, Capo di Orlando, 
and Palermo, which it reaches in 20 
hours. On alternate Sundays it leaves 
at 9 a.m., touching at Lipari, Milazzo, 
Sto. Stefano, and Cefalu, reaching 
Palermo in 32 hours. Those not 
pressed for time should avail them¬ 
selves of these boats, for the oppor¬ 
tunity they offer of enjoying the beau¬ 
tiful scenery of the northern coast and 
of the iEolian Islands. 

To Catania, Syracuse, and Malta .— 
A Valery boat leaves Messina every 
Wednesday; a boat of the Florio Com¬ 
pany every Thursday at midnight; and 
a boat of the Accossato Company every 
other Tuesday at midnight for Catania, 
5 or 6 hours. Another of the Florio 
Company sails every Sunday at 1 a.m. 
for Catania, Syracuse, and Malta, 
reaching Syracuse in 12 hours and 
Malta in 30. This boat makes a stay 
of 3 hours at Catania, and of 10 at 
Syracuse. Another Florio boat runs 
every Wednesday at midnight for Syra¬ 
cuse, touching at Catania and Augusta, 
and on alternate weeks at Riposto 
also. 

Francs. Francs. 
Fares to Riposto . . 1st cl. 8*20 2nd cl. 4*40 

,, Catania*. . ,, 11*35 ,, 7*50 

,, Augusta . ,,15*75 ,, 10*70 

,, Syracuse . ,,17*65 ,, 12 

Every Tuesday at 5 p.m. the French 
mail-boat sails for Malta direct. Fares, 
1st class, 36 francs ; 2nd class, 24 
francs. 

To Greece, Turkey, Egypt, and the 
Levant. —A Messageries boat calls at 
Messina every Tuesday at 2 a.m., on 
its way from Marseilles for the Pirseus 
and Constantinople, touching at Volo, 
Salonica, the Dardanelles, and Galli¬ 
poli. Another leaves the same day 
at noon for Smyrna and Alexandria, 
touching at Syra, Rhodes, Mersina, 
Alexandretta, Lattakia, Tripoli, Bey- 
rout, and Jaffa. The steamer with the 
India and China mails also touches 
at Messina on the 2nd, 12tli, and 22nd 
of every month, on her direct route to 
Alexandria. 

To Corfu and Ancona .—A boat of 
the Accossato Company leaves Messina 


for these ports every other Tuesday at 
midnight, touching also at Catania, 
Gallipoli, Brindisi, Bari, Manfredonia, 
and Termoli. On alternate weeks it 
leaves on Wednesday at 2 p.m., and 
touches at Cotrone, Rossano, Taranto, 
Gallipoli, and Bari. 

Francs. Francs. 
Farts to Cotrone . . 1st cl. 43*15 2nd cl. 28*95 


• » 

Rossano . 

9 9 

58*10 

y * 

39*30 

J » 

Taranto . 

9 9 

58*10 

9 9 

39*30 

5 y 

Gallipoli . 

9 9 

58*10 

y 9 

39*30 

y y 

Corfu . . 

9 y 

88*50 

y y 

58*50 

9 9 

Brindisi . 

y 9 

88*50 

y y 

58*50 

9 9 

Bari . . . 

9 y 

110*85 

y y 

73*05 

9 9 

Manfredonia 

9 t 

122*55 

9 y 

81*15 

9 9 

Termoli . 

9 9 

134*90 

y 9 

89*70 

y y 

Ancona . 

9 9 

167 

y y 

111 


These fares include the living on 
board. 

To Calabria. — Steamers run to 
Reggio, on the opposite shore of the 
Straits, twice a day—at 7 a.m., return¬ 
ing at 9, and at 2 p.m., returning at 
3 ; fare each way 1 fr. 30 c. A steamer 
also makes the round of the towns on 
the Calabrian coast twice a day, leaving 
Messina at 6 a.m. and at 2 p.m. It 
touches at Reggio, S. Giovanni, Scilla, 
and Bagnara. Every Sunday morning 
an excursion steamer leaves for Lipari, 
returning to Messina by way of Mi¬ 
lazzo. 

Steam-boat Offices at Messina .— 
Messageries Imperiales, Palazzo del 
Duc*a di Giovanni, Strada Garibaldi. 
—Societa Florio; agent, Sig. Ver- 
beke. Piazza Crociferi, Strada Gari¬ 
baldi. — Compagnie Valery, agent, 
Sig. G. Rossi Rabiet, Scesa Palazzo 
di Citta.—Societa Accossato, Peirano 
and Co., Casa Marano, Scesa della 
Diputazione Sanitaria. — Compagnia 
delle due Sicilie ; agent, Sig. Verbeke. 


Situation. 

“ Messana situ, mcenibus, portuque oruata.” — 

Cic. in Yerrcm. 

For grandeur and romantic beauty 
of situation Messina has few rivals in 
Europe. In its actual position it bears 
no small resemblance to Genoa, but 
it surpasses that city in the majestic 
framework of mountains that enclose it, 
and in the magnificence of the sur- 







ROUTE 27. -MESSINA—SITUATION. 


4G9 


rounding scenery. Rising from the 
shores of its noble harbour, it covers a 
range of secondary hills at the foot of 
the great Neptunian chain, whose lofty 
summits form a background worthy the 
pencil of Salvator Rosa. 

The approach to it by sea is highly 
picturesque. The glittering town in a 
broad white mass at the foot of the 
mountains, its harbour bristling with 
shipping, its natural breakwater with 
the citadel and lighthouse, its long 
quay and the imposing range of build¬ 
ings stretching along the shore, the 
quaint towers or spires of its nume¬ 
rous churches, the forts of Gonzaga, 
Castellaccio, and Guelfonia impending 
over the town at different elevations, 
the hills around cultivated or wooded 
to their summits, and sprinkled with 
convents, casinos, and villages, the 
cloud-capped mountains towering above 
them and sinking southwards in many 
a steep slope and dark precipice to the 
coast, whose bluff and tower-crested 
headlands stretch out one after the 
other to the dim promontory of Taor¬ 
mina ; above all the sublime mass of 
Etna at the distance of 50 miles, 
piercing the blue vault with his icy 
peak ;—all these form but a small part 
of the magnificent panorama of Messina 
as seen from the Straits. On the other 
side of the city the mountains sink 
gradually to the long low point of the 
Faro, at the northern entrance of the 
Straits, and at their base, churches, 
villages, and casinos, as in the bay of 
Naples, stretch in an almost continuous 
line along the shore. The Faro point 
extends so far eastward as apparently 
to meet the opposite coast, and shut in 
the sea as in a gulf. Rising from 
behind that point, in a long table coast, 
dimly seen in the distance, the Apen¬ 
nines of Calabria gradually swell up 
into a lofty range, rivalling those of 
Sicily in altitude, but more bare and 
arid, singularly level in outline, though 
broken in detail; and it attains its 
greatest elevation in the mountains of 
Aspromonte, in front of Messina. 

Messina is a thriving commercial 
city, the second in Sicily, long dis¬ 
puting with Palermo for metropoli¬ 
tan honours. It is admirably situated 


for commerce, being almost in the 
centre of the Mediterranean, and just 
within the mouth of the Straits on the 
highway of traffic and transit from 
Britain, France, Spain, and Italy to 
Greece, Africa, the Levant, and the 
East Indies. It is not only a great 
commercial depot, but the house of call 
for steamers running between France 
or Italy, and Malta and the East. 
The port presents a scene of constant 
movement and bustle, as steamers are 
arriving and departing hourly. It is 
about 4 m. in circuit, enclosed by the 
low spit of land called the Braccio di 
S. Raniero, which projects into the sea 
from the S. of the town, and curves 
round like a sickle to the N. and E. 
till it almost meets the shore again, 
leaving but a narrow passage be¬ 
tween them. All along the shore lies 
the city, fronting the port and Straits 
in a long line of palaces of uniform 
architecture, 1| in. in length. The 
city, an irregular parallelogram in 
plan, about 5 m. in circuit, stretches 
back no great distance, for the hills, 
which rise steeply almost from the shore, 
leave but a narrow strip of level ground 
at their base. It has extended, how¬ 
ever, so far to the W. as to cover the 
first range of eminences, and to embrace 
it within its walls. High above it on 
this side, on two prominent spurs of the 
wooded range, and completely com¬ 
manding the town, are the strong forts 
of Castellaccio and Gonzaga. Between 
them and the walls lie the small 
suburbs of Boccetta and Porta di 
Legna. To the 8. the hills recede 
further from the sea, and leave a wider 
tract of level land. A portion of this 
at the base of the isthmus is enclosed 
by the city wall, and, being in front of 
the citadel, is now kept clear of houses, 
to serve as an exercise ground for the 
troops. It is a large quadrangle 
nearly 2 m. in circuit, and is known 
by the name of Terranova. Of old 
it was one of the most populous quarters 
of the city, and contained the Palazzo 
Reale, and the noblest palaces of 
Messina, but all were destroyed after 
the rebellion of 1674, and the site has 
since been uninhabited. Though the 
city subsequently encroached a little 







470 


ROUTE 2 7. -MESSINA-CLIMATE—POPULATION. 


on the plateau, it was again swept 
back by the guns of the citadel in the 
memorable bombardment of 1848, which 
utterly destroyed a large portion of 
this end of Messina. Another portion 
of the level ground to the S. of the 
town is occupied by the large suburb, 
called Borgo, or Zaera, which contains 
more than 10,000 inhabitants. Be¬ 
tween this and the sea are numerous 
orchards and gardens, while the hill 
slopes inland are bright with vineyards 
or dark with olive-groves. 

To the X. of the city is the suburb 
of S. Leo, a little town in itself, con¬ 
taining a population of 15,000. 

Just outside the walls to the S. 
flows the brook Camaro, which, 
though in summer dried up, in win¬ 
ter, after heavy rains, becomes a 
furious torrent. Messina, indeed, in¬ 
cluding its suburbs, is cursed with 
5 of such fiumcire; two of which 
enter the gates in the AV. wall, P. 
Boccetta and P. Lcgna, and traverse 
the city itself in channels which are 
kept open for their periodical invasions. 
For these fiumare sometimes swell into 
impetuous floods, when trees torn up 
by the roots, huts overthrown, men 
and cattle swept away, are hurried 
down to the sea through the streets of 
Messina. 


Climate. 

Messina enjoys a delightful and 
most salubrious climate. iEscu- 
lapius and Hygeia were of old the 
tutelar deities of the city, and their 
influence has not yet abandoned it. 
The fervid heats of summer are tem¬ 
pered by the cool breezes from the 
Straits, the air being freshened by the 
strong currents and by the lofty moun¬ 
tains around. The winter is par¬ 
ticularly agreeable at Messina. Frost 
and snow are unknown. Heavy rain 
sometimes falls for two or three weeks, 
but not a day passes without some 
sun, so that there is always an oppor¬ 
tunity for exercise, and the soil being 
gravelly the rain is absorbed imme¬ 
diately, and the roads are presently 
dry. 


The position of the city on the lower 
slope of mountains overhanging the 
sea is greatly conducive to salubrity. 
The air circulates freely, the houses 
are not too closely packed; they are 
airy, cool, and commodious, better 
adapted to counteract heat than to 
keep out the cold. The great defect 
of Messina, in a sanitary point of view, 
is the drainage, than which nothing 
can be worse in some parts of the city 
and of the suburbs, where the want of 
sewers causes accumulations of filth 
that pollute the atmosphere. Yet 
from its position Messina enjoys re¬ 
markable facilities for good drainage. 
The citizens boast that while the 
cholera in 1837 carried off about 
23,000 of the inhabitants of Palermo, 
it left Messina comparatively un¬ 
scathed. The city, however, has not 
always thus escaped. In 1573 the 
plague carried off 40,000 souls in Mes¬ 
sina alone. In 1743 the victims of its 
ravages in the city and its environs 
were computed at an equal number. 
The cholera, when it did at length 
reach Messina in 1854, made amends 
for its neglect on the occasion of its 
former visit to the island, by carrying 
off 12 or 14 per cent, of the popu¬ 
lation. 


Population. 

Messina is the capital of the pro¬ 
vince of the same name, one of the 7 
into which the island is divided. This 
province contains 1180 square geo¬ 
graphical miles, and a population of 
394,760, or 334 inhabitants to every 
square mile. It is divided into 4 dis¬ 
tricts, and contains 94 towns, and 140 
villages. 

The population of Messina has 
varied greatly at different periods, 
having been from time to time greatly 
diminished by earthquakes and the 
ravages of war and pestilence. In 
1674 it amounted, with that of the 
suburbs, to 120,000, a figure it has 
never since attained. But this wa 3 
greatly reduced by the civil contests 
of that period, and subsequently by 




471 


ROUTE 27. —MESSINA- 

the plague of 1743 and the earthquake 
of 1783. In 1798 the population, 
including that of the 43 dependent 
villages, was only 46,053, hut from that 
time it has steadily increased. At the 
close of 1831 it had reached 83,772; 
in 1836 it was 87,418, in 1840 about 
90,000. In 1846 the population, of the 
city and suburbs was 5S,3S8; of the 
dependent villages, 34,686 ; making a 
total of 93,074; which in Dec. 1861, 
when the last census was taken, had 
increased to 100,447. 

Owing to the extensive intercourse 
Messina enjoys with Italy, France, 
and the other countries of the Medi¬ 
terranean, and to the number of foreign 
residents, there has always been a 
more cosmopolitan tone of feeling, 
and a freer circulation of ideas 
here than elsewhere in the island. 
Business is the predominant pur¬ 
suit. The Messinese are more active 
and enterprising than the other 
Sicilians, but are charged with being 
mercenary and less courteous and 
hospitable to strangers. Yet in a 
community wholly devoted to com¬ 
merce, and with few resident nobles, 
there can hardly exist so much refine¬ 
ment, polish, learning, and attention 
to the amenities of life, as in societies 
less exclusively commercial. 


Commerce. 

Messina is the great outlet for 
the superfluous produce of this N.E. 
corner of Sicily. The province is 
rich in silk, oil, corn, wine, fruit, 
»&c., which is exported from Messina; 
while she imports cottons and cali¬ 
coes, iron and steel, timber, coal, 
salt-fish, hides, sugar, and other colo¬ 
nial produce. Of silk, Messina sends 
500,000 lbs. annually to England and 
France. She exports yearly about 
500,000 boxes of oranges and lemons, 
the greater part of which go to Eng¬ 
land and the United States, and the 
balance to the Continent of Europe. 
Little sulphur, not more than 55,000 
cantars a year, is exported from Mes¬ 
sina. She sends kid-skins in abun¬ 
dance to Trieste and Marseilles. Her 


-COMMERCE-HISTORY. 

other exports are dried fruits, essences 
of oranges, lemons, and bergamot, shu- 
mac, maize, flax, manna, barilla, lin¬ 
seed, and rags. The trade of Messina 
is carried on principally in foreign 
vessels. 

Messina is a free port, like Leghorn 
and Civita Vecchia. 


History and Antiquities. 

Messina occupies the site of the 
ancient Messana, or Messene, but the 
original name of the city was Zande,. 
derived from a Sicilian word signifying 
a “sickle,” evidently applied to this 
spot from the resemblance the curved 
spit of land which encloses the port 
bears to that homely instrument. It 
was one of the earlist Greek colonies 
on the shores of Sicily, being founded 
by some pirates from Cumse, who were 
afterwards joined by a Chalcidian 
colony from Euboea, in the 8th cent, 
n.c., but the precise date of the settle¬ 
ment is not recorded. Within a 
century of her own foundation Zancle 
sent out colonies and founded Mylar 
and Himera on the northern coast. In. 
493 b.c. the city was seized by some 
adventurers from Ionia and Samos,, 
but they were driven out by Anaxilas, 
tyrant of Rhegium, who changed its 
name from Zancle to Messana, in 
honour of the city of Greece from.i 
which he derived his origin. During 
the Athenian invasion, Messana, 
though one of the most important 
cities of Sicily, preserved a strict 
neutrality. In 396 b.c. it was cap¬ 
tured by Himilcon, the Carthaginian, 
who razed the walls and buildings to 
the ground. Repeopled by Dionysius, 
subjected again to Carthage, liberated 
by Timoleon, captured and punished 
by Agathocles, Messina, about 282 b.c., 
was treacherously seized by the Cam¬ 
panian mercenaries of that tyrant, who 
assumed the name of Mamertines, or 
“Sons of Mars.” In a short time 
they became one of the most powerful 
people in Sicily, but, being defeated by 
Hieron II. of Syracuse, they invoked the 
aid of Rome, and thus brought about 
the First Punic War. Though Mcs- 





472 


ROUTE 27. —MESSINA—HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES. 


sana tlius forfeited lier independence, 
she became under the Romans one of 
the wealthiest and most populous 
cities of Siciiv, “civitas maxima et 
locupletissima,” as Cicero terms her, 
and she played an important part in 
the civil wars between Caesar and 
Pompey, and between Octavianu3 and 
Sextus Pompeius, hut otherwise her 
annals under the Roman domination 
are void of interest. 

In a.d. 843 Messina fell into the 
hands of the Saracens ; and as she had 
been the first to call in the Romans to 
the conquest of Sicily, so she first in¬ 
vited the Normans to the rescue of the 
island from the Moslem yoke. Count 
Roger crossed the Straits in 1062 with 
only 270 men, hut, with the assistance 
of the Christian inhabitants, he soon 
obtained possession of Messina. In 
1189 Richard Cceur de Lion and 
Philip Augustus, on their way to the 
Holy Land, wintered here, and their 
stay was marked by continual dis¬ 
sensions and brawls, in which the city 
suffered grievously from fire and 
sword. In 1282 Messina, for the part 
she had taken in the Revolt of the 
Vespers, was singled out by Charles of 
Anjou as the first object of his ven¬ 
geance. He invested the city by sea 
and land, but the valour of the citizens 
triumphed over all his assaults, and he 
was ultimately compelled to abandon 
the siege, which he had conducted in 
person. During this beleaguerment 
the women of Messina rivalled the 
men in courage and endurance, and 
their spirit and beauty formed a theme 
for the reviving muse of Italy :— 

“ Deli! com’ egli e gran pietate 
Delle donne di Messina, 

Veggendole scapigliate 
Portando pietre e calcina. 

Iddio gli dea briga e travaglia 
A chi Messina vuol guastare! ” 

In 1672 the Messinese, smarting 
under oppression, threw off the yoke 
of Spain, and proclaimed Louis XIV., 
who for a few years gave them 
efficient support, but in 1678 found it 
expedient to desert them, and leave 
them to the vengeance of their le¬ 
gitimate sovereign. The plague in 
1743 swept away more than half the 


population, and 40 years later the 
city was overthrown and thousands of 
its inhabitants destroyed by the awful 
earthquake which then desolated Ca¬ 
labria. These three catastrophes were 
heavy blows to Messina, reducing her 
to the mere wreck and skeleton of a 
city; yet in spite of renewed attacks of 
w r ar and pestilence in the present 
century, she has now in great measure 
recovered her prosperity, and again 
rivals Palermo in wealth and im¬ 
portance. 

No city of Sicily that occupies an 
ancient site contains few r er remains of 
antiquity than Messina; and this is 
owing to its position, which has in all 
ages exposed it to the attacks of 
foreign invasion; to the frequent 
sieges, assaults, bombardments, and 
conflagrations it has endured; and, 
above all, to the earthquakes which at 
various periods have overthrown the 
greater part of the city. There is 
nothing of Zancle, of the Greek Mes- 
sana, now visible above ground. Of 
the Roman town, a few scattered re¬ 
mains are extant. The Cli. of Le 
Anime in Purgatorio appears to have 
been erected on a Roman basilica. In 
the court of the Ch. of St. Angelo de' 
Rossi are some remains of a temple now 
called “ L' Alemanna." The churches of 
Sta. Caterina and Vcdverde, and of Le 
Vergini Ri par ate occupy the sites of 
ancient temples supposed to be sacred 
to Venus. The temple of Castor and 
Pollux was converted into the Ch. of 
Sta. Febbronia, destroyed by the great 
earthquake, though some fragments of 
its walls are still visible in the Case, 
Gallotta and Pallizzeri. The Ch. of 
S. Michele , at the Quattro Fontane, is 
supposed to have been the temple of 
Hercules, which Verres spoiled of the 
Hercules of Myron, the famous Eros of 
Praxiteles, and other treasures of Hel¬ 
lenic art. 


Earthquakes. 

The greatest drawback to the 
attractions of Messina as a residence 
is the frequency of earthquakes. 
The position of the city, almost 



ROUTE 27. -EARTHQUAKES—WALLS—GATES. 


473 


in a direct line between Etna on 
the one band and Stromboli and 
Vesuvius on the other, renders it 
particularly subject to these convul¬ 
sions. Slight shocks from time to 
time are not uncommon, but no serious 
catastrophe of this kind has happened 
since 1783, when the greater part of 
the city was destroyed, and thousands 
buried in the ruins. Its effects are still 
visible even among the comparatively 
recent desolation caused by the Neapoli¬ 
tan bombardment in 1848. The shocks 
commenced on the 5th of February. 
The same tremendous swell of the sea 
that suddenly swept away nearly 1500 
people from the beach at Scilla, broke 
over the quay at Messina, and sunk 
the vessels in the harbour; the shore 
at the same time was rent, and 
the quay lowered below its former 
level. The buildings of slight con¬ 
struction were completely overthrown; 
the more solid ones alone remained 
standing. Strangers surprised by an 
earthquake should instantly repair to 
the doorways or windows, in which 
position they are more likely to escape 
the falling beams, floors, and roots, 
these being invariably the first to give 
way. 


Walls, Gates, and Forts. 

Messina, towards the sea, has no 
'walls, being sufficiently protected by 
the Citadel and fort of S. Salvatore, 
but on the land side it is surrounded by 
an irregular wall with 13 bastions at 
intervals, climbing the high ground 
behind the town, and extending so far 
to the S. as to enclose a large space of 
open level ground between the town 
and the citadel. This wall has been 
repaired at various epochs, but as it 
now stands was principally constructed 
in the reign of Charles V., resting in 
great measure on foundations of Sara¬ 
cenic and Norman times. At the N.E. 
angle, where the wall met the shore, 
stood the strong Bastione Beale Basso, 
but on account of the formidable resist¬ 
ance it had made to the Neapolitans in 
the revolution of 1848 it was destroyed 


by Ferdinand II. on his recapture of 
the city. From this point the wall runs 
westward for about 700 yards; then 
turns to the S.; embraces the height 
on which stands the venerable tower of 
Rocca Guelfonia; next forms the large 
square Bastione di Vittoria, projecting 
from the city a long way up the heights 
to the W., and memorable for the 
defeat of the Angevins in the siege of 
1282 ; and half a mile beyond it turns to 
the S.E. and runs through orchards and 
gardens to the Bastione don Blasco, close 
to the shore of the isthmus. Thence it 
turns to the N.E. along the shore till it 
meets the citadel. Its length alto¬ 
gether is more than 3 m. This wall is 
no longer kept up as a fortification. 
The injury it sustained in 1848 has 
not been repaired; and these lines 
now serve only to protect the com¬ 
merce of Messina from contraband 
invasion. 

Gates. —In the walls of Messina there 
are 6 gates; two on the N. side—Porta 
Reale and P. Garibaldi; two in the 
long line of wall in the W.—Porta Boc- 
cetta and P. Legna; and two in the S. 
—Porta Nuova and P. Imperiale. The 
extensive and populous suburb on the 
S., called Bor go di Ciaera, is also 
enclosed by a wall, in which is a gate 
called 

Porta Ciaera or Zaera, by which the 
high road from Catania and Palermo 
enters the city. Just outside it a 
brook, called Fiumara Camaro, flows 
from the mountains to the sea. 

Nearlv a mile within this is the 

V 

Porta Imperiale, erected in 1535 to 
commemorate the arrival of Charles V. 
at Messina. It is a heavy portal 
flanked by rusticated columns of the 
Tuscan order, on plinths once adorned 
with bas-reliefs. 

Porta Nuova, also called P. Lavie- 
fuille, a double gate of rusticated ma¬ 
sonry, erected in 1623 by Philip III. 
as a triumphal arch, and repaired by 
Charles III. in 1753. 

Rocca Guelfonia. —This old fortress 
with its tall octagonal tower on the 
highest part of the city to the W. is 
one of the first objects that catches the 



474 


ROUTE 27. -MESSINA-CITADEL—FORTS-STREETS. 


eye on tlie approach to Messina. It is 
of ancient construction, and vulgarly 
ascribed to the Carthaginians, but the 
small neat masonry is of Norman date ; 
the tower, in fact, was erected by Count 
Roger, on his conquest of Messina. 
In 1281 Queen Constance, wife of 
Peter of Aragon, took up her abode 
here, and it was afterwards the resi¬ 
dence of the Aragonese kings. It is 
now converted into a monastery. The 
summit of the tower commands a 
superb view of the Straits from the 
Faro Point to the Capo Scaletta, with 
the wild coast of Calabria opposite. 
The height on which it stands is girt 
with precipices and enclosed by the 
city wall, so that this fort was of great 
strength in the olden time. 

On this same height formerly stood 
the tower of Matagrifibne, erected by 
Richard I. of England, when, on his 
way to the Holy Land, he landed at 
Messina, and having embroiled himself 
with Philip Augustus of France, and 
with the citizens, he raised a fort to over¬ 
awe the city. It was destroyed by the 
earthquake of 1783, and the church of 
the Barefooted Augustines has risen on 
its site. In that tower was confined 
the Prince of Salerno, son of Charles 
of Anjou, after his capture in the first 
naval victory won by the Sicilians and 
Catalans in the Bay of Naples in the 
War of the Vespers, 1284; and to its 
walls the prince owed his life, when 
the mob of Messina rose clamouring 
for the death of the French prisoners. 

Gittadella .—The citadel was erected 
by Charles II. of Spain, in 1680, 
to overawe the city, after a revolt 
of the inhabitants which had lasted 
from 1672 to 1678. It is a regular 
pentagon, with a faussebraye and 
several outworks, and was constructed 
be a German engineer, Carl Nurim- 
berg, on the principles laid down by 
Vauban. It was much improved by 
the English during their occupation of 
Sicily. It is stronger on the side of the 
city than towards the sea, and though 
mounting more than 300 guns, and 
containing quarters for 4000 men, it 
is said to be too exposed to be capa¬ 
ble of a protracted defence. Yet it 


has always proved too strong to be 
reduced by a land force, so long as the 
power which held it retained also the 
command of the sea. The Sicilians, in 
1848, though for some months they 
held undisputed possession of the rest 
of the island, were powerless against 
this fort, which served the King of 
Naples as a point d'appui from 
which to reconquer the island. This 
citadel too was the last point in the 
Two Sicilies which held out for 
Francesco II., not surrendering to 
Vittorio Emanuele, until after the 
reduction of Gaeta, February 23, 1861. 

Castello di San Salvatore .—At the 
extremity of the tongue or “ sickle,” and 
guarding the entrance to the port, 
stands the fort of S. Salvatore, a long 
irregular structure terminating , in a 
circular bastion at the mouth of the 
harbour. It is of very early construc¬ 
tion, but was rebuilt and enlarged by 
the Emperor Charles V. 

High above Messina, on prominent 
spurs of the mountains which rise 
behind the city, are two strong forts. 

Castello Gonzaga, built by the Vice¬ 
roy Ferdinand Gonzaga in 1540, and 
commanding a most extensive and mag¬ 
nificent prospect. During the revolution 
of 1818 it was held by the insurgents, 
and committed much injury on the 
citadel and Bastion of Don Blasco, 
manifest proofs of which are still ap¬ 
parent. 

Castellaccio, which occupies a less 
commanding eminence, was built by 
the Viceroy Juan de la Vega (1547- 
1557) in the reign of Charles V. 


Streets. 

The advantages of its position have 
preserved Messina from that decay 
which has overtaken so many of the 
cities of Sicily renowned in ancient 
times. Its natural harbour, land¬ 
locked within the Straits as in a lake, 
its eligible position for commerce, its 
importance in a military point of view, 
and the fertility of the surrounding 
country have in all ages maintained a 
population at Messina; and though fire 





ROUTE 27. -MESSINA—STREETS. 


475 


and sword, pestilence and earthquakes 
have repeatedly vented their worst rage 
on this city, it still merits its ancient 
epithet of “ La Nobile,” which it has 
borne for the last six centuries. The 
savage bombardment which it suffered 
from the Neapolitan troops in 1848, 
and which conferred on their monarch 
the unenviable sobriquet of “ Bomba,” 
inflicted grievous injury on the city, 
utterly destroying a large quarter 
nearest to the citadel, leaving churches, 
convents, public buildings, and private 
houses, an indiscriminate mass of ruins. 
Few traces of this now remain; the 
debris have been cleared away, and 
this quarter of Messina is fast rising 
from its ruins. 

Messina is a handsome, well-built 
town, with more regularity in the 
arrangement of its streets than is 
common in Southern cities. In this 
respect it has greatly the advantage of 
Palermo; for while the latter pre¬ 
serves in its narrow streets, and tortu¬ 
ous alleys, much of a Saracenic cha¬ 
racter, and has numerous remains of 
Norman churches and palaces, Messina 
is almost entirely a modern city, with 
few relics now standing to link it to 
the past. It owes this in great mea¬ 
sure to its destruction by the great 
earthquake of 1783, after which it was 
rebuilt on an improved plan. This 
applies, however, chiefly to the north¬ 
ern parts of the city, and to those 
adjoining the port. He who enters 
by the road from Catania will at first 
see nothing but narrow and dirty 
streets, and gloomy houses, with little 
appearance of trade, and less of wealth 
and luxury. It is not till he reaches 
the heart of the city that he will admit 
the title of Messina to her ancient 
epithet of “Nobile,” or to that of 
“ Allegra,” to which she also now lays 
claim. 

The principal streets are the Strada 
Ferdinanda, now called Garibaldi, the 
Corso, the Strada d’Austria or Primo 
Settembre, the Stra. Cardines, and the 
long Quay or Marina. The first two tra- 
yerse the city in its greatest diameter, or 
from N. to S., diverging from the Porta 
Keale, or northern gate; the Stra. Gari¬ 
baldi running parallel to the quay for 


nearly a mile, the Corso for a still 
longer distance through the higher and 
western side of the town towards the 
Porta Vecckia at its S.W. extremity. 
Between them, in the very heart of the 
city, stands the Cathedral in its piazza. 
From the S’, end of the Strada Gari¬ 
baldi, another street, called Strada 
Cardines , or La Giudecca, runs at an 
angle to the S.W. parallel to the Corso, 
and finds its exit at the Porta Nuova. 
The street formerly known as the 
Strada d’Austria, from Don John of 
Austria, the hero of Lepanto, is now 
called the Strada Primo Settembre, from 
the date of the first rising of the 
Messinesi in the late Kevolution. It 
runs from the Piazza del Duomo to the 
S.E. as far as the Terranova, crossing 
the Stra. Cardines at rt. angles. These 
are the chief thoroughfares of Messina, 
the centres of business and traffic, wide, 
well paved with square blocks of lava, 
and flanked by lofty and substantial 
buildings, with massive balconies; the 
Strada Garibaldi especially, with its 
double line of regular and lofty palaces, 
is a very handsome street, inferior to 
few in Europe. But the pride and 
glory of Messina is the quay, or Teatro 
Maritime, or, as it is more commonly 
called, 

La Marina. —It stretches along the 
shore in the form of a crescent for more 
than a mile, and is flanked by a range 
of lofty buildings 3 stories high, and of 
uniform architecture, so as to appear 
but one magnificent palace of enormous 
width, faced at intervals with columns 
and pilasters. This grand range of 
buildings is unfortunately in an im¬ 
perfect state. The road along the 
quay was laid out in 1579, during the 
viceroyalty of Marco Antonio Colonna, 
from whom it took the name of Strada 
Colonna, by which it was long known. 
The line of palaces, however, was not 
finished till 1622, under the viceroy 
Emanuel Philibert Duke of Savoy, 
and was designed and executed by 
Simone Gull), an architect of Messina. 
But it was overthrown by the great 
earthquake of 1783, restored in 1825, 
and again most severely injured in the 
bombardment of 1848, and in many 








476 


ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA—THE MARINA. 


parts lias never since been carried up 
to its full height. In spite of its 
truncated architecture, the “ Palazzata,” 
as it is called, presents a most imposing 
facade, simple yet grand, with groups 
of tall Ionic columns resting on a 
rusticated basement. In the range are 
no less than 19 arched gateways, 
opening by as many streets to the 
Strada Garibaldi. In the centre of the 
range stands the Palazzo di Gitta , a 
modern structure raised on the site of 
a former building of the same name, 
erected by the celebrated Giacomo del 
Duca. It presents a simple and hand¬ 
some facade to the sea, corresponding 
in style with the long range of which 
it forms the centre. 

The quay between these buildings 
and the sea is about 100 feet wide, and 
forms one of the most delightful walks 
in the world, commanding beautiful 
prospects, and refreshed by cool breezes 
from the Straits. In its centre, and in 
front of the Palazzo di Citta, is the 

Fonte di Nettuno, a fine fountain of 
white marble, executed by Giovanni 
Angelo Montorsoli of Florence, in 1557. 
On 3 steps rests a large basin of irre¬ 
gular octagonal form, from the midst of 
which rises a square pedestal adorned 
with the arms of Spain and of Mes¬ 
sina, on which stands a marble figure 
of 'Neptune, semi-colossal and naked, 
with one hand grasping the trident, 
the other stretched out in an atti¬ 
tude of command. On either side 
of him, on similar pedestals, are 
figures of Scylla and Charybdis, repre¬ 
sented under the conventional forms of 
mermaids, bound with chains. The 
figure of the god, which is 1G palms 
high, is good. With his head encircled 
with seaweed, and his long beard 
heavy with moisture, he seems to have 
just emerged from the deep, and with 
outstretched hand to be calming the 
waves, on which he is somewhat incon¬ 
sistently turning his back. His attitude 
is majestic, his expression tranquil and 
dignified, and with the exception of the 
chariot, which is wanting, he well 
realises the description given by Virgil 
of the god when he reared his placidum 
caput above the waters to calm the 
tempest. 


Scylla and Charybdis are both 
struggling to free themselves from the 
heavy chains which bind them. The 
former figure was destroyed in the 
bombardment of 1848, but has been 
restored. The fountain bears sundry 
Latin inscriptions—one recording the 
name of the sculptor and the date of 
the work. 

On either hand of this fountain for¬ 
merly stood a colossal statue of bronze ; 
one to Charles III., the first and best 
of the Sicilian Bourbons, erected in 
1757; the other of Francis I., raised in 
1836. Both were melted down by the 
patriots in 1848, to be recast into 
artillery. 

The Custom-house, the Health- 
office, the fish-market, are all on the 
Marina. It is in fact the Billingsgate, 
the Covent Garden, the Docks, the 
Wapping, and the Hyde Park of 
Messina, all in one. During the day 
it presents a scene of constant traffic 
and bustle, more animated and varied 
even than the Mole of Naples. But sun¬ 
set is the hour when it is most enjoy¬ 
able. “ Gay equipages and gallant cava¬ 
liers dash past; pedestrians press along, 
hurrying to take their evening walk 
along the fine road which borders the 
northern shore of the Strait. The sea 
breeze blows in, fresh and bracing; 
the opposite mountains of Calabria, 
with the deep ravines and snow-topped 
peaks, are dyed in the gorgeous red of 
a southern sunset, which slowly fades 
away, till they stand grey and awful in 
the twilight, and the rising moon 
begins to show upon the Faro, and 
tinge the vessels working up and down 
the channel with fitful gleams of light. 
It is the hour of enjoyment in the 
warm South. The artificer, his work 
over, inhaling the freshness, sits at his 
open door, while his children play in 
the street; old gossips ranged along 
the wall, indulge in their most intimate 
communications; the young people 
walk abroad, conversing in hushed 
breath, in an atmosphere that breathes 
of love; cafes and ice-shops are filled ; 
everything seems given up to quiet 
luxurious enjoyment.”— Bartlett. 



ROUTE 27 .— MESSINA—SQUARES AND FOUNTAINS. 


477 


Squares and Fountains. 

Piazza Annunziata , on the Corso. 
In this square stands a tine bronze 
statue of Don John of Austria, brother 
of Philip II. of Spain, which till 1853 
adorned the Piazza del Palazzo Reale, 
to the S. of Messina. It was modelled 
by Anclrea Calamech in 1572, at the 
expense of the city, to commemorate 
the great naval victory over the Turks 
achieved by that prince at Lepanto, in 
the previous year, in which the allied 
fleet of 213 galleys vanquished the 
Ottoman force of 290. The pedestal 
of white marble rests on 3 steps; be¬ 
neath its cornice is a frieze of delicate 
workmanship, and on 3 of its sides are 
reliefs in bronze ; one representing the 
hostile fleets drawn up in line of battle, 
preparatory to the encounter ; the 
second showing them in the shock of 
conflict: the third, a plan of Messina, 
as it existed at that period. The fourth 
side bears a commemorative inscription 
in Latin. The hero is represented 
bare-headed, in his general’s costume, 
with the gorget and trunk-liose of the 
period; his armour being highly deco¬ 
rated with reliefs. He is in the act of 
giving the'word of command, stretching 
out a baton in his rt. hand, while the 1. 
grasps the sword by his side. His at¬ 
titude is natural and dignified; the 
figure life-like and characteristic. This 
monument bears traces of the conflict 
of 1848-9, but the figure itself is not 
much injured. This is the only bronze 
statue now left in Messina, the rest, 
having been melted down by the citi¬ 
zens in the revolution of 1848, to be 
recast into artillery. 

Don John is ever to be remembered 
in Messina on another account. He 
was the first who introduced the use of 
breeches into this city. On receiving 
the command of the allies, Don John 
recognised the convenience of such 
integuments, and introduced them into 
his fleet, whence they soon came into 
universal use. 

In this same piazza is the Fonte deW 
Annunziata, erected in 1753. It is 
a basin of coloured marble, supported 


by 3 griffons of white marble ; but the 
monsters have lost their heads, and the 
fountain has ceased to play. 

Piazza della Concezione, in the Corso, 
—a little square containing a marble 
statue of the Virgin on a tall pedestal, 
with her hands raised in prayer, and 4 
ugly cherubs at her feet. The monu¬ 
ment bears date 1758, and the sculptor 
was Ignazio Buceti of Messina. 

Piazza de Crociferi, or P. Garibaldi. 
—In the centre formerly stood a semi- 
colossal bronze statue of Ferdinand I., 
cast in 1792; but it was melted down 
in 1848. 

Piazza del Ditomo. —A square of 
irregular form, but the finest in Mes¬ 
sina, having on the E. the Cathedral 
with its quaint facade, and its modem 
campanile; on the S., several palaces 
and hotels; and on the W., the old 
Palace of the Tribunals, part of which 
was formerly appropriated to a public 
library. On its facade it still bears an 
inscription alluding to the double ap¬ 
plication of the building :— 

“ Hie Themidis lances, hic doctje Pallams 
abtes.” 

In this piazza once stood a graceless 
statue of Ferdinand I., and also a 
colossal bronze equestrian statue of 
Charles II. of Spain, by Giacomo Ser- 
potta, but both were melted down 
in the revolution of 1848. There 
still remains, however, the great foun¬ 
tain, the pride of Messina, the work 
of Fra Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli 
of Florence, pupil of Buonarroti, who 
commenced it in 1547, and spent 4 
years in its execution. It is boasted 
of by the Messinesi as the finest foun¬ 
tain in Sicily; and it is certainly one 
of the most elaborate. The composition 
in fact is too complicated to please the 
eye, and its individual excellences are 
lost in the mass of ornament. On 3 
steps of marble rises a large dodecagonal 
basin, supported by half Hen me, and 
adorned with reliefs representing appro¬ 
priate scenes from the ancient mytho¬ 
logy. Four of the sides are recessed, 
and these recesses contain each a large 
sarcophagus-like reservoir, flanked by 
a pair of spirited marine monsters 
in black marble. Alternating with 




478 


ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA—SQUARES AND FOUNTAINS. 


tliese, on tlie edge of the great basin, 
are colossal reclining figures of the 
Nile, the Ebro, the Tiber, and the 
Camaro, or river of Messina. Each 
river-god is designated by an elegiac 
couplet in Latin. Between them are 
bas-reliefs with classical subjects— 
Earth and Ocean embracing—Polyphe¬ 
mus hurling the rock at Acis—the 
metamorphosis of Action and of Nar¬ 
cissus—Pegasus stirring up the foun¬ 
tain Hippocrene—the Rape of Eu- 
ropa—Daedalus crossing the iEgean— 
Phrixus and his sister crossing the 
Hellespont on the ram with the 
golden fleece. Beneath each river-god, 
on the pedestal, is an appropriate bas- 
relief. From tlie centre of the large 
basin rises a group of four Tritons, 
forming a shaft to support the second 
basin, which is highly decorated; in 
the midst of this is a group of 4 sea- 
nymphs, alternating with dolphins, on 
which rests the third basin. From this 
spring 4 cherubs, with crocodiles, to¬ 
gether supporting a pedestal to a 
figure of Orion, which crowns the 
whole. The entire structure, save the 
8 marine monsters below, is of white 
marble, and rises to the height of 25 ft. 
Though the details will not bear rigid 
criticism, the effect of the whole is 
imposing. 

Fontana d'Furopa. — Opposite the 
cli. of Monte Vergine is a fountain 
bearing a bas-relief of a woman sitting 
with a small animal on her lap and a 
cornucopia. It is the work of Bonanno 
of Messina, in 1551, and is much lauded 
by the citizens, though of little merit. 

The Piazza Gennaro in the Corso 
contains an octagonal fountain of 
red marble, from which rises a white 
marble figure of January, sometimes 
called Aquarius, as a naked youth, 
sitting on a globe. It dates from 
1G02. Just opposite are the public 
granaries, now abandoned; over the 
door is the bust of St. Albert, from the 
chisel of Ignazio Brugnani of Messina 
(1717-1743). 

Piazza cli S. Giovanni di Gerusa- 
lemme is at the N. end of the Strada 
Garibaldi, taking its name from the 
large ch. which bounds it on the S. 
It is also known as the Flora , or Giar- 


dino Inglese, for it is converted into 
a public garden, where the trees and 
shrubs of the tropics are mingled with 
those of southern Europe; and where 
shady walks, stone benches, and mur¬ 
muring fountains attract the passer-by. 
This spot is sacred as the scene of the 
martyrdom and burial of S. Placido, 
his sister Sta. Scolastica, and his breth¬ 
ren, who were here put to death by the 
pirate Mamuca, a.d. 541, in the reign 
of Justinian. Their bodies were after¬ 
wards buried on the spot by a follower 
of the saint, v r ho had escaped the mas¬ 
sacre. 

Piazza S. Leone, just within the Porta 
Reale, has a new fountain covered with 
arabesques in the Renaissance style, 
and surrounded by 4 monsters in 
bronze. 

Piano del Pcdazzo Beale. — This 
square contained the Palazzo Reale, 
now converted into the Porto Franco. 
Here stood, till 1853, the statue of Don 
John of Austria, now in the Piazza 
Annunziata; and here, at the entrance 
to the Porto Franco, still stands a foun¬ 
tain, with a bas-relief of white marble, 
representing Mercury holding the 
severed head of Argus, from the chisel 
of Martino of Messina. Over the foun¬ 
tain is the bust of the Viceroy Eu- 
staelie Duke of Laviefuille, by Bueeti. 

The Piazza jde' Quattro Cavallucci , 
near the N. extremity of the Corso, 
receives its name from 4 marble foun¬ 
tains, with Cupids bestriding sea-horses, 
one against each of the piers between 
the cross streets, by Giovanni Battista 
Marino, of Catania, 1742. 

Piazza clelle Quattro Fontane, at 
the intersection of the Strada Primo 
Settembre, and the Strada Carolines. 
A small circular piazza, with a fountain 
of red and-white marble against each 
of the 4 piers, adorned with a pair of 
sea-horses. They were executed in 
1742 by Ignazio Bueeti of Messina, 
and Innocenzio Mangani of Florence, 
from the designs of Giacomo Calcaqni 
of Rome. 

Piazetta di S. Sebastiano. —In this 
little square is the Fonte Inaro, with 
a marble statue of a naked youth, vul¬ 
garly called Ganymede, having a jar 
on his shoulder, and dolphins at his 










ROUTE 27 . 


MESSINA—CATHEDRAL. 


479 


feet. It is by Rinaldo Bonanno of Mes¬ 
sina, bearing date 1562. 

Piazza dello Spedale. —This square, 
close to the Ch. of St. Cecilia, con¬ 
tains a marble fountain adorned with 2 
Tritons, which support the arms of the 
city. It bears date 1651. 


Churches. 

Messiua was one of the episcopal sees 
instituted by Count Roger, whose own 
brother-in-law, Robert of Evroult, trans¬ 
lated from Troina, was the first bishop. 
It is now an archbishopric, ruling the 
suffragan sees of Cefalu, Patti, Lipari, 
and Nicosia. Its chapter is composed 
of 18 canons. 

Messina contains 9 parish churches 
besides the Cathedral, 25 monasteries 
with 495 monks, and 19 convents with 
633 nuns; the secular clergy number 
about 568. 

Most of the churches are of modern 
construction, but a few interesting 
relics of mediaeval architecture have 
escaped the earthquakes and other 
catastrophes from which Messina has 
so frequently suffered. The churches 
are full of pictures, chiefly by native 
artists, which, though rarely of very- 
high merit, are interesting as speci¬ 
mens of a school little known in 
Europe. 

Il Duomo, or the church of Santa 
Maria Nuova, is, or at least a portion 
of it, the earliest piece of Norman ar¬ 
chitecture in Messina. It was begun 
by Count Roger about the year 1098, 
aud completed by King Roger, his son. 
This church was not originally the 
Cathedral of Messina. For some time 
after its erection it was held by the 
Greek clergy, the Roman Catholics, 
who were then less numerous, using 
the old church of San Niccolo. But in 
1168, the Roman bishop removed his 
throne to the new cathedral, and the 
Greeks were obliged to content them¬ 
selves with the more humble church of 
La Cattolica. 

The edifice has been restored at va¬ 


rious periods, having suffered from time, 
war, fire, and earthquakes; more espe¬ 
cially was it injured by the great earth¬ 
quake of 1783 ; and the repairs since 
effected, being quite out of harmony 
with the original building, have greatly 
detracted from its beauty. 

Exterior. —The W. front, which is 
charmingly soft and warm in tone, 
being built of alternate courses of pale 
red and white marble, is in that sort 
of minutely ornamented pointed style, 
which prevails in the churches of 
Italy of the 14th cent. It is in fact 
quite Pisan in character. The 3 
doors, however, show the influence of 
the Angevin dynasty. They are all 
pointed, and richly decorated. The 
central door has two orders ; the outer 
splayed, with a double tier of slender 
shafts decorated with vine foliage, 
among which naked boys are repre¬ 
sented climbing, picking grapes, catch¬ 
ing birds or monkeys, and playing 
various antics. The inner order, which 
is flat, shows the angels and beasts 
of the Revelations in scroll foliage, 
flanked by a series of kings one above 
the other, enthroned beneath Moorish 
arches. The lintel is decorated with 
figures in relief of Christ, with the 
Evangelists. The head of the arch 
is filled by a group of the Virgin and 
Child, surrounded by angels playing 
instruments, the work of Giovanni Bat¬ 
tista Mazzolo. Halfway up, the outer 
order is crossed by a deep stringcourse 
of trefoil arches, each enclosing a female 
bust, either veiled nuns, or women with 
cumbrous mediaeval headdresses. The 
label is formed of a series of projecting 
figures standing under elaborately 
carved canopies. The lowest two stand 
on twisted shafts with richly foliated ca¬ 
pitals, and based on the back of coucli- 
aut lions. The figure on the rt. is St. 
John the Baptist.'. On the canopy which 
covers him stands St. Barbara; over 
her is St. Paul; and above him a fe¬ 
male saint. The l.-hand tier is com¬ 
posed of St. John the Evangelist at the 
bottom; then a female saint, St, Peter, 
and an angel. The series is topped on 
each side by an angel with wings up¬ 
raised. The figures of St. Peter and 
St. Paul are by Mazzolo. Above this the 





480 


ROUTE 27. — MESSINA—CATHEDRAL. 


label forms a kigli angular pediment 
adorned with crockets, and surmounted 
by a figure of the Almighty, as a finial. 
Within the pediment is a circular me¬ 
dallion, containing a nice group of the 
Coronation of the Virgin. The acan- 
tlius-leaf is abundantly used in the 
decoration of this doorway. 

The side-doors have 3 orders, com¬ 
posed of boutels of red marble, resting 
on shafts of white marble, twisted and 
entwined with foliage. The jambs are 
decorated with monsters mixed with 
foliage. In the 1. door this ornamenta¬ 
tion is carried round the head of the arch, 
and across the lintel of the doorway; in 
the rt. door, the archivolt bears medal¬ 
lions with the heads of 12 prophets, while 
David plays the guitar in a trefoil at 
the apex. The lintel in this door shows 
reliefs of Christ and 8 disciples, with 
the date 1518, which period is manifest 
in all the interior of the doorway, con¬ 
trasting both in style and colour with 
the outer and earlier portion. An arch¬ 
bishop, with crozier in hand, in mosaic 
work of various marbles, occupies the 
head of this arch. Corresponding with 
him in the 1. door, is a figure of the 
Virgin in similar mosaic. 

The lower portion of the facade 
is of pale red marble, banded hori¬ 
zontally with stripes of mosaics in 
geometrical patterns. Above the 9th 
band, the facade is a reconstruction 
of a much later period. The highest 
part is even more recent, more ugly, 
and mean—architectural forms being 
marked out in colour in imitation 
of the marble-work below. Some 
of the lower bands show very curious 
small reliefs in white marble. In 
the lowest band is scroll foliage of 
vines, with naked boys picking grapes 
or sporting among the branches; one 
hoeing the ground ; others playing with 
a lion; and at each end is a female 
bust projecting from the wall, with a 
ponderous head-dress. The band above 
this portrays the wine-harvest—pick¬ 
ing and squeezing grapes, carrying 
them to the press, treading them 
down, turning a screw-mill, carrying a 
skin of wine, emptying it into a barrel 
—in short, exhibiting the whole process 
of wine-making as it is performed at 


the present day. To the rt. of the 
central door in the lower band is a 
series of female busts or figures illus¬ 
trative of the duties of woman in the 
household. A large bearded head, 
wearing the Phrygian cap, so common 
in the Two Sicilies, is in the centre of 
this band. Then follows a series por¬ 
traying the corn-harvest — carrying 
sheaves of corn to the threshing-floor, 
where oxen are treading it out, winnow¬ 
ing the grain, and carrying it to the 
mill, which is turned by a mule. Next 
follows the olive-harvest and the pro¬ 
cess of oil-making. Women are picking 
up the ripe fruit, carrying it in baskets, 
or emptying it into the mill. Boys 
are turning the screw of an oil-press. 
In the upper band on this side, pea¬ 
sants are represented ploughing, sow¬ 
ing, and reaping. 

The N. door, which leads to the 
sacristy, is pointed and plain, banded 
with alternate courses of black and 
white stone. There is another small 
door on this side leading to the crypt, 
with features quite northern in charac¬ 
ter. 

The S. door, like that to the N., is 
quite plain. The wall of the Tesoro , 
which projects from the ch. on this side, 
is banded black and white. Here is a 
pretty pointed window with double 
lights filled with flamboyant tracery, 
and separated by a slender column, the 
whole dominated by an ogee arch 
adorned with foliage in crockets, and 
flanked by pinnacles. The features, 
with the exception of the slender shaft, 
are like Northern Gothic, and the date 
must be about 1450. Remains of 6 si¬ 
milar windows may be traced in the 
wall adjoining. Externally the win¬ 
dows of the aisles and clerestory are 
plain, round-headed, and splayed. The 
3 apses are all surmounted by a para¬ 
pet, supported by a Norman corbelling. 
Beyond this, the central apse retains no 
traces of early architecture on its ex¬ 
terior ; but the side-apses have windows 
stilted and round-headed, with enriched 
archivolts, and one shows the chevron 
on its label, and on the abaci of the 
shafts which support it, and which are 
also Norman features. 

The Campanile, which stands apart 














481 


ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA-CATHEDRAL. 


from the Cathedral, is quite modern—a 
clumsy ugly tower of yellow stone, 
quite out of keeping with the fa 9 ade. 
The original tower, compared by early 
writers to that of St. Mark at Venice, 
was struck by lightning in 1559, and the 
upper part destroyed; it was restored, 
but again utterly overthrown by the 
earthquake of 1783. 

Interior. — On entering tliis Cathe¬ 
dral you are struck with its general 
resemblance to that of Monreale; but 
the subdued light, the absence of mosaics 
save on the vaults of the apses, and the 
heavy dark-brown columns in the aisles, 
give it a more gloomy and solemn ap¬ 
pearance. The cl), is on the plan of 
the Latin cross, with 3 apses at the E. 
end. A dome rises at the intersection 
of the nave and transepts. The length 
of the cli. is 3G0 palms (305 ft.); the 
breadth in the transepts is 172 palms 
(145| ft.) ; that of the nave is 120 palms 
('lOlf ft.); and the height of the roof is 
92 palms (78 ft.). The 2G monolith 
columns which support the nave are 
said to have belonged to a Greek temple 
of Neptune, which stood on the Faro 
Point, but being of unequal lengths and 
dimensions, they are probably from 
various ancient buildings. They are 
of dark granite, with Attic bases gilt, 
on grey marble plinths of different 
heights. The capitals are Corinthian, 
more or less corrupt, and are also gilt. 
They betray the same want of uni¬ 
formity as the columns. A peculiarity 
of this cathedral is that the colonnade 
is carried across the nave at the en¬ 
trance, so as to enclose 3 sides of the 
church. 

The pointed arches which originally 
rested on these columns have been sup¬ 
planted by circular forms. The win¬ 
dows of the clerestory also are mo¬ 
dernised—round-headed and undivided. 
The place of the triforium is marked by 
blank rounded windows, now filled with 
frescoes. In the side-aisles the lights 
are rounded and splayed. Pointed forms 
are visible only in the apses, and the 
arch of triumph between the nave and 
the choir. The roof is of wood. “ It 
was burnt in 1254, on the occasion of 
the funeral of Conrad, son of the Em¬ 
peror Frederick II. The catafalco or 
[Sicily.'] 


funeral trophy, which was placed in 
the middle of the nave, was so lofty 
that the lights on its summit caught 
the rafters, and the roof, the catafalco, 
and the body of the prince were all 
consumed together. The roof, how¬ 
ever, was shortly afterwards restored 
by King Manfred.” It is decorated 
with octagonal coffers, which, with the 
beams, are enriched with colour and 
gilding in a style approaching nearly 
to the Saracenic. Some of the rafters 
bear inscriptions. The roofs of the 
side-aisles are also of wood, but more 
recent; those of the transepts are wag¬ 
gon-headed and plain. The pavement in 
the nave and aisles is in large geometri¬ 
cal patterns, in mosaic work of different 
marbles and porphyry. It is marked 
with a meridian, showing the position 
of the sun at noon on every day in the 
year; the work of a native astronomer, 
the Abate D. Antonio Jctci, who com¬ 
pleted it in 1804, when almost blind. 

The walls of the nave are covered 
with frescoes, all, save the two nearest 
the choir, by Antonio Bova. They are 
more curious for their subjects than 
admirable as works of art, illustrating 
the history of the picture of the Virgin 
over the High Altar, supposed to have 
been painted by St. Luke, and trans¬ 
ported miraculously across the sea to 
Messina. The last on the 1., painted 
by Letterio Subba, commemorates the 
miraculous escape of (Messina from the 
cholera in 1837, a miracle of course 
attributed to the protection of the 
Virgin of the Letter. 

Over the chief entrance, in a lunette, 
is a large picture of the Virgin and 
Child, in the Byzantine style, but 
not of Byzantine art. Beneath it is a 
shield emblazoned with the proud title 
to which Messina long laid claim, dis¬ 
puting it with Palermo :— 

“ Trinacriae princeps et caput.” 

Pulpit. —Under the 7th arch to the 
it. of the nave is a pulpit of white 
marble, in the Renaissance style, at¬ 
tributed by some to Antonio Gagini, by 
others to Andrea Calamech of Carrara. 
It is about 15 ft. high, of octagonal 
form, and each face is decorated with 
the figure of a Virtue in relief. The 

Y 





482 


ROUTE 27.-MESSINA-CATHEDRAL. 


pedestal on which it rests is square, 
adorned with arabesques much in the 
style of Gagini ; its base shows a band 
of marine gods, goddesses, and monsters, 
and its capital is of the Composite order, 
with large heads of Arius, Mohammed, 
Luther, and Calvin, between the 
volutes. 

Baptismal Font.— Under the next 
arch stands the Baptismal Font, an 
octagon of white marble resting on 
nine pillars, the central one decorated 
with the chevron and foliage. The 
font, which is surrounded by a broad 
band of Alexandrine mosaics, is attri¬ 
buted to Gaddo Gaddi, of Florence. 
The lid is of the cinque-cento period. 

Bight Aisle. — Before 1600 there 
were no less than 97 altars in this 
cathedral, every column having 3 or 
4 attached to it. Now they are few in 
number; those in the aisles, which are 
of the Corinthian order and designed 
by Montorsoli , being surmounted, not 
by pictures, but by semi-colossal sta¬ 
tues of the Apostles by different 
hands. To begin with the rt. Just 
within the entrance is a St. John the 
Baptist in marble, executed in 1525 
by Antonio Gagini ; simple and ex¬ 
pressive ; humility and devotion dis¬ 
played in the face and in every limb ; 
the form as meagre and the drapery as 
broad as is usual in the works of this 
master. Passing a monument, by Ig- 
nazio Marcibitti of Palermo, to an Arch¬ 
bishop of Messina who died 1767, you 
come to the statues. The first in this 
aisle is that of St. Jude holding an 
axe, by Ignazio Buceti, of Messina. St. 
Matthew with his foot on a money-bag. 
follows, the work of Antonino Amato, 
of Messina; St. James the Less and 
St. Thomas are from the chisel of 
Niccolo Francesco Maffei, of Carrara. 
St. James the Greater with a spear is 
by Giidio Scalzo, a Florentine sculptor 
and architect. St. Paul Avith his sword 
raised is executed by Martino of Mes¬ 
sina, from the designs and under the 
direction of Montorsoli. Most of these 
statues are deficient in elevation 
and dignity, yet the St. James the 
Greater is highly extolled by the citi¬ 
zens. To these statues succeeds the 
altar of the Assumption, of marble, in 


the Renaissance style, adorned with 
beautiful and elaborate reliefs. The 
statue of the Virgin, of life-size, was 
executed in 1610 ; the'sculptor’s name 
unknown. 

In the same aisle, and nearly oppo¬ 
site, is an early monument, composed of 
a canopy with trefoiled arches of white 
marble, resting on 12 small columns of 
different marbles, and covering a sort of 
sarcophagus, in which are interred the 
remains of 5 archbishops of Messina. 

S. Transept. —The altarpiece is a 
crucifix in black marble. To the rt. 
is a monument from the chisel of 
Gregorio da Siena, to Guidotto de’ 
Tabiati, Archbishop of Messina, who 
died in 1333. The sarcophagus is 
adorned with bas-reliefs coloured and 
gilt—the Annunciation and Adoration 
of the Magi in front, the Scourging 
and the Crucifixion at the ends. 
Round the sarcophagus runs an in¬ 
scription in Gothic letters,— 

“ Prjesul Guidotus jacet hie Christicola totus, 
Hoc meruit vita, quod moriretur ita,”— 


with the date and the name of the 
sculptor. On the lid reposes the figure 
of Guidotto in the vestments of a 
bishop of the Greek Church. This is 
the most curious and interesting 
monument in the cathedral. Close to 
it is another to the Archbishop Fran¬ 
cisco Velardes y Concha, of Cordoba, 
avIio died 1514, and a fine bust of the 
old Spaniard occupies a niche above 
the sarcophagus. On the left of th*e 
altar is a Roman epitaph of pagan 
times. 

Left Aisle. To the 1. of the great 
doorAvay, as you enter, is an altar 
Avith a statue of S. Vittorio Angelica, 
a martyr of Messina, as a Roman 
soldier, by Luca ViUamaci. In this 
corner of the church is a small 




toAver about 7 feet square, reaching 
almost to the roof of the aisle, and 
banded horizontally with black and 
white stone. Over the door is an in¬ 
scription, shoAving that it once formed 
the entrance to the Campanile. The 
first statue in this aisle is that of S. 
Simon, by Vincenzo Tedeschi, of Rome, 
who finished it in 1633. The St. 
BartholomeAV is by the same hand. 















ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA-CATHEDRAL. 


St. Philip [in a dancing attitude is 
ascribed to the family of Calamech. 
The St. John the Evangelist with cup 
and book is by Martino of Florence. 
The St. Andrew is by Andrea Cala¬ 
mech ; the St. Peter by Giovanni An¬ 
gelo Montorsoli. Like those in the 
opposite aisle, these figures have little 
beauty or dignity. Those of St. Simon 
and St. Andrew are perhaps the best. 
The holy-water basin at the door lead¬ 
ing to the Sacristy is very quaint and 
early, and of Norman character. It 
rests on a marble column inverted, 
bearing two Greek inscriptions, one to 
“ TEsculapius and Hygeia, the pre¬ 
servers and protectors of the city;” 
the other to “Adrian Antoninus Au¬ 
gustus, the father of his country.” 
Beyond this door is a small alto-relievo 
of St. Jerome at his devotions, 1p of 
quattrocento art. By its side is a 
shrine, with* similar decorations to 
those of the Assumption opposite, 
and containing a meagre figure of the 
Resurrection, attributed to Antonio 
Gagini. The soldiers in black marble 
below it are by Jacopo del Duca. 
Opposite this shrine and beneath the 
organ-loft is the monument of Arch¬ 
bishop Pietro Bellorado, in a good 
Renaissance style, adorned with ara¬ 
besques. The cenotaph is decorated 
with figures of Faith, Hope, and 
Charity, better in feeling than in exe¬ 
cution. On the sarcophagus reclines 
the Archbishop in effigy, who died in 
1513. Adjacent to this is the monu¬ 
ment of the Monsignore Antonio La 
Ligname (ob. 1535), whose effigy re¬ 
clines on the sarcophagus. 

N. Transept .—The altar here, a rich 
specimen of the Renaissance, was 
erected in 1530 by the last-mentioned 
prelate. The jambs, pilasters, and 
archivolt are covered with arabesques. 
Over the altar is a Pieta, by an un¬ 
known hand; to the rt. a St. Anthony 
of Padua, to the 1. St. Peter; all of white 
marble. In the lunette above the 
cornice is a bas-relief of the “Virgin 
of Peace,” striking down the demon 
of Discord, from whose clutches she 
is rescuing souls. The paliotto is 
adorned with quattro - cento reliefs, 
illustrating the passion and sufferings 


483 

of Our Lord. To the 1. of the altar 
stands a monument, raised in 1582 to 
the memory of Monsignor Giovanni 
Retana, the work of Rinaldo Boncmno, 
a sculptor and architect of Messina. 

High Altar. —In front of the central 
apse or tribune stands the high altar, 
raised on 9 steps, a masterpiece of 
inlaid work, one of the earliest, and at 
the same time richest, specimens of the 
Florentine mosaic, called “ opera di 
comme&so." It is entirely encrusted 
with agates, jaspers, chalcedonies, 
avventurino, and other precious stones, 
ingeniously wrought into the form of 
flowers, birds, vases, scrolls, &c., of 
their natural colours and shades, on a 
ground of lapis lazuli. The screen 
which rises behind and above it is 
similarly decorated. So are the 5 
upper steps of the altar, which are 
bright as a carpet with colour. The 
effect of the whole is rich beyond de¬ 
scription, but is greatly injured by 
the tasteless octagonal haldacchino, or 
canopy, vulgarly called the “ macchi- 
netta.” It is heavy with gilding, 
cherubs, and scroll-work, and is sup¬ 
ported by Corinthian columns of 
bronze gilt, encrusted with lapis lazuli; 
it is prized by the Messinese as sur¬ 
passing in richness, if not in size, the 
famous haldacchino of the Vatican. It 
was designed by Simone Gull), of Mes¬ 
sina, in 1628, but executed by various 
artists at the cost of not less than 300,000 
piastres, or 62,500/. In the centre of 
the screen is a small brass bas-relief of 
the Virgin delivering her letter to the 
Messinesi; the work of Giacomo 8er- 
potta, of Palermo. Over this, held Tip 
by angels of bronze gilt, is the mira¬ 
culous picture of the Virgin of the 
Letter, of Greek art, and popularly 
believed to be from the hand of St. 
Luke ; and above all is a half-length of 
the Deity, surrounded by cherubs, all 
of bronze gilt, and from the chisel of 
Serpotta. The picture is ordinarily 
covered with a manta or curtain of 
silver, representing the painting in 
relief, and adorned with gems. But 
on festive occasions this is exchanged 
for one of massive gold, the metal alone 
of which weighs 20 lbs., laden with 
diamonds and precious stones. The 




484 


ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA-CATHEDRAL. 


custodia for the exhibition of the Host 
is of silver, with precious stones, from 
the designs of Giacomo Calcagni, of 
Rome. 

At the foot of the altar stand 6 
tall candlesticks of brass, very simple, 
of the 14th century. Here is also 
a lectern of the same metal, with 4 
branches, each bearing the symbol of 
an Evangelist; it rests on 4 lions, and 
is crowned by an eagle on a globe. 
Notice also a column of beautiful red 
jasper, about 7 feet high, which serves 
as a candlestick. 

The Virgins Letter .—The back of the 
screen of the altar is as rich with inlaid 
work and bronze gilt as the front. 
Here, in large gilt letters, is a copy of 
the celebrated letter which the Virgin 
is believed to have delivered with her 
own hands to the citizens of Messina. 
It runs thus :—•“ Maria Virgo, Joachim 
filia, Dei humillima, Christi Jesu cru- 
cifixi mater, ex tribu Juda, stirpe 
David, Messanensibus omnibus salu- 
tem, et Dei Patris Omnipotentis bene- 
dictionem. Vos omnes tide magna 
legatos ac nuncios per publicum docu- 
mentum ad nos misisse constat; filium 
nostrum, Dei genitum, Deum et homi- 
nem esse fatemini, et in coelum post 
suam resurrectionem ascendisse, Pauli 
Apostoli electi prsedicatione mediante 
viam veritatis agnoscentes. Ob quod 
vos et ipsam civitatem benedicimus, 
cujus perpetuam protectricem nos esse 
volumus. Anno filii nostri XLII. 
Indict. I. hi. Non. Junii. Luna xxvii. 
Feria V. ex Hierosolymis.” The tra¬ 
dition is that the Messinese, converted 
to Christianity by the preaching of St. 
Paul, who, they assert, visited this 
city on his way to Rome, wrote a 
congratulatory address to the Virgin 
at her residence in Jerusalem. This 
embassy, conducted by the Apostle 
himself, was graciously received and 
dismissed with a most comfortable 
epistle, in which the illustrious per¬ 
sonage declares her intention of taking 
Messina under her special protection. 
The letter now shown is not the ori¬ 
ginal, which was burned by some per¬ 
son out of envy and malice, so said at 
least a revelation made to a pious lady, 
Maria Roccaforte, by the Virgin her¬ 


self, who at the same time gave her its 
particular history. The copy extant is 
only a translation of a translation, for 
the original Hebrew was turned into 
Greek by St. Paul, and the celebrated 
Constantine Lascaris, who taught 
Greek at Messina, and died there 
1467, did the Apostle’s Greek into 
Latin. No Messinese doubts the au¬ 
thenticity or miraculous powers of the 
epistle, and many of the citizens give 
the name of Letterio or Letteria to 
their children in its honour. A regis¬ 
ter is kept of the cures effected by it, 
especially in driving out devils, and in 
cases of difficult parturition. Even 
queens have worn it round their necks 
on such occasions. 

Central Apse .—The vault of the tri¬ 
bune is covered with mosaics, in the 
same style as those in the Cathedrals 
of Monreale and Cefalu. They were 
added in 1322 by Frederick II. of 
Aragon and Archbishop Guidotto de’ 
Tabiati, whose portraits are intro¬ 
duced. In the centre is a colossal 
figure of Our Saviour sitting with the 
book open before him, and his rt. hand 
raised in the act of blessing. By his side 
stand the archangels Michael and Ga¬ 
briel, theVirgin and St. John ; all desig¬ 
nated with Greek inscriptions. Over each 
archangel is a seraph with 6 wings. At 
Christ’s feet, to the 1., kneel “Guidotto, 
the Archbishop,” and “ King Frede¬ 
rick on the other hand “ King Peter,” 
his son. Both kings wear the dal- 
matica. The mortals alone are richly 1 
arrayed, the relative importance of the 
figm-es being indicated by their size. 
The archangels are much smaller than 
their Lord, but twice as large as the 
Virgin and St. Peter, while the 2 
Kings are but half their size, though 
double that of the Archbishop. 

Just within the arch, against the 
wall to the rt., in a coffin covered with 
crimson velvet, repose the ashes of : 
Conrad, son of Frederick II., Emperor 1 
of Germany, who succeeded his father 
in the sovereignty of Naples and Sicily, 
and died in 1253. 

“ Impevio prasstans, forma Conradus, et armis- 
Pro mentis cineres dat tibi, Zancla, suos.” 

On the opposite wall is a similar coffin, 
containing the remains of Alfonso ‘the 






ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA-CATHEDRAL. 


485 


Magnanimous, who succeeded to tlie 
tin-one of Sicily in 1416, and died in 
1458. Below it is inscribed— 

*“ Alphonsum Lybitina diu fugis arma gerentem, 
Mox positis, quaenam gloria ? fraude necas.” 

In the tall rounded window at the 
back of the apse is a third coffin, in 
which is interred Antonia, wife of 
Frederick III. of Aranon :— 

“ Hie regum soboles, Friderici Antonia conjux 
Sicanire Regina Jacet. Thus Zancla supremo 
Dal cineri, et raptam floreutibus ingemit 
annis.” 

On the walls of the tribune below 
the mosaics are 4 large frescoes by 
Giambattista Quagliata, but, though 
they show some boldness in the con¬ 
ception and drawing, they are far 
below the works of Tmtoret, to which, 
by one traveller, they have been com¬ 
pared. On the rt. are the Death of St. 
Albert, and the Preaching of St. Paul ; 
on the 1. the Embassy to the Virgin, 
and the Martyrdom of St. Placido and 
his companions. 

The carved seats of the choir are of 
the Renaissance, the work of one George 
of Venice, in 1540. Some of them 
show architectural subjects and land¬ 
scapes in marquetry. 

Behind the altar are 2 brass lecterns, 
surmounted by eagles whose open wings 
support ponderous music-books of vel¬ 
lum, some centuries old. 

Apse to the N. —This apse, called 
the Chapel of the Sacrament, has its 
vault covered with mosaics. The Vir¬ 
gin is sitting in the midst on a richly 
ornamented throne with the Babe on 
her lap, between Saints Gabriel and 
Michael, while St. Agatha and St. 
Lucia are kneeling on either hand, 
offering gifts, with Queen Elizabeth, wife 
of Frederick II., also in the attitude of 
adoration. This chapel was designed 
by Jacopo del Duca. The custodia 
of bronze gilt shows reliefs of the Last 
Supper, and of Christ with the 2 dis¬ 
ciples at Einmaus, from the chisel 
of the same artist. The paintings 
empanelled in the walls are by Ales¬ 
sandro Fei. 

Apse to the S. or the Cappella di 
San Placido. —The altar here is shut 
in by a balustrade of beautiful marbles; 
the pilasters in the front are also 


inlaid with marbles in the Florentine 
style. The cherubs of bronze gilt, 
enniched in the walls, were executed 
by Innocenzio Mangani, of Florence. 
The mosaics on the vault show St. 
John the Evangelist sitting between 
standing figures of St. Nicholas and an¬ 
other saint, -until “ King Ludovicus ” 
and his uncle, “John, Duke” of Ran- 
dazzo, kneeling at their feet. These 
figures are richly arrayed, but of very 
small size comparatively. As in the 
other apses, the inscriptions over the 
mortals are in Latin, while those de¬ 
signating the angels and saints are in 
Greek. 

Sagrario. —In a small chapel to the 
1. of the Tribune is the reliquary, where 
the devout are edified by a sight of the 
arm of St. Paul, some of St. Mark’s 
blood, Mary Magdalen’s skull, and a 
lock of the Virgin’s hair, which she 
sent to the Messinese at the same time 
with her celebrated letter, which 
is also here treasured. Here are 
preserved vases, ostensoirs, candle¬ 
sticks, and sacred images in the pre¬ 
cious metals, beautiful specimens of 
the goldsmith’s skill in former cen¬ 
turies — the greater part being by 
I vara, styled, from his excellence in 
this art, “ the Cellini of Sicily.” 

Sacristy. —The door leading to it 
from the N. aisle has a lofty pointed 
arch, and presents a good specimen of 
Sicilian Gothic. The jambs, lintel, 
and archivolt are decorated with mo¬ 
saic work, and in the head of the 
arch is an old Greek picture of the 
Virgin and Child. In the vestibule 
are two Renaissance doors with nicely 
cut vine foliage, executed by Polidoro 
Caldara (about 1560). That to the 
W. leads to the Sacristy. The best 
of the pictures here is an Assump¬ 
tion by Salvo d'Antonio. In the 
inner room, called la Canonica, is a 
picture of Abraham entertaining the 
angels, by Alfonso Rodriguez. Here are 
also the Marriage of Cana in Galilee, 
and the Marriage Feast of the parable, 
both by Quagliata. The bas-relief of the 
Adoration of the Magi, dated 1544, is 
by an unknown chisel. The Presenta¬ 
tion in the Temple is by Alibrandi, of 
Messina (1470-1524). There is an 



486 


ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA—CHURCHES. 


early triptych of the Crucifixion, De¬ 
position, and Resurrection, of the 
Flemish school. Daniel in the den of 
lions, with the angel bringing Habak- 
kuk to him, is by an unknown hand. 

Crypt—Beneath the Cathedral is 
a spacious crypt, divided into 3 aisles 
by low massive columns of marble, 
with simple Norman capitals, support¬ 
ing arches acutely pointed. Tlie roofs 
are groined, but encrusted with mo¬ 
dern stuccoes, and covered with fres¬ 
coes by Antonino Bova. Behind the 
liigh altar is a Byzantine picture of 
the Virgin and Child, on a gilt ground. 
In the Chapel of the Madonna della 
Stella is another old Byzantine painting 
of the same subject. The chapel of St. 
Paul contains a picture of that saint 
preaching, by Stefano della Bella, of 
Florence. The door leading to the 
crypt is in the S. wall of the church, 
and is pointed, with features of 
Northern Gothic. 

L’Addolorata, in the Corso, has 
a marble group of the Virgin and 
Child, by an unknown hand. She is 
represented sitting, and her Son, stand¬ 
ing between her knees, turns back 
lovingly towards his mother, who re¬ 
turns his gaze with equal affection. 
The group is very simple and pretty, 
the drapery good, the sentiment charm¬ 
ing, but the Virgin’s face is wanting in 
beauty. 

S. Andrea Avellino, belonging to the 
Badri Teatini. This fine church is on 
the Piazza di S. Giovanni, or Flora. 
The convent to which it is attached, 
for its vast size, regularity of design, 
and imposing appearance, is one of the 
most remarkable ecclesiastical build¬ 
ings in Messina. The flight of steps 
is of wlfite Carrara marble. The 
church was only completed in 1851, 
Antonio Tardi being the architect. It 
lias a flat facade, wutli Corinthian pilas¬ 
ters, and is circular, roofed in by a 
large dome like that of the Pantheon. 
Four deep square recesses open in the 
walls, each fronted by a pair of Corin- 
tl i ian columns. On the pier to the rt. are 
the Descent of the Holy Ghost by Deo- 
dato Guinaccia (ob. 1585), and a small 


picture by Barbalonga (1601-1650) r 
representing the Saints Andrea and 
Gaetano in adoration of the Madonna, 
—nice as a sketch. In the rt. transept 
is the Assumption of the Virgin, by an 
unknown hand. On the 2nd pier to 
the rt. hangs an Ecce Homo by 
Caravaggio, esteemed a chef-d’oeuvre of 
the master. The contrast between 
the humility and resignation of Our 
Lord, the contempt manifested by 
Pilate, and the truculent expression of 
the ruffian behind, is excellent. The 
colouring is rich, though subdued, and 
the chiaroscuro forcible as usual. 

The High Altar shows the titular 
saint at an altar, by Salvador Monosilio 
of Messina. On the yier to the 1. is 
a Pieta by Misusa. In the 1. tran¬ 
sept is a large picture of S. Andrea, 
reputed one of the best works of Sebas- 
tiano Conca. On the pier to the 1. of 
the enhance are a Holy Family by 
Francesco Albani, a nice picture but 
.greatly injured, and a Virgin of the 
Refuge, by Ste fano Giordano of Messina, 
a specimen of Sicilian pre-Raphaelitism, 
showing the shortcomings of early art, 
without the excellences. 

S. Agostino, in the higher part of 
the city to the W. The convent [is 
very large, and contains a cloister, with 
an Ionic colonnade of marble. The ch. 
is of early foundation, but rebuilt in 
great part in modern times. “ In the 
northern flank of this building may be 
observed the traces of two more ancient 
constructions. You perceive the plain, 
round-headed windows, and flat but¬ 
tresses of an early Norman church, dis¬ 
turbed by subsequent insertions in the 
pointed style. A pointed door destroys 
the lower half of the roundheaded 
window above it. This church was 
nearly rebuilt in the first half of the 
14th cent. The portions in the pointed 
style must be remnants of the work 
done at that time.”— Gaily Knight. It 
is the E. door that is pointed. It pre¬ 
sents a rich specimen of Sicilian Gothic. 
On the 1st altar to the rt. is a mar¬ 
ble group of the Virgin and Child, 
of early art, and tinted with colour 
and gold. The chapel of the Abbate 
family contains an alto-relievo of the 









487 


ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA-CHURCHES. 


Nativity, by Rinaldo Boncinno of Mes¬ 
sina. In the same chapel are two 
marble monuments, of similar design, 
adorned with sleeping cherubs, and an 
elegant frieze of bas-reliefs. They are 
dated 1603 and 1670 respectively. The 
altarpiece of this church is a small pic¬ 
ture of the Vergine di Buon-Consiglio, 
said to have been miraculously trans¬ 
ported by angels on the night of 28th 
April, 1467, across the sea from Scutari 
in Albania to Gennazaro near Borne, fol¬ 
lowed by certain of the faithful, who, 
led by a pillar of tire, as miraculously 
crossed the sea dryshod on the same 
occasion. The miracle is represented in 
a picture against one of the piers in 
the rt. aisle. The other paintings are 
—a Martyrdom of S. Cano, by Andrea 
Suppa, in the 1. aisle, and a St. Augus¬ 
tine by Alfonso Rodriguez . This con¬ 
vent suffered greatly from the bombard¬ 
ment in 1848, but the statues and 
pictures were, miraculously of course, 
preserved. 

Agostiniani Scalzi. —This convent, 
within the fortress of Kocca Guel- 
fonia, lias a church attached to it, 
wliich contains a marble group of the 
Virgin and Babe, by Vincenzo Tedeschi 
of Borne, executed in the first half of 
the 17th cent. The church occupies the 
site of the Torre Matagriffone, which 
was erected by Bichard Coeur de Lion, 
when, on his way to the Holy Land, he 
stayed awhile at Messina. 

Santa Anna. —This church, which 
dates from the beginning of the 17th 
cent., is approached by a lofty flight of 
marble steps. It is small, and gaudy 
with inlaid marbles, frescoes, and gild¬ 
ing. The frescoes are of colossal size, 
but no beauty. The Tribune has an 
altarpiece by the Filocami, represent¬ 
ing the Lamb of the Apocalypse. In 
the first chapel to the rt. is a picture 
of the Madonna and Child with St. 
Bernard and St. Benedict, by Antonio 
Bova of Messina, the former saint re¬ 
ceiving truly maternal attentions from 
the Virgin. It displays much freshness 
and sweetness of expression. The op¬ 
posite chapel contains an Immaculata 
of quattrocento art, ascribed to Anto- 


neUo of Messina, or to the Antonj 
family, a sweet simple figure in a star- 
studded mantle surrounded by illus¬ 
trations of the titles usually applied 
to the Virgin. In the next chapel is a 
panel-picture of Sta. Anna, of Byzan¬ 
tine art, more curious than beautiful. 

Santa Anna, near the University.— 
This church, which dates from 1611, 
contains 2 pictures by Giovanni Simone 
Comande, —Christ hurling thunder, 
and a Holy Family. 

S. Angelo de' Rossi, near the Porto 
Franco, was originally an hospital for 
the Teutonic knights, who settled here 
in 1220. The church is small, and dates 
from the early part of the 15tli cent. 
The W. door is pointed, with features of 
Northern Gothic. The arch is cusped, 
and each cusp is filled with a trefoil 
and dentilled moulding, in the style 
common at Taormina. On the lintel is 
the Madonna, between an angel and a 
bishop, each in a circular medallion. 
The capitals of the pilasters which 
flank the portal show winged seraphim. 
The gate bears date 1493. The roof of 
the church is frescoed with the Fall of 
the Angels, by Flacido Campolo, a native 
artist of the last century. In the court 
are the remains of a Boman temple, 
called L'Alemanna. Attached to this 
church is a benevolent institution, es¬ 
tablished in 1543 for the education of 
orphans of both sexes, between the 
ages of 12 and 18. These orphans are 
dressed in white tunics or gowns, 
with red cloaks ; and hence the church 
takes its name. 

Le Anime del Purgatorio, a large 
church at the point where the Strada 
Cardines joins the Strada Garibaldi. 
It was founded in 1620, and, ruined 
by the great earthquake of 1783, was 
rebuilt in 1786 by the painter Andrea 
Suppa, who planned it, and Raffaello 
Margarita, who completed it and erected 
the 2 facades. The exterior is in the 
Italian style, with 2 orders of Compo¬ 
site columns. The plan is an octagon 
surmounted by a cupola of the same 
form. The interior is lined with 
marbles of various hues, but the effect 




488 


ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA-ANNUNZIATA DE’ CATALANI. 


is spoiled by wretched frescoes on the 
dome. Over the high altar is a crucifix 
in dark cypress-wood, by Santi Sira¬ 
cusa of Messina. The other 4 altars 
contain—a St. Matthew, by Paolo de 
Matteis of Naples; St. Gregory cele¬ 
brating the mass, by Sebastiano Ricci, 
a Venetian; S. Giacomo led to mar¬ 
tyrdom, by Pompeo Battoni of Florence ; 
and a Pieta, by Angelo Trevisano of 
Rome. 

L' Annunziata, near the Porta Ciera, 
distinguished as that of the Agostiniani 
Scalzi, contains a Virgin of the Rosary, 
by Domenico Cardillo of Messina; a 
picture of the Crucifix between St. 
Augustine and Sta. Monica, by Giovanni 
Tuccari; and an Annunciation in the 
style of Raphael, painted in 1585, and 
attributed to Guinaccia. 

Annunziata de' Catalani, in a little 
square at the S. end of the Strada 
Garibaldi. The precise date and 
the origin of this church are un¬ 
known. It is traditionally of high 
antiquity and peculiar sanctity, by 
some supposed to have been originally 
a temple of Neptune, by others a 
mosque built by tire Saracens; but 
Mr. Knight regards it as of Norman 
origin, second to the Cathedral in point 
of antiquity, and built prior to 1169, 
the first historic mention of it, and 
subsequently to 1062, the date of the 
Norman conquest of the city. It was 
originally called L’Annunziata del 
Castellamare, from its proximity to the 
ancient castle which guarded the har¬ 
bour, but it derives its present name 
from the Catalans, who settled here 
under the Aragonese dynasty, because 
it was set apart for their special use. 
This church exhibits points of resem¬ 
blance to the French Norman, and to the 
Romanesque. The exterior of its apse 
is decorated with two ranges of round 
stilted Norman arches, resting on small 
pillars with foliated capitals. Its W. 
end shows three very curious portals. 
Their arches are round-headed, but the 
side arches not only exceed the semi¬ 
circle, but incline to the horseshoe 
form; they are also higher but much 
narrower than that in the centre. This 


lias a deep plain sinking and a single 
moulding with acanthus scroll foliage.. 
It rests on pilasters having Corinthian 
capitals, enriched above with a Greek 
pattern; and below bearing Arabic 
inscriptions inlaid w T ith porphyry, but 
reversed, and not now to be read con¬ 
secutively. At the angles below the 
moulding of the arch are two small 
shafts recessed in the Norman manner, 
and having Corinthian capitals. 

The side doors differ from the 
central inasmuch as their jambs are 
quite plain, yet with Corinthian capitals. 
The abacus of that to the rt. is en¬ 
riched with the dentil and egg and 
tongue moulding, that to the 1. with a 
boar and wolf bunt. The label in 
each displays Greek mouldings, and 
rests on foliated brackets. 

The Arabic inscriptions, which are 
seen also on the reveal face of the 
doorway, and which have given this 
church the reputation of having been 
a mosque, are evidently fragments of 
some Saracenic structure, probably a 
sepulchre. They record that “ Messala, 
son of Haram King of the Alamids, 
was introduced into great glory,” but 
as the inscription is imperfect, its sense 
cannot be ascertained. 

The interior of the church is much 
modernized. Its form is a Latin cross 
with 3 aisles, divided by columns of 
granite or cipollino, with capitals of 
Byzantine Corinthian, 'on which rest 
round and stilted arches. At the 
angles of the pilasters which support 
the cupola are 4 very tall shafts, each 
composed of 2 slender columns, pointed, 
and with gilt capitals. Similar shafts 
in a double tier flank the apse. The 
cupola and roof of the chmcli are 
modern. 

In the 1. transept is an Immaculata, 
by Tommaso Mo i dell a. The Sacristy 
contains a Last Judgment, by Girolamo 
Maccliietta ; a very early and curious 
picture of the Annunciation; and a 
half-figure of Christ, of the school of the 
Antonj. 

Annunziata de Teatini, in the 
Corso, was erected by Simon Carafa, 
Archbishop of Messina, in 1660, 
Guarino being the architect. The 






489 


ROUTE 27 . —MESSINA-CHURCHES. 


facade is ornate but ugly; the in¬ 
terior is spacious, and lighted by a 
low dome, frescoed by Giuseppe Fala¬ 
dino, who also frescoed the vault of 
the tribune. The central fresco on 
the ceiling of the aisle is by Filippo 
Tancredi. Those in the Chapel of S. 
Gregorio Taumaturgo, representing the 
saint’s death, and the plague ceasing 
at his intercession, are chefs-d'oeuvre 
of Andrea Suppa, by whom is also 
the Trinity on the vault of the 
chapel. Giovanni Fulco of Messina 
painted the frescoes on the altar of the 
Crocifisso, which show the Cross ap¬ 
pearing to Constantine, and the Em¬ 
peror bearing that emblem in tri¬ 
umphal procession. 

The high altar is enriched with 
agates. On the walls of the tribune 
hang the following pictures : on the 
rt. the Assumption and Purification, 
by Giovanni Battista Quagliata; and 
a Visitation, by Giuseppe Faladino: 
ontlie 1. the Assumption, by Andrea 
Suppa; the Birth of the Virgin, and the 
Presentation, by Quagliata. At the 
back of the altar is a nice Annun¬ 
ciation, supposed to be a copy of an 
early picture. Here are two marble 
monuments; one to the memory of 
the Archbishop Carafa (ob. 1676), by 
Innocenzio Mangani ; the other in better 
style, erected in 1639, and adorned 
with a group of the Virgin and Child 
between St. John and a nun. 

In the 3rd chapel to the rt. is a 
painted statue of the Virgin of the 
Conception, by Michaele Panebianco. 
The 1st to the 1. contains an Assump¬ 
tion by John Van Houbraken. In 
the 3rd on this side is the Death of St. 
Joseph, by Andrea Quagliata, and an 
Adoration of the Magi, an early and 
simple picture. The 1. transept has a 
painting of S. Gaetano receiving from 
the Virgin proofs of her maternal affec¬ 
tion, by Agostino Scilla. 

Attached to this church are several 
Oratories of different confraternities. 
The Oratorio di S. Giacomo has an 
altarpiece of the saint in armour riding 
down his foes, followed by a troop of 
knights not illustrating the Christian 
and chivalric doctrine of “ parcere 
subjectis.” It is attributed to Qua¬ 


gliata. Here is also a Presentation, 
by Rodriguez, better in colouring 
than in composition or drawing. 
The Oratorio della Madonna della 
Grazia contains some pictures by 
Tuccari, viz. :—Noah inebriated, Lot 
and his two daughters, Rebecea at the 
well, and Jael and Sisera. In the 
Oratorio della Nativita, or de Forensi, 
the altarpiece of the Nativity is by 
Fulco. The Visitation and Presenta¬ 
tion are by Tancredi, both forcibly and 
richly coloured, but the former the 
better picture, and the chef-d'oeuvre of 
the master. Of the frescoes of Fulco 
on the ceiling the 6 nude Prophets are 
worthy of notice. 

Annunziata de' Teresiani, also called 
La Madonna della Grazia, in the W. of 
the city, is a small domed church of 
elegant architecture, raised in the 
16th cent. The altarpiece is an An¬ 
nunciation by Deodato Guinaccia, 
painted in 1551. The picture of the 
Virgin and S. Girolamo, is of the school 
of the Antonj of Messina. 

Santa Barbara, a spacious nunnery 
on the Colie del Tirone, whose church, 
erected in 1575 by Andrea Calamech 
of Carrera, and repaired in 1726 and 
1826, is gay with marbles, frescoes, 
and gilding. By Letterio Faladino are 
the St. Barbara and the Nativity of 
Christ; the death of St. Benedict is 
a chef-d'oeuvre of Giovanni Battista 
Quagliata. 

San Bartolommeo. —In the Strada 
Carolines, near the Porta Nuova. Here 
are a Martyrdom of the titular saint by 
Francesco Comande; 2 pictures repre¬ 
senting the saint’s deeds by the Cava- 
liere Calabrese, and an early copy of 
the Conception of Antonello, the father 
of the Messinese school. 

S. Biagio, in the Strada di S. Agos¬ 
tino, was raised from the designs of 
Andrea Calamech. The frescoes and 
the Virgin over the high altar are from 
the hand of Letterio Faladino (1691- 
1743). 

y 3 







490 


ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA—CHURCHES—LA CATTOLICA. 


H Carmine .—Near the University,. 
The frescoes on the walls and in the 
tribune are by Tuccari. The best is 
the Ascension of Christ on the vault 
of the apse. Here was formerly the 
monument of Policloro Ccddara da 
Caravaggio (ob. 1541) ; now the only 
relic of this artist is a picture of the 
Lady of Carmel. 

Santa Caterina di Valverde .—This 
nunnery, hi the S. of the city, is sup¬ 
posed to occupy the site of an ancient 
temple of Venus. It was founded in 
1330, but of the original church only 
the W. portal remains, which is pointed, 
and adorned with the double chevron 
and trefoils. The church was over¬ 
thrown by the earthquake of 1693, re¬ 
stored in 1705, again destroyed by the 
earthquake of 1783, and lastly shat¬ 
tered by the bombardment of 1848. 
The picture of the Martyrdom of the 
titular saint is by Menniti of Syra¬ 
cuse (1577-1640). 

La Cattolica, or Nostra Donna del 
Graffeo, in the Strada Primo Settembre, 
close to the' Piazza del Duomo. The 
portal which faces the E. is pointed 
and plain; the window above it is 
enriched with the Norman chevron. 
Over it is the pompous inscription 

“ Catholica Ecclesiarum Grtecarran Mater et 
Caput.” 

The building belongs to that portion of 
the Greek Church which is in commu¬ 
nion with the see of Rome. The Greek 
“ schismatics,” as the large body of the 
Greek Church are termed, have a church 
in another part of the city. La Cattolica 
is of very early foundation, dating prior 
to 1168, when the Greek clergy removed 
to it from the Cathedral, which they 
had previously occupied. The plan of 
the church is a Greek cross, with a 
pointed apse at the back, a round apse 
in each transept, and a low cupola in 
the centre resting on pointed arches. 
The windows also retain their pointed 
forms. The interior was modernised in 
1752. Here the Greek ritual is performed 
by a Protopapa, or High Priest. On a 
marble column which supports the high 
altar is a Greek inscription, “ To JEscu- 


lapius and Hygeia, preservers, pro¬ 
tectors of the city,” which is also found 
on a column in the Cathedral. At 
the doorway stands a curious Byzan¬ 
tine benitier, of red and white veined 
marble, adorned with arabesques, and 
having a Greek inscription round its 
rim. The church contains a monu¬ 
ment to one of the Greek Proto- 
papas, Leonardo Pate (ob. 1658), a very 
learned man, for 50 years professor of 
Greek and Latin in the University of 
Messina. In the Sacristy are two 
curious pictures; one representing Mes¬ 
sina during the earthquake of 1693, 
with angels supporting the Cathedral 
and other churches, and the Virgin 
with her celebrated letter in hand com¬ 
passionating the city from the heavens. 
The other, equally quaint, shows the 
Virgin with the Saviour and John 
the Baptist in glory watching over 
Messina. 

The Greeks in Messina are nume¬ 
rous and inhabit this quarter of the 
city. They have retained peculiar 
privileges ever since the time of the 
Saracens, who allowed them the free 
exercise of their religion. The privi¬ 
lege of using their own ritual has been 
continued to them by the Popes, on 
the admission of their ecclesiastical 
supremacy. Since the 4tli Lateran 
Council in 1225, however, the Greeks 
are supposed to conform to the Latin 
rite, the test of which was attendance 
once a year in the Cathedral to repeat 
a declaration of such conformity. The 
Protopapa is nominated by the Pope 
and confirmed by the Archbishop of 
Messina. He performs many episcopal 
ceremonies, but has none of the power 
of a bishop. 

Santa Cecilia, in the Piazza dell’ 
Ospedale, contains a large picture of 
the saint, esteemed a chef-d'oeuvre of 
Giambattista Quagliata. 

San Cosimo de' Medici , in the Strada 
de’ Monasterj. Here is a celebrated 
picture, the chef-d'oeuvre of Alfonso 
Rodriguez (1578 -1648), representing 
Christ healing the impotent man at the 
Pool of Betliesda. The beauty of this 
piece is now little more than historical; 




491 


ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA-CHURCHES-1 CROCIFERI. 


it has been nearly ruined by neglect 
and “ restorations,” yet you can still 
detect much excellence in the com¬ 
position, drawing and chiaroscuro. 
The S. Francesco di Paola is by Filo- 
cami, and the Saints Cosmo and 
Damiano by Giambattista Quagliata. 
The liigh altar is flanked by monuments 
to Giovanni Impellizzeri, a celebrated 
physician of Messina (ob. 1741), and 
his wife, adorned with figures, among 
which that of Time breaking his sickle, 
by Ignazio Buceti, is the best. 

I Crociferi, in the Piazza Garibaldi, 
has an ornate Composite facade, low and 
mean. The interior is in the same style, 
but simpler. The principal altarpiece 
is the Resurrection of Lazarus, by 
Michelangelo Caravaggio; a picture of 
considerable merit. In the 3rd chapel 
to rt. is a picture of St. Peter and St. 
Paul on the hills above Messina, kneel¬ 
ing before the Virgin in glory, by 
Nunzio Busso of Naples—not unlike 
Novelli in treatment, though deficient 
in harmony. Both of these saints are 
supposed to have touched at Messina 
on their way to Rome. In the 1. 
transept is a S. Carlo Borromeo in 
adoration, by Alfonso Rodriguez; the 
carpet on the step of the altar is pointed 
out as very truthfully painted. This 
church contains also a Conception by 
Quagliata; a S. Camillo by Giuseppe 
Paladino; a Madonna by Rodriguez, 
and a Holy family by Catalano the 
younger. 

S. Domenico, in the Corso, once rich 
in paintings and monuments, was burnt 
by the Neapolitan soldiers in the revo¬ 
lution of 1848, and nothing has escaped 
destruction save a bas-relief by Andrea 
Calamecli on the altar of the Assump¬ 
tion. The church is now converted 
into a fruiti warehouse. Within the 
convent are cloisters with an Ionic 
colonnade, and a statue of St. Dominic 
in the centre. 

S. Dionigi, just oft' the Strada de’ 
Monisteri, contains a picture of St. 
Denis, by Stefano Santo d' Anna of 
Messina, signed and dated 1590, the 
only extant work of the master. The 


Madonna with the Infant is of the 
school of the Antonj; the St. Peter and 
St. Paul by Polidoro Caldarci. 

S. Elia, in the S. of the city. All 
the frescoes and pictures in this church 
are by the family of the Filocami, and 
are esteemed their best productions, 
especially the paintings in the tribune, 
illustrative of the life of Moses. 

S. Erasmo, near Sta. Maria la Scala. 
The Virgin over the liigh altar is by 
Catalano, the elder. 

S. Filippo Neri, in the Strada Car- 
dines, with a fagade of 2 orders, Com¬ 
posite and Corinthian, was commenced 
in 1648 on the design of Guarino. In the 
1st chapel to rt. the Francesco di Sales 
is by Tuccari; the St. Sebastian Valfre 
in ecstasy, in the next chapel, is by Sal¬ 
vatore Lo Forte, a modern Palermitan 
artist ; and the Immaculata, in the 
3rd, is by Giuseppe Crestadoro, also of 
Palermo. The 1st chapel on the 1. 
contains a Virgin of Victory, by 
Alfonso Rodriguez, a curious picture. 
In the next chapel is a Pieta, by 
Antonio Barbalonga, which shows 
forcible colouring and good chiaroscuro, 
but the flesh is flat and stony. The 
principal altarpiece is by the same 
hand, and represents S. Filippo Neri 
in adoration of the Virgin, of more re¬ 
putation than merit. In the Sacristy 
are an early Madonna, and a life-like 
portrait of his uncle by Antonio Barba¬ 
longa. 

S. Francesco d' Assisi, near the 
Porta Boccetta, an early church which 
in its plain lancets reproduces the 
pointed style of the North, and which, 
if it stood in England, would be 
assigned to the reign of King John. 
But it was built at the latter part of 
the 13th cent., its foundation-stone 
having been blessed by Pope Alexander 
III. in 1254. It has suffered much from 
restorations, and though it retains its 
pointed forms in its arches and apses, 
these are overlaid with modern and 
incongruous ornament. The S. portal 
is pointed and has a single order, with 
the usual features of Sicilian Gothic. 





402 


ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA-S. FRANCESCO d’ ASSISI. 


The apses externally have tall lancet 
windows in deep round-headed sink¬ 
ings. The interior is spacious, and in 
this respect S. Francesco is second only 
to the Cathedral among the churches 
of Messina. 

To the rt. of the W. door as you enter, 
is a large and simple marble monument 
to Stefano di Patti, erected in 1587, 
forming at once a sepulchre and an 
altar. Above it is a picture of the 
Virgin and Child in glory, with St. 
Stephen and St. Joseph kneeling in 
the foreground, an excellent work, 
quite Raphaelesque in style and treat¬ 
ment, and of much earlier date than 
Filippo Paladino of Florence, to whom 
it is attributed. 

The 1st altar to the rt. shows 
a picture of the Martyrdom of St. 
Ursula and her attendant virgins, 
attributed to Suppa. The 3rd has a 
Flagellation of Christ by Catalano the 
elder ; a bold and effective picture, 
very Spanish in character. In the 
next is a bas-relief in marble of the 
so-called “ Virgin of the Spasm,” ex¬ 
hibiting the palms of her hands pierced 
with wounds. The figure is very curi¬ 
ous, of Etruscan rigidity in the attitude 
and drapery, and of very early date 
and rude art. The 5tli chapel on this 
side has a representation of the Stigma¬ 
tisation of St. Francis, in chiaroscuro, 
drawn by Salvadore d' Antonio, father 
of the celebrated Antonello di Messina. 
The frescoes on the walls of this chapel 
are by Tuccari. In the 6tli is a marble 
group of the Virgin and Child, ascribed 
to Antonio Gagini. In the 8th the 
martyrdom of St. Lawrence, by Alfonso 
Rodriguez, is of considerable merit. 

The chapel of the Sacrament in the 
rt. apse, is adorned with frescoes by 
Filippo Tancredi, esteemed the finest 
frescoes of that master. 

The high altar stands in the central 
apse, which has a pointed arch, but is 
surrounded witli Composite pilasters. 
Here stands the sepulchral urn of 
Frederick III. of Aragon and Sicily, 
who died in 1377; and below it is 
an ancient sarcophagus, with a bas- 
relief representing tire Rape of Pro¬ 
serpine. At the foot of the steps stand 
a pair of tall brass candlesticks like 


those in the Cathedral, and a lectern of 
brass, surmounted by a pelican, made at 
Antwerp in 1545. 

Behind the chapel in the 1. apse is a 
sepulchral monument of bronze gilt, 
erected in 1618 by D. Giovanni Lancia 
to his child-wife, who died at the age 
of 15. The sarcophagus, which rests 
on 2 lions, is adorned with beautifid 
reliefs of cherubs and foliage in the 
Renaissance style, and was once studded 
with gems, which have been trans¬ 
ferred to the crown of the Immaculata. 
Mourning genii, with inverted torches, 
support and surmount the monument. 

On the 1. of the W. door - is a large 
marble monument to Angelo Balsamo, 
Baron of S. Basilio, who died 1507. The 
baron is represented in chain armour, 
kneeling bareheaded in prayer, while 
a page behind him carries his sword. 
On the basement is a bas-relief of 
Neptune in a car, attended by Amplii- 
trite, Cupid, and a satyr. Over all is a 
Corinthian canopy, rich with Renais¬ 
sance ornamentation. The 2nd chapel 
on the 1. has a picture of S. Antonino 
miraculously joining a foot to the limb 
from which it had been severed, by 
Catalano il Veccldo. Opposite this and 
by the same hand is the horse of St. 
Francis refusing the oats which are 
held to him, but devoutly kneeling 
before the Host. The altar here is 
decorated with Gothic tracery, and the 
arches in front of it are of the same 
style and date as the S. door. In the 
3rd chapel on this side is a Nativity by 
Mario Menniti of Syracuse, by whom 
are also the two lateral pictures. Over 
the altar is a marble relief of the 
Nativity : the sculptor unknown. The 
5th chapel contains a Virgin of the 
Letter, by Alfonso Rodriguez , with a 
view of Messina below—a nice, well- 
toned picture. In the adjoining chapel 
is a Virgin [and Child, with S. 
Cosmo and S. Damiano, in religious 
ecstasy. It is by the hand of Vincenzo 
Anemolo, of Palermo, the pupil of 
Raphael; and in spite of some faults in 
drawing, it is a good picture, showing 
excellent feeling, a Raphaelesque treat¬ 
ment, and the rich mellow colouring in 
which the master excelled. In the next 
recess is a St. Buonaventura awakened 




ROUTE 27 . -S. FRANCESCO PE’ MERCANTI AND DI PAOLA. 493 


by an angel playing the violin and 
dancing on the table. The 8th chapel 
has a half-length of the dead Saviour, 
with heads of St. John, St. Joseph, and 
the Virgin. It seems but a portion of 
a large picture; a beautiful fragment 
on panel. 

The convent adjoining the church 
has a modern facade of Italian Doric, 
designed by Giacomo Minutolo. The 
spacious court within the building is 
surrounded by a marble colonnade, 
frescoed by Tancredi; and in the 
centre is a statue of S. Antonio di 
Padova. 

S. Francesco de' Mercanti. — Just 
above the Piazza del Duomo stands 
this little church or “ Oratory of the 
Merchants,” erected in 1026; it has 
but one altar, but its walls are covered 
with paintings and frescoes, so that it 
forms a small gallery of art. The large 
altarpiece represents the death of St. 
Francis, a striking picture, forcibly and 
richly coloured, and esteemed a chef- 
d'oeuvre of Bartolommeo Schidone. The 
0 pictures on the side walls are illus¬ 
trative of the life and deeds of the 
saint. On the 1. hand, next the 
altar, the series commences with his 
Birth; next it is his Baptism; and 
at the entrance he is represented 
first assuming the dress of his order. 
All three are by Alfonso Rodriguez, 
who in the central picture has in¬ 
troduced portraits of himself and 
his family. All are well painted, with 
much nature and force of colour, and 
with a Spanisli-like treatment. The 
first on the it. as you enter, represent¬ 
ing the Temptation of the Saint by the 
devil under the form of a beautiful 
woman, is a rich piece of colouring, but 
certainly not by Rubens to whom it is 
ascribed. The figure of the saint as 
he jumps into the quickset hedge to 
avoid her blandishments is neither 
graceful nor dignified. The next pic¬ 
ture on this side shows the saint on his 
deathbed, listening to an angel, who 
plays celestial music to him on a 
fiddle ; and the last scene represents the 
Virgin appearing to St. Francis, who 
holds the Infant in his hands. Both 
are by John Vanderhrach, a Fleming, 


and a disciple of Rubens, buried here 
in 1665. On the wall opposite the 
altar, the Saint is depicted in adoration 
of the cross, seen in celestial glory; 
an expressive, low-toned, Spanisli-like 
picture. 

Eight frescoes by Andrea Suppa, il¬ 
lustrating the deeds and miracles of St. 
Francis, cover the walls below these 
pictures. The pila, or holy-water basin, 
with the angel supporting it, is from 
the chisel of Acanio Lamhertini, in 
1625. 

San Francesco di Raola, on the shore 
outside the Porta Reale Bassa, which 
occupies the site of the early church of 
S. Sepolcro, was built soon after 1503. 
The gate of various marbles bears date 
1646. The ulterior is divided into 3 
aisles by Roman Doric columns of 
Sicilian granite. The roof is of dark 
wood, panelled and carved. Within the 
door to the i t. is the monument of a 
warrior reclining on his sarcophagus, 
a good work of the 17th cent. 

The 2nd chapel to the rt. contains an 
Immaculate Virgin, by Litterio Pala- 
dino; the 4th on the same side a 
“ Vergine del Soccorso,” by Onofrio 
Gahriello of Messina, bearing date 
1664. The high altar shows a pic¬ 
ture of the titular saint, by the same 
hand. In the 6tli chapel to the 1. 
is a beautiful picture of the Virgin 
with the Babe in her arms—the sleep 
of infancy admirably portrayed. The 
3rd chapel on this side from the en¬ 
trance has a Holy Family, ascribed to 
Onofrio Gahriello. The 2nd contains a 
Pieta, called “ The Holy Sepulchre,” 
painted in 1520, by Alfonso Franco of 
Messina, who was at once architect, 
painter, and goldsmith. It is prized as 
one of the best pictures in Messina, 
for “ the astonishing force and expres¬ 
sion, the infinite variety of the counte¬ 
nances, and the boldness of the design.” 
In the 1st chapel is a Holy Family, 
with St. Anthony of Padua, by Giuseppe 
Crestadoro of Palermo, dated 1650. 

Gesh e Maria, outside the Porta 
Ciaera, contains an altarpiece of the 
Virgin with her Son, painted by Filippo 
Tancredi; and a Holy Family, by 




494 


ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA—CHURCHES-S. GIOVANNI. 


Simone Commute, highly esteemed by 
the citizens. 

Gesii e Maria delle Trombe, near S. 
Lorenzo. A small church with a con¬ 
cave facade, laden with ornament. The 
interior is encrusted with marbles, 
green, red, and white, and with relieved 
decorations in excess, but in better style 
than usual. The small painted scenes 
are by Niccold Mazzagatti. Four con¬ 
fession-boxes, richly carved, demand 
notice. The pictures behind the high 
altar are by Giuseppe Paladino. In 
the chapel to the rt. of this is a Pieta 
of the school of Ribera; a good painting 
in wretched preservation. 

I Gesuiti, on the summit of the Colie 
Tirone. This grand pile was erected 
in 1574, as a noviciate for the order of 
the Jesuits. The church, founded in 
1623, is in plan a Greek cross, covered 
with a dome. It is dismantled, and re¬ 
tains none of the works of art which 
once adorned it, beyond some angels in 
stucco by Luca Villamad of Messina. 

S. Giacomo, at the back of the Ca¬ 
thedral, an old church with a pointed 
doorway, supposed to have been raised 
on the ruins of an ancient temple, sacred 
to Orion, or to some unknown hero. It 
is now closed as a place of worship, 
and inhabited. 

S. Gioacchino, in the Strada del 
Monte di Pieta, erected in 1645, is a 
small ch. of Composite architecture. The 
1st altar to the rt. has a picture of the 
Shepherds, by Giovanni Tuccari. The 
2nd has a S. Carlo Borromeo at his 
devotions, by Barbalonga ; of small 
merit. Over the 3rd is a Crucifixion 
carved in cypress-wood, by Santi 
Siracusa. The 1st altar to the 1. 
shows St. Gregory performing mass, 
by Giambattista Quagliata, dated 1639; 
a curious picture. The 3rd has a 
painting of St. Joachim and St. Anne, 
by Alfonso JRodriguez. Below it is a 
singular old painting of the Nativity, 
of early art, and bearing Greek 
inscriptions. On one side of the high 
altar is a Nativity, and on the other 
an Adoration of the Magi, by an un¬ 


known hand, but not inferior to any 
pictures in the church. The St. Hila- 
rion dying is by Agostino Scilla, and 
esteemed a chef-d'oeuvre. On the wall 
to the rt. of the doorway is a head of our 
Saviour in relief, with an inscription 
stating that it shed tears on four speci¬ 
fied days in 1712. Against the pier to 
the 1. are 2 small early pictures; an 
Annunciation in fresco, and the Death 
of the Virgin, on a gilt ground, with a 
Greek inscription. On the opposite 
pier are 2 small pictures of Byzantine 
art, both representing the Virgin, and 
Christ on the Cross, on gilt grounds. 
In the sacristy is a curious old Cruci¬ 
fixion, formerly in the Cathedral of 
Crete, but rescued from the hands of 
the Turks, and brought to Messina, in 
1727. 

S. Giovanni. —In the small Royal 
Chapel of this name, in the S. of the 
city, is a picture of Sta. Lucia, attri¬ 
buted to Girolamo Alibrandi of Messina 
(ob. 1523). 

S. Giovanni Decollato, outside the 
Porta Boccetta, contains a picture of 
the Beheading of St John, by Michel 
Angelo Caravaggio. The S. Carlo Bor¬ 
romeo is by Andrea Suppa; the St. 
Nicholas, by an unknown hand. 

S. Giovanni di Gerusalemme, in the 
Strada Garibaldi. The original church 
on this site dated from the 6th cent., 
having been;erected by the desire of 
S. Placido, who in 541 was martyred, 
with his sister Scolastica, in the piazza 
in front. In the 9th cent, it was de¬ 
stroyed by the Saracens, on their con¬ 
quest of Messina, but being again re¬ 
built, it was bestowed by Count Roger, 
in 1099, on the Knights of St. John of 
Jerusalem. The present edifice is of 
the Renaissance period; the facade, of 
Italian Doric, was raised by Vincenzo 
Tedesco, of Rome; the interior, in the 
same style, is from the designs of 
Francesco and Curzio ZaccareUa of 
Narni. 

The Chapel of St. John contains 
a marble monument to the Abate 
Francesco Maurolico, mathematician, 
philosopher, and historian, who was 



ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA-S. GREGORIO. 


born fit Messina in 1494, and died 
in 1575. His bust, full of character, 
and apparently an excellent portrait, 
stands in a nielie in the wall, and 
a long inscription records his honours 
and exploits in the fields of science 
and literature. His fellow - citizens 
regard him as a second Archimedes, 
and this opinion of his merits is re¬ 
corded in his epitaph :— 

“ Te quoque Zancla tulit, Maurolyce, ne sit uno 
Clara Siracosio Sicelis ora sene.” 

The pictures over the altars are chiefly 
by Giuseppe Paladino of Messina, and 
of small merit. On the high altar are 
the relics of S. Placido and his fellow- 
martyrs, discovered in digging the 
foundations of this church in 1588. A 
subterranean chapel marks the precise 
site of the discovery. 

S. Giuseppe, in the Piano del Palazzo 
Beale, to the S. of the town, contains a 
picture of St. Joseph leading the Babe 
Jesus by the hand, from the pencil 
of Polidoro da Caravaggio. The altar- 
piece of the Virgin and St. Joseph is 
by Antonello Biccio. 

S. Gregorio. —This church, attached 
to a convent of nuns, stands on the 
summit of an eminence above the Cathe¬ 
dral. It is supposed to occupy the site 
of an ancient temple of Jupiter. It was 
founded in 1542, and erected from the 
designs of Andrea Calamech. 

The campanile is a spire surrounded 
externally by a corkscrew gallery, and 
surmounted by a mitre and cross-keys. It 
is a conspicuous and not elegant feature 
in Messina, as viewed from the Mole or 
Straits. The facade is of white and 
red marble, but tasteless and ugly. 
The view from the steps in front, 
commanding the city, the port, the 
straits, and the coast of Calabria, is 
truly magnificent. 

The church is in plan a Greek cross, 
with a lofty dome in the centre. The 
whole interior—-walls and pilasters—is 
encrusted with marbles and pietre dure 
of different hues, representing flowers 
and figures, not in relief as in the 
churches of Palermo, but inlaid, on a 
fla t surface, as in Florentine mosaic. On 


495 

the walls of the tribune are beasts and 
birds, fruit and flowers of their natural 
colours, inlaid on a blue ground. Other 
subjects—here a supper-table, there the 
head of John the Baptist—are thus 
depicted in stone. The custodia is of 
agates, lapis-lazuli,and other pietre dure. 
The roofs and cupola were frescoed by 
the brothers Filocami, in 1723. The 
Adoration of the Magi and the Cir¬ 
cumcision, within the tribune, are by 
Denis Godyn, painted in 1G82. 

In the S. transept is the Virgin of 
Carmel, with St. Joseph, S. Liberto, 
and the youthful Baptist, by Guercino , 
bearing date 1665; a good picture in 
poor preservation. In the same chapel 
is a St. Gregory surrounded by angels, 
by Barbalonga , much vaunted by the 
Messinesi; it bears date 1636. In the 
same transept is a St. Sylvia borne 
by cherubs into the presence of the 
Virgin; by the brothers Filocami. In 
the N. or 1. transept the St. Benedict 
between S. Placido and S. Mauro, by 
Antonello Biccio, is a brilliant picture, 
with a warm sunset glow. The little 
pictures illustrating the life of our 
Saviour, round the altar in this tran¬ 
sept, are marked by simplicity and 
some by beauty. In the apse is a very 
early Virgin and Child, of Byzantine 
art, in mosaic on a gold ground, known 
as the “Madonna della Ciambretta.” 
Around it are 18 small pictures on 
copper, by Alessandro Fei of Florence. 

In the parlatorio are 5 pictures by 
Antonello of Messina ; one, a Madonna 
and Child, on a gold ground, signed 
with his name and the date 1473; the 
others, an Annunciation, an Angel in 
half-length, St. Gregory, and St. Bene¬ 
dict. Here are also 5 seats of walnut- 
wood, elaborately carved. 

Within the Convent, but not to be 
beheld by the male sex, are, a marble 
fountain adorned with sea-horses, sculp¬ 
tured by Ignazio Brugnani, in 1739, 
when only 20 years old; a diptych of 
the Last Supper, by Stefano Giordano, 
a pupil of Polidoro; a Resurrection, 
four Saints, and a Nativity by Gui- 
naccici. 

S. Liberale, a little church at the N. 
end of the city, contains a large pic- 







496 


ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA-CHURCHES-LA MADDALENA. 


ture of St. Anthony, and St. Paul the 
hermit, with the Virgin and Child in 
glory, by Agostino Scilla. 

S. Lorenzo, below Sta. Barbara, has 
an altarpiece of the Virgin of Provi¬ 
dence, surrounded by angels, bearing 
baskets of fruit; esteemed one of the 
best works of Alfonso Rodriguez. The 
Virgin with St. Catherine and St. An¬ 
thony of Padua is by Giovanni Simone 
Comande. 

Santa Lucia, opposite the church of 
the Spedale, contains several pictures 
by Antonello Riccio. A Madonna 
with the Child in her lap is the only 
work extant of Tommaso d'Arso. It 
has the portrait of the artist beneath, 
on a gilt ground. The S. Lucia is by 
an early and unknown hand. 

La JSIaddalena, outside the Porta 
Nuova, on the road to Catania.—The 
original church on this site was 
built in 1086, and attached to an 
Hospice erected by Count Roger for 
the accommodation of Benedictine 
monks on their way to the Holy 
Land. According to other accounts it 
belonged to the Knights Templars till 
their expulsion by Clement V. in 1313, 
when it was given to the Benedictines. 
The present church was commenced in 
1765, on the designs of Carlo Marchionni 
of Rome, but was not consecrated till 
1847. Yet in 1848 it was burnt by the 
Swiss troops in their terrible march of 3 
miles upon Messina. The facade, built 
of Syracusan stone, is of two orders, 
Composite and Corinthian, flanked by 
square towers, and with 3 grand portals 
of Sicilian marble; the whole simple 
yet imposing. The church internally 
is spacious and grand; in plan a 
Latin cross; it has 3 aisles, divided by 
massive piers faced with Corinthian 
pilasters, and a lofty dome at the inter¬ 
section of nave and transepts, with small 
cupolas in the side aisles. The 1st altar- 
piece to the rt. is the Beheading of St. 
John the Baptist, by Giovanni Fulco. 
The 2nd is the Martyrdom of S. Placido 
and his fellows, by Antonio Bova. The 
3rd shows the Magdalen at tire Saviour’s 
feet, by Letterio Suhba, a modem artist. 


The 1st altarpiece on the 1. represents 
S. Mauro rescuing S. Placido from being 
suffocated in a bog, by Antonio Bova. 
The next picture, representing St. 
John, is attributed to Giorgio Vasari; 
the conception better than the execu¬ 
tion, the colouring feeble, and the pic¬ 
ture much injured. In the 1. transept 
is the death of St. Benedict, also by 
Bova, and one of his best produc¬ 
tions ; a sombre but mellow picture, 
like a work of the Spanish school. 
You are told that during the Are of 
1848, which complete^ gutted the 
church, though the marble on this 
altar was utterly destroyed, the picture 
itself escaped without injury ! The 
high altar shows the Adoration of the 
Magi, of the Venetian school. 

La Madonna dell ’ Indirizzo, just 
within the Porta Nuova.—This little 
church is frescoed by Antonio Bova. 
The altarpiece is a Virgin, by Catalano 
the elder, rich in colour, but hard in 
outline; another picture, by the same 
master, represents the Virgin with S. 
Placido and his companions. 

La Madonna della Lampedusa, oppo¬ 
site the Indirizzo, is covered with frescoes 
of scriptural subjects, from the hand of 
Giuseppe Paladino (1721-1794), which 
are esteemed his chefs-d' oeuvre in 
fresco. 

Santa Maria di Basico, on the Colle 
Caperrina, near S. Gregorio. This 
church dates from 1531. The portal is 
of the Renaissance, and bears date 
1583. It commands a magnificent 
. view, in which the old octagonal tower 
of Guelfonia on its steep height forms 
the most prominent feature. The ceil¬ 
ing and dome of the church are frescoed 
by Giovanni Tuccari. The Descent of 
the Holy Ghost, on the 1st altar to the 
rt., is by Agostino Scilla, painted with 
much boldness and freedom. The 
Immaculata, on the next altar, is by 
the same hand, but not of equal merit. 
On the 3rd altar is a Sta. Cliiara, by the 
brothers Filocami. On the 1st to the 
1. is a Nativity, by Deodato Guinaccia 
of Naples, dated 1580; a crude paint¬ 
ing, like a faded fresco. The 3rd altar 




497 


ROUTE 27 . —MESSINA- 

un this side has an Adoration of the 
Magi, esteemed a chef-d'oeuvre of Fran¬ 
cesco Comande. The Resurrection of 
Our Lord, over the high altar, by 
Alfonso Rodriguez, is spirited in design, 
forcible in chiaroscuro, and rich in 
■colouring. The Assumption of the 
Virgin, and the Ascension of Christ, 
un the walls of the tribune, are by 
Matteo Maggio of Castroreale, and bear 
date 1665. 

Santa Maria di Gesu Infer lore, outside 
the city to the N. This convent of 
Padri Osservanti, called “ Inferior,” to 
distinguish it from another of the same 
name higher up the valley, dates from 
1643, though in some parts it bears 
traces of earlier architecture. The 
church has 3 aisles, divided by Roman 
Doric columns of granite, supporting 
circular arches, with a triforium and 
clerestory. The roofs of nave and 
transepts are flat, and of dark wood 
in coffers. 

In the 4th chapel to the rt. is tire 
Stigmatisation of St. Francis, by Cata¬ 
lano the elder, highly extolled by the 
citizens, but of little merit. The marble 
group of theVirginand Child, of life-size, 
in the next chapel, is simple and good, in 
the style of Gagini. The last chapel 
on this side contains a St. Anthony of 
Padua, with the Infant Saviour, by 
Comande. The 1st chapel on the 1. 
lias a Circumcision, the only work 
extant of Salvatore Mittica, bearing his 
name and the date, 1506. The head 
on the rt. of the picture, with moustache 
and short beard, is said to be a portrait 
of the painter. In the 2nd chapel is a 
Virgin of Carmel with St. Catherine 
and St. Anthony, by Filippo Paladino 
of Florence; with the tameness and 
want of expression characteristic of the 
master. In the 3rd is a Descent of 
the Holy Ghost, ascribed to Catalano 
the elder, and dated 1614. The Vision 
of St. Francis in the 6tli, and the Na¬ 
tivity in the 7th chapel on this side, are 
by the same hand ; all void of chiaros¬ 
curo, feeble in treatment and colouring, 
without elevation or grandeur. The 
Adoration of the Magi in the last chapel 
is by Gaspare Camarda of Messina. 
The frescoes on the ceiling of the tri- 


-STA. MARIA DI GEStU 

bune are also by Catalano. The choir 
contains 2 monuments of Luna marble, 
raised by a Marquis of Scaletta in the 
16th cent, to his wife and children. 
Each sarcophagus is adorned with re¬ 
liefs, supported by weeping genii, and 
surmounted by the statue of a Virtue. 
On the pier to the 1. of the dome, pro¬ 
tected by an iron grating, is “ a piece 
of the olive to which Christ was bound 
in the house of Anna.” On the oppo¬ 
site pier is a very early picture of the 
Madonna, on a gilt ground. 

In the refectory of the convent is a 
large picture of the Last Supper, by 
Alfonso Rodriguez, which, after having 
long been forgotten under a coat of 
whitewash, was brought to light again in 
1838. It bears the name of “ F. Petro- 
nius de Messana, 1617,” who is sup¬ 
posed to have been the superior of the 
convent at that period. It is esteemed 
the chef-d'oeuvre of the master, and in 
truth is a fine picture, well composed, 
forcibly coloured, and with well-ar¬ 
ranged chiaroscuro; but spoilt by a 
want of elevation and dignity in the 
countenances, and vulgarised by figures 
in the dress of the 17th cent. Some of 
the heads are evidently portraits; and 
in the figure behind the disciples on 
the extreme 1., with beard, moustache, 
and deep collar, the painter is said to 
have portrayed himself. 

Santa Maria di Gesu Superiore .— 
This convent also belongs to the 
Padri Osservanti. Over the high 
altar is a nice marble group of the 
Virgin and Child, by an unknown 
hand. Two monuments of the families 
of La Rocca and Staiti demand atten¬ 
tion, especially the latter. On an elegant 
sarcophagus sits the figure of Andreotti 
Staiti, mourning for his 2 sons, who lie 
stretched at his feet. The date of the 
monument is 1553; the art is worthy 
of the period ; sculptor unknown. Op¬ 
posite is the monument of Antonio La 
Rocca, who died 1542, at the age of 94, 
and is represented as an old bearded 
warrior, in armour, reclining on his 
sarcophagus. A stone in the pavement of 
the church covers the remains of Gale- 
otti Bardaxi, a celebrated warrior in his 
day, described in his epitaph as “ for- 





498 


KOUTE 27 . -MESSINA 


LA SCALA-MONTALTO. 


tissimus et invictissimus,” who died 
1495. In tlie grounds attached to this 
convent are the remains of some ancient 
hatlis, but the thermal waters which 
supplied them are now used only to 
tan leather. 

Santa Maria Maddalena delle Donne 
Convertite, close to the Monte di Pieta, 
contains a good Deposition on panel, of 
the Flemish school, and of the 16th 
cent. 

Santa Maria clella Scala, to the W. 
of the city.—The nuns, who had pre¬ 
viously inhabited the convent of Our 
Lady of the Ladder in the ravine 
below the Telegraph, whose pictur¬ 
esque ruins are now known as La 
Badiazza, after the plague of 1347 
removed into the city, and occu¬ 
pied this church, which was erected 
by Frederick II. of Aragon, at the 
commencement of the 14th cent. “ Yet 
it in nowise resembles the 14th cent, 
buildings of France and England. It 
has no deep mouldings, and in all its 
ornaments and accessories, the Greek 
touch, and the Greek character are 
conspicuous.” — Gaily Knight. The 
lower portion of the church is con¬ 
structed of small regular masonry, 
neatly rusticated, crossed by a flat 
band of diaper-work, and topped by 
a twisted stringcourse. The W. 
portal is pointed, the outer order par¬ 
taking of the character of Northern 
Gothic, the inner having flat jambs 
and a lintel enriched with figures 
and vine-foliage, very simple and deli¬ 
cately carved. Over the door is a 
pointed window, with crocheted label, 
and a trefoil corbelling beneath it. The 
same ornaments are seen in the pedi¬ 
ment of the facade. The N. door is of 
Benaissance architecture. In the lu¬ 
nette above it is a bas-relief of the 
Virgin pointing to a small ladder sur¬ 
mounted by a cross. The veneration 
of the Messinese for the Virgin of the 
Ladder is of ancient date. In the 
W ars of the Vespers their battle-cry 
used to be, “ Sicily! Aragon ! Mary 
of the Ladder of Messina! ” or “ Jesus 
Christ, and Our Lady of the Ladder ! ” 

The interior of the church is modern¬ 


ised, and is gay with stuccoes and gild¬ 
ing. The walls and tribune were once 
covered with frescoes by Bova; but few 
portions of them survived the earthquake 
of 1783. On the wall to the 1., as you 
enter, is a circular relief of the Virgin 
and Child, by Luca della Robbia, called 
“ La Madonna delle Frutta,” from its 
framework of fruit. The 1st chapel to 
the 1. contains a Marriage of St. Cathe¬ 
rine, surrounded by a concert of angels, 
by Antonino Biondo of Messina ; a nice 
picture, but rather hard. The St. Be¬ 
nedict in the next chapel is by the 
Cavaliere Mattia Preti. 

S. Michele, a little church on the hill¬ 
side, below the Gesuiti, has an early 
Madonna of the school of the Antoni, 
and a St. Michael, by Biagio Giannotto, 
with the date 1618. 

S. Michele, in the Strada de’ Monas¬ 
tery—This church, on the plan of a 
Greek cross, with a dome in the centre, 
is the work of the architect Simone 
Gulli. The large altarpiece of the As¬ 
cension, is by Barbalonga, and is extolled 
by the citizens more than it deserves. 
The paintings in the tribune are by 
Domenico Maroli. 

B Montalto, or Sta. Maria delV Alto, 
on the high ground by S. Gregorio, 
was founded in the time of Peter I. of 
Aragon. A granite column in the 
vestibule, with a Norman capital of 
white marble, supporting 2 elliptical 
arches, is the only fragment visible of the 
original edifice. The church is gay with 
colour and gold. The frescoes on the 
roof are by Giuseppe Francesco Siibba, 
1807. In the tribune are 4 pictures 
by Placido Celi —• the Nativity, the 
Prophet Isaiah, the Adoration of the 
Magi, and King Solomon ; the first two 
the best, and superior to the works 
of many of the Messinese school. On 
the 1. of the church is a small half- 
length Holy Family, ascribed to Titian; 
and probably of the Venetian school. 
The Virgin full of grace and simplicity, 
the Child on her lap playing with her 
hand, Joseph leaning over behind, form 
a charming group, with which the 
figure of a youth in mediaeval armour 





ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA-S. NICCOLO. 


499 


is somewhat incongruous. It lias suf¬ 
fered much injury, but has been an 
excellent picture. The Babe, the 
portion best preserved, is beautifully 
painted, and liis leg is capitally fore¬ 
shortened. Here is also a Visitation 
by Cardillo the elder, one of the earliest 
of the Messinese school, who flourished 
about the year 1400; it is much in¬ 
jured, yet betrays nice feeling. It is the 
only work of this master extant. 

Monte Vergine, in the Strada de' 
Monasteri, a lofty and handsome church 
of Italian architecture, with walls 
and pavement adorned with marbles 
of various hues, in good taste. The 
high altar is particularly rich in mar¬ 
bles, and the balustrade of different 
lavas, agates, and alabasters, is to be ad¬ 
mired. The church dates from 1457, but 
its present architecture and decorations 
arc of later date, and from the designs 
of Giovanni and Niccolo Maffei. The 
altarpiece, representing the Virgin and 
Child in glory, with St. Francis and 
St. Clara beneath, is by Giambattista 
Quagliata. The frescoes throughout 
the church are by Letterio Palaclino, 
executed in 1736, when he was fresh 
from the study of the Caracci. 

S. Niccolo, in the Corso, near the 
Post Office, a spacious church of Italian 
architecture, erected in the 16th cent, 
on the designs of Andrea Galamech. 
The colossal statues of St. Peter and 
St. Paul, which flank the doorway, 
and are of wood painted to resemble 
stone, are also by Galamech. The 
church has five aisles; the central 
one flanked by Roman Doric columns 
of grey marble; the two on each side, 
separated by piers, covered with mar¬ 
bles of various hues, inlaid in arabesque 
patterns. Over the choir rises a dome, 
quite unadorned ; the upper part of the 
church, indeed, in its plainness is in 
strong contrast with the elaborate rich¬ 
ness of the lower part. 

The inlaid work of marbles and 
agates in the chapel of the Magdalen, 
the 4th to the rt., is worthy of notice. 
The high altar with the screen above 
it is also rich in native marbles and 
lavas; the altarpiece is the Pre¬ 


sentation, by Catalano the elder. The 
chapel to the 1. of this contains an old 
picture, of the same subject, by All- 
brando, signed “Jesus Hyeronymus 
de Alibrando Messanus, 1519.” The 
portrait of the painter is seen in the 
head of the man to the rt. in a red cap. 
With some merit of composition and 
design, the picture is spoilt by vulgar 
figures and incidents, and by attempts 
at difficult and unnatural attitudes. 
In chiaroscuro and colour it is also very 
defective, resembling in tone rather 
a cartoon, or a very old print, than a 
paintmg on wood. In the 1. transept 
is an old picture of St. Nicholas en¬ 
throned, with 8 small scenes illustrative 
of his life around it; of the school of the 
A ntonj. 

S. Orsola, without the walls, on the 
road to the Capuchin convent, con¬ 
tains an altarpiece of the Martyrdom 
of the Saint, painted by Agostino Scilla, 
Catalano the younger, and Giovanni 
Fulco; the heavenly host in glory 
being from the hand of the last. 

La Pace, in the square just below 
the Strada de’ Monasteri, is so called 
from belonging to a Confraternity 
instituted for the purpose of settling 
disputes, and making peace between 
members of the same family. The 
ceilings are frescoed by Giuseppe 
Paladino. The picture over the high 
altar is esteemed among the best by 
Mario Menniti. In a chapel near the 
sacristy is a painting of Saints Simon 
and Jude, by Biccio; and in the sa¬ 
cristy itself is one of Saints Cosmo 
and Damiano, by Vincenzo Anemolo of 
Palermo. 

S. Paolo.— Opposite Rocca Guel- 
fonia, and on the hill above Monte 
Vergine, stands this small but pret¬ 
ty church of Italian architecture, 
adorned with marbles of various hues, 
rich yet chaste in effect. The frescoes 
on the roof, illustrating the life of St. 
Paul, are by Andrea Suppa. On the 
1st shrine to the rt. the Martyrdom 
of S. Placido and his sister is by 
Domenico Mardli of Messina (1612- 
1674), a pupil and imitator of Paolo 




SOO 


ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA-CHURCHES. 


Veronese. Though greatly injured, 
this is a good picture, forcible and 
rich in colour and full of expression, 
but not agreeable to contemplate. 
The Marriage of St. Catherine, over 
the next altar, by Onofrio GabrieUo, 
painted in 1664, wants spirit and 
ideality. The 3rd altar has a Virgin 
of the Letter by Catalano the younger, 
dated 1602. Over the opposite shrine is 
the Conversion of St. Paul, by Antonio 
Barbalonga (1601-1650), a good work 
■of the master. The 2nd altarpiece 
to the 1. shows Angels weeping around 
the Cross, by Andrea Suppa. Over 
the 1st altar on this side is a St. 
Benedict destroying idols, one of the 
best works of Agostino SciUa, showing 
his usual confusion in the composition 
and chiaroscuro, yet much merit in 
individual figures. 

S. Paolino, on the S. of the city, has 
an altarpiece of the titular saint, by 
•Gianiba ttista Q uagliata. 

8. Pelagia, near Sta. Maria di Basico, 
■contains nothing of interest beyond 
a picture of St. Helena discovering the 
Cross, the only work of Cesare di Napoli 
now remaining in this his native city. 

S. Pietro and S. Paolo, opposite the 
Archbishop’s palace, contains a picture 
of the Virgin with the titular saints, 
by Alfonso Rodriguez. The Souls in 
Purgatory is by Placido Celi, and the 
St. Eleutherius by Antonino Filocamo. 

La Pieta. —The church attached to 
the vast Hospital of this name is in 
plan a Greek cross, with a dome in the 
centre. Over the High Altar is a large 
Pieta, by Antonio Barbalonga of Mes¬ 
sina (1601-1650), one of the best works 
of the master; a fine picture, with 
much of the manner of Domenichino. 
On a side altar is an early painting of 
the Virgin and Child with saints by 
an unknown hand. 

8. Rocco, a small church in the 
Strada de’ Monasteri, contains a Ma¬ 
donna in the style of Raphael, by an 
unknown master, which is flanked by 


St. Peter and St. Paul, by Antonello 
Riccio. 

Spirito Santo, just outside the Porta 
Ciaera, is attached to a convent of 
Cistercian nuns, founded in 1291. The 
church is of much later times, and is 
gaudy with stuccoes, gilding, and fres¬ 
coes. On the 1st. altar to the rt. is a 
Descent of the Holy Ghost, esteemed 
one of the best works of Antonello 
Riccio. Over the adjoining altar is an 
early Madonna on a gold ground, as¬ 
cribed by some to Antonello da Messina; 
a sweet picture in poor preservation. 
On the wall between the 1st and 2nd 
altar is a picture of a saint, surrounded 
by small scenes, of the School of the 
Antonj; and over the opposite door is 
a small panel painting of the Preaching 
of St. John, of the School of Raphael. 
The sacristy contains an early picture 
of St. Bernard on a gilt ground. 

Santo Stefano, outside the Porta 
Boccetta, a church whose foundation 
dates from the 7th cent., has some pic¬ 
tures of the School of Polidoro, but its 
chief interest lies in its being the 
burial-place of the French who were 
massacred in Messina during the cele¬ 
brated Vespers of 1282. 

La Trinita. —In the Hospital of this 
name, near St. Angelo de’ Rossi, pil¬ 
grims of every description are received 
and entertained for 3 days. The church 
contains the chef-d'oeuvre of Deoclato 
Guinaccia in the picture of the Trinity 
over the high altar. 

La Vergine di Porto Salvo, outside 
the Porta Reale Bassa, contains as its 
chief altarpiece an Immaculata by 
Maria Menniti of Syracuse. In the 
2nd chapel to the 1. is a Visitation, by 
Federico Baroccio. The statue of the 
Conception in the next chapel is of the 
School of Bernini. The frescoes are all 
by Giovanni Tuccari. 

La Vergine di Porto Salvo , a second 
church of the same name, stands in the 
suburb of S. Leo. It contains a Ma¬ 
donna by Catalano the elder. 



501 


ROUTE 27 .— MESSINA-FESTIVAL OF THE BARRA. 


Le Yerrjini Beparate, a very small 
church close to Santa Teresa, said to 
stand on the site of an ancient temple 
of Venus. It contains a picture of 
“ Our Lady of Victory,” by Niccolo 
Francesco Maffei (1590-1G71), and a 
Madonna, by Mario Menniti of Syra¬ 
cuse (1577-1640). The church is at¬ 
tached to a “conservatory” for the 
education of orphan or foundling 
girls. 


Keligious Festivals. 

The “ Virgin of the Letter ” has two 
festivals held in her honour in Mes¬ 
sina. On the 3rd June, the anniver¬ 
sary of the day on which she wrote 
her memorable letter, her image, laden 
with a profusion of jewels and trinkets, 
is borne through the streets in solemn 
procession under triumphal arches 
raised to her honour. The proceedings 
commence at 11 a.m., and close at 4 

r.3i. 

Festa della Barra .—But the great 
fete of the Virgin in Messina is in 
August, to commemorate her Assump¬ 
tion, the celebration of that event 
being postponed from the beginning of 
July to the middle of August for the 
convenience of the peasantry, who, 
having by that time completed then- 
labours in the fields, resort in crowds 
to Messina. “ A magnificent pageant 
then takes place, called the Fete of the 
Barra, and occupies three days (from 
the 13th to the 15th); when, among 
other conspicuous objects, the eye is 
arrested by the incongruous introduc¬ 
tion of the giants Mata and GrifFone, 
intended as representations of Zanchus 
and Rhea (the fabulous founders of 
Messina). A huge stuffed camel is 
paraded through the streets, followed 
by horsemen in the Saracen costume, 
as a symbol of the expulsion of that 
race ; and a gorgeous galley, con¬ 
structed at great expense, commemo¬ 
rates the miraculous arrival of some 
vessels laden with corn, during a 
scarcity occasioned by the great con¬ 
course of strangers from all parts to 
witness this festival, and which, having 
discharged their cargoes, disappeared. 


The most curious feature of the whole 
spectacle is the Barra itself, represent- 
ing the supposed Assumption of the- 
Blessed Virgin, a miracle never 
thought of until nearly 800 years after 
her death. It is a species of car, about 
40 feet in height, supported by iron 
machinery, and fancifully decorated.. 
The base represents a sacred tomb, in 
which is a choir chanting over the 
body, while the twelve apostles are 
in attendance, personated by youths of 
good families, of from 12 to 15 years of 
age; and above them is a circle that 
revolves horizontally, with children 
attached to it representing angels, 
under a large sun and moon that turn 
vertically, with 6 infants, as cherubim, 
suspended at the ends of the principal 
rays. In the centre is a mass of clouds 
supporting an azure globe, with gilt 
stars, surrounded by other children in 
white dresses decorated with various 
coloured ribbons, as seraphim, and 
above the whole stands the Almighty,, 
in a rich gold brocade, sustaining on 
his hand with an extended arm the 
soul of the Virgin, personified by a 
beautiful little girl in white silk pan¬ 
taloons studded with gold stars. It 
need scarcely be added that when this 
unwieldy machine, with its legion of 
living angels in rotary motion, is tot¬ 
tering along in procession, attended 
by nobles, senators, soldiers, priests, 
and monks, in all their varied cos¬ 
tumes, amid colours flying, bands play¬ 
ing, guns firing, and the whole popu¬ 
lace praying, crying, and shouting, a 
most novel and singular scene is pre¬ 
sented, and one that but for the pal¬ 
pable blasphemy of it, would be very 
amusing.”— Smyth. The introduction 
of the camel into this procession is said 
to commemorate the fact that Count 
Roger, when he had wrested Sicily 
from the Saracens, made a triumphant 
entry into Messina mounted on a camel 
gaily caparisoned in the Arab fashion. 
Coins, representing him thus mounted, 
and bearing his standard, were then 
struck at Messina in his honour. At 
2 p.m. each day there is a horse-race in 
the Italian style along the Marina, 
and at night the city is illuminated, 
and all Messina is in the streets. In 




ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA-PALAZZO DI CITTA-P. REALE. 


502 

the evening of the 14th the cathedral 
is also lighted up with more than 8000 
wax-tapers, and makes a brilliant spec¬ 
tacle. The procession of the Barra 
takes place on the afternoon of the 
15th. 

“ During the following week the 
principal performers in this celestial 
drama pay their visits to the inhabit¬ 
ants in full costume to receive their 
contributions. As all these children 
are considered sacred, and under the 
peculiar patronage of the Madonna; a 
place upon the machine is eagerly 
sought for by their parents ; and a ray 
of the sun or moon brings no incon¬ 
siderable profit to their proprietors.”— 
Hughes. 


Public Buildings. 

Palazzo di Citta, formerly called 
Palazzo del Corrmne, or Palazzo Pub- 
blico. —This building, whose western 
front fills one side of the Piazza Gari¬ 
baldi, on the other side faces the port, 
occupying the centre of the long range 
of the Palazzata on the Marina. Its 
architecture on this front corresponds 
with that of the range, having a single 
order of tall Ionic columns, resting on 
a rusticated stylobate, with the addition 
of a pediment, in which is inscribed its 
name, “ Palazzo di Citta.” On the 
land-side it shows two orders, Doric 
and Ionic, — a neat but imposing 
fac;ade. The spaces between the co¬ 
lumns on the ground floor are filled 
with handsome iron gratings ; the 
Court within is adorned with marbles, 
and with casts from the antique and 
from Canova. Here is the Bank, with 
other public offices. A handsome 
double staircase of white marble leads 
to the first floor, where the Judges of 
the Circondario hold their sittings. 
On the second floor is the office of the 
Intendente, or, as he is now called, the 
Prefect of Messina. On the top floor are 
various administrative offices, and here 
are preserved the archives. Pictures by 
the brothers Subba adorn the galleries. 
The present edifice occupies the site 
of one erected by Jacopo del Duca, 
and esteemed the most beautiful of all 


the works of that architect. That was 
overthrown in the great earthquake 
of 1783, and this was commenced in 
1807 under Ferdinand I., and com¬ 
pleted in 1829, under Francis I., the 
architects being Giacomo Minutoli , An¬ 
tonio Tardi , and Andrea Arena. 

Palazzo Beale. —At the southern ex¬ 
tremity of the Marina once stood the 
Royal Palace, which was of remote 
antiquity, rebuilt by Count Roger on 
his conquest of Sicily, restored by Fre¬ 
derick II. of Aragon in 1309, and 
again in the Renaissance style in the 
16th century. Here the Emperor Fre¬ 
derick in the 13th cent, held his court, 
and here he cultivated and patronized 
the muses in their infant struggles 
towards a national development. Here, 
in Dec; 1282, soon after the massacre 
of the Vespers, was arranged a strange 
duel between Charles of Anjou and 
Pedro of Aragon. Charles accused 
Peter of having entered and occupied 
Sicily 7 " by treachery and against right, 
without first declaring war. Peter de¬ 
fended himself, maintaining that the 
occupation of Sicily, and everything 
else he had done against Charles, was 
no stain on his honour, and no cause of 
shame before the eyes of honest men. 
Peter even offered to fight without 
armour, while his adversary should 
come fully armed. It was arranged 
that the kings should meet on 1st 
June, 1283, at Bordeaux, which then 
belonged to England, each accom¬ 
panied by 100 knights, and fight in 
the presence of King Edward I. or his 
deputy, pledging their faith to abstain 
from all mutual injury or offence in 
Gascony before and after the duel, and 
that whoever failed to present himself 
with his champions should be hence¬ 
forth held “ vanquished, perjured, false 
and faithless, a defaulter and a traitor, 
and fallen from the name and honour 
of a king.” The duel never came off, 
owing to the perfidy of Charles, though 
Peter did not fail to present himself in 
the lists on the day appointed. The 
palace was injured during the civil dis¬ 
sensions of the 17th century, and sub¬ 
sequently destroyed by earthquakes, 
and the Porto Franco, or bonded ware- 





ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA-PAL. ARCIYESCOYALE-SPEDALE. 503 


house of Messina rose on its ruins, a 
small fragment of which alone remains 
embedded in the modern edifice. 

Palazzo Arcivescovale, in the Strada 
del 1 Settembre, in the S. of the city. 
On this site once stood the ancient 
Cathedral of Messina, dedicated to St. 
Nicholas, founded before the invasion of 
the Saracens, and rebuilt by Count 
Roger. Even, after the erection of the 
present cathedral, the Roman Catholic 
Bishop was obliged to content himself 
for some time with S. Niccolo, the new 
building remaining in the hands of 
the Greek clergy. But in 1168 the 
latter were transferred to La Catto- 
lica, and the former removed to the 
present cathedral. S. Niccolo was 
restored as a church in 1509, in the 
Renaissance style. It is all now in 
ruins, utterly destroyed by the earth¬ 
quake of 1783. In the court are a 
fountain of the time of Philip III., 
decorated with dolphins, a broken 
arch, a cinquecento doorway, now 
leading into a stable, the S. end of 
which 'shows a pointed window, and 
an old battlemented wall at the back 
of the court. It was on the tower at¬ 
tached to this church that the banner 
of the cross was first displayed, on the 
capture of the city from the Saracens. 
This tower was struck by lightning in 
1371, and among the ruins was found 
the two-handed sword of Jacopo Sac- 
-cano, one of the Christians who invited 
the Normans to the conquest of the 
island, together with the very letter 
of invitation sent to Count Roger, 
written on parchment. The actual 
palace of the Archbishop is a modem 
edifice, only just completed, from the 
designs of Antonio Basile. Adjoining 
it is the 

Seminario de Chierid , a heavy 
building with a Doric portal, contain¬ 
ing a choice library of rare works. 

La Zecca stood in the Strada Car- 
dines, close to S. Filippo Neri, but few 
remains of the old building are now 
extant. The grand portal, however, 
is still standing. Messina enjoyed in 
very early times the privilege of coin¬ 
ing money; a privilege confirmed by I 


Frederick III. in 1375, by Queen 
Mary in 1395, and by Alfonso the 
Magnanimous in 1423 and 1451. 

Monte di Pieta, in the upper part of 
the city, below the Rocca Guelfonia. 
This institution was established in 
1541 for the purpose of comforting 
those condemned to execution, of re¬ 
leasing imprisoned debtors, and of pro¬ 
viding for poor girls of noble family; 
but in 1581 it became what it still is, 
the public pawnbroker of Messina. 
There are 3 other similar institutions 
in Messina on a much smaller scale. 
The fa§ade is of Doric architecture. 
Within the spacious court the portico 
with coupled columns, and the double 
staircase leading to the church, were 
raised in 1741 by Antonino Basile 
and Placido Campolo. The figure of 
Abundance on the staircase is by 
Ignazio Buceti, from the designs of 
Campolo. 

The church is surrounded on 3 sides 
by a portico. The frescoes in the inte¬ 
rior are by Filippo Tancredi, in 1707. 
The Pieta on the high altar is by 
Deodato Guinacda. One of the chapels 
adjoining is frescoed by Campolo; the 
other contains a half-length of Christ 
bearing his cross, the only extant 
work of Jacopo Vigneri, of Messina, 
though it has been attributed to Giulio 
Romano. 

Spedale della Pieta, in the large 
Piano di Santa Croce, within the Porta 
Imperiale. It was commenced in 1542, 
on the designs of Antonio Sferrandino, 
and of Giovanni Carrara, of Messina, 
but was not completed till 1605, other 
architects of note, Giovanni and Nic- 
colo Maffei, of Carrara, Andrea Cala- 
mech, and Francesco Zaccarella, of 
Narni, lending assistance. It is a 
massive pile of 3 stories, 352 feet 
square, of simple and chaste archi¬ 
tecture. The principal entrance was 
designed by Giovanni Maffei. The 
central court is laid out as a Botanic 
Garden, where rare and exotic plants 
receive careful cultivation. The hos¬ 
pital serves for both civil and military 
patients, as well as for foundlings. Its 
revenue is 23,530 ducats, or about 



504 ' 


ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA-UNIVERSITY-MUSEUM. 


40007. a year. In 1839 this hospital 
received 2870 patients of both sexes, 
besides 58 foundlings. The Spezieria 
contains some tine specimens of ma¬ 
jolica. The church has been de¬ 
scribed at p. 500. 

Lo Spedaletto, or Ospizio per gli 
Stropiati poveri, as it calls itself, 
outside the Porta Ciera, was erected 
in 1827 by Giovanni Capece Minu- 
tolo, Prince of Collereale. Its re¬ 
venue amounts to 12,863 ducats, or 
21507. In this institution about 150 
cripples, who are unable to support 
themselves, are maintained. Their 
infirmities, however, proved no pro¬ 
tection to them against the Neapolitan 
troops on their assault of Messina in 
1848, for many of these poor wretches 
were shot, sabred, or thrown from the 
windows. 

Universita degli Studj. —This is a 
large pile of two stories, of Roman 
Doric architecture, founded by the 
Jesuits in 1548. It encloses a large 
oblong court, surrounded by a double 
colonnade, of a style corresponding 
with that of the exterior. The whole 
is from the designs of Padre Ncitale 
Masuccio, a Jesuit of Messina, who 
rebuilt it after the destruction of the 
original edifice by the earthquake of 
1783. This university has 33 pro¬ 
fessorships, and possesses the power of 
conferring degrees. On the upper 
floor is the 

Biblioteca. —This Library, of about 
20,000 volumes, is open to the public 
daily, save on Sundays and Thursdays, 
from 730 to 11'30 a.m. Among the rare 
and early printed works are Homer, in 
folio, Florence, 1488.— Varro, Colu¬ 
mella, &c., in one vol. fol. Venet. 1472. 
— Ovid, Yenet. 1474.— Life of St. Je¬ 
rome, Messina, 1498. — Among the 
MSS. are, Aristotle's Ethics, in Latin, 
translated by Leonardo Aretino, on 
vellum.'— St. Matthew's Gospel, with 
commentaries, in triple columns. — 
Psalter, black-letter, illuminated, about 
1470.— New Testament, in Greek, on 
vellum, 4to., about 1300.—Latin Com¬ 
mentary on Terence, beautifully writ¬ 
ten, at Zaragoza, 1446.— Plutarch, in 


Latin, beautifully written on vellum, 
with illuminated initials, 1460-70.— 
Storia delle Guerre Civili di Messina, 
1652-8, by Fra Lo Cascio di Palermo, 
a beautiful MS. never published. 

Museo Peloritano. —The University 
contains a collection of Natural His¬ 
tory, a Gallery of Paintings, and vari¬ 
ous objects of ancient art. 

The Gabinetto di Storia Naturale .— 
Here is a large collection of Sicilian 
shells and minerals, principally speci¬ 
mens of native sulphur and strontian, 
and of lavas from Etna, Stromboli, 
Lipari, and Graham’s Island. Small 
collections, containing 85 specimens of 
shells or minerals, can be purchased of 
the Director, Signor Campanella, for 
15 piastres. 

The Gallery of Paintings consists of 
a number of works of the Messinese 
and other schools, but none of superior 
merit. Commencing with the 1st 
Room, on the wall to the 1. as we 
enter, we have St. Gregory saying 
mass, of the School of Polidcn'o; hard 
and dry, but expressive.—Two small 
pictures of the Immaculata, by Andrea 
Quagliata. —A Madonna and Child, on 
gold ground, carefully painted, by 
Francesco Cardillo, the goldfinch in the 
foreground being the master’s signa¬ 
ture.—The Martyrdom of S. Placido 
and his sister, of the Messinese school. 
—The Virgin praying over her Child, 
said to be the last picture in tempera 
painted by Antonello da Messina (born 
about 1420), who introduced into Italy 
the art of painting in oil, which he 
had learned in the Netherlands from 
Johann Van Eyck ; a pleasing pic¬ 
ture in poor preservation.—“ All the 
Saints” around the Madonna, inscribed 
with il Petrus Raffa, 1560;” more curi¬ 
ous than good.—Several landscapes of 
the Neapolitan school. —The Raising of 
the Widow’s Son, by Mario Menniti, of 
Syracuse (1577-1640), a large picture 
crowded with commonplace figures in 
great confusion.—Christ and St, Tho¬ 
mas, and Christ with the disciples at 
Emmaus, by Alfonso Rodriguez (1578- 
1648); great force of colour and chiar¬ 
oscuro, with much life and nature, 
but a lack of dignity and elevation. 
—Mutius Sca3vola, by Ficciardo della 




ROUTE 27 . MESSINA UNIVERSITY—PICTURE-GALLERY. 505 


Notte, spoilt by restorations.—Rape of 
Tamar, by Mardli. —The “ Madonna 
of Idria,” or the Virgin sitting in a 
water-trough, carried by two monks, 
by Battista cl'Aliotta, 1564. Opposite 
is a fresco of the Madonna enthroned, 
by the same hand, and bearing the same 
date.—A Pieta, with the Magdalen 
and angels, by “ Laurentius Calamech, 
1587.” 

Second Boom. —St. Placido directing 
the building of a Convent. — The 
Slaughter of the Innocents, by Alfonso 
Bodriguez, displaying his character¬ 
istic force and spirit.—A number of 
early pictures of small size; among 
which are a St. Nicholas, of Byzantine 
art, in tempera; a Crucifixion, with 
very curious accessories. — Another, 
with the Virgin and St. John at the 
foot of the cross, very early, but well 
painted.—Portrait of Alfonso Rodri¬ 
guez, by one of his school. — The 
Madonna and Child, by Antonello da. 
Messina, “ the first picture in oil 
painted in Italy, about 1450,” a beau¬ 
tiful piece, with the richness and 
warmth of the Venetian school, to 
which the master belonged. — The 
Transfiguration, by Antonio Catalano, 
called L'Antico (1560-1G05), feeble in 
design, and washy in colouring.—The 
Madonna and Child on a throne, with 
St. Peter and St. Paul, by Gaetano 
Biccio, recently restored. — A small 
Pieta, attributed to Rubens!—A trip¬ 
tych of the Raphaelesque School, 
incorrectly ascribed to Andrea del 
Sarto, representing the Virgin, the 
Child, and the Baptist; a pretty 
picture, injured by restorations. — 
A Deposition, said to be copied 
from Titian, by Giov. Simone Comande 
(1580-1626).—St. Jerome, by Alibrandi 
(1470-1523).—Rebecca at the well, Eli 
and his sons with Samuel, Ahasuerus 
and Esther, David and the Amalekite, 
the Murder of Amon, Saul hurling his 
spear at David,—all by Agostino Scilla 
(born 1629); much power, and free¬ 
dom in the drawing, boldness and 
breadth of composition, and dignity 
in the heads and figures.—The Mar¬ 
tyrdom of S. Placido and his Com¬ 
panions, by Van Houbracken, a Flem¬ 
ing.—A Presepio, by Folidoro Caldara, 

[Sicily.] 


of Caravaggio (ob. 1543). The 
shepherd in rags, to the rt., brought 
in by Joseph, is the portrait of the 
artist’s servant Tonno, who robbed 
and murdered his master, and was 
hanged accordingly. The figure of the 
Almighty above is by Deodato Guinac- 
cia (ob. 1585), the pupil of Polidoro.— 
The Calling of St. Peter and St. An¬ 
drew, by Giov. Simone Comande, — St. 
Erasmus, on a gilt ground, of the School 
of Antonello, dated “ 1452.”—St. John 
and St. Matthew, large and bold 
heads, by Scilla. — The Tmmaculata 
and the Dispute on the Conception, 
by Quagliata (1600). —The Parting of 
S. Placido from his family, by Catalano 
the younger.—The Mother of Mercy, 
by Antonello Biccio (1570).—S. Pietro 
Alcantara borne to the Cross by an¬ 
gels, by Domenico Mardli (1612-1674). 
—Two large landscapes, by Salvatore 
Bosci. —A Virgin and Child, by Fran¬ 
cesco Cardillo, “ 1544.” 

In an adjoining room is a collection 
of odds and ends—a few Greek vases 
of no great beauty, from various an¬ 
cient sites in Sicily, with some Roman 
pottery,—2 long rods of ivory, cleverly 
etched with figures and views, — a 
small model of the Antonine Column 
at Rome, the work of a prisoner,—a 
beautiful bowl of oriental agate,—and 
sundry lusus naturae, preserved in 
spirits. 

On the ground floor is a collection 
of fragments of Sculpture and Archi¬ 
tecture. In the outer room are—a frag¬ 
ment of an Egyptian figure in basalt, 
found in the Port of Messina—four 
slabs with Greek inscriptions about 270 
b.c., found at Taormina, recording the 
monthly expenditure of three magis¬ 
trates, and throwing light on the in¬ 
ternal administration of the Greek 
cities of Sicily before their conquest by 
Rome—large square bricks stamped 
with Greek inscriptions—several Greek 
inscriptions found near Messina— Cu- 
phic inscriptions, brought from Egypt 
by General Graham—a doorway of 
Sicilian Gothic from the convent of 
the Knights Teutons, with foliage and 
animals mixed on the jambs, and the 
Almighty on the apex of the arch sur¬ 
rounded by angels. In the inner 

z 




506 


ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA-PALACES-PORT. 


room is a model of tlie Senate-House 
of Messina. Around the walls are 
many casts from the antique—bas- 
reliefs from ancient sarcophagi—a boy’s 
head, of reddish marble, of Greek art — 
a cast of Napoleon’s face after death— 
Norman capitals—fragments of various 
monuments in Messina destroyed by 
the bombardment of 1848. 


Theatres. 

Teatro Vittorio Emanuele, in the 
Piazza on the Strada Garibaldi, which 
takes its name from the building, is a 
neat structure of white stone, Ro¬ 
man Doric in the lower story, and 
Ionic in the upper. The frieze bears 
the inscription— 

“ Heic populo Musa?, heic prsebent spectacula 
ludi.” 

The interior is pretty, decorated with 
such taste as to render it rich, yet 
chaste, gay, but not gaudy. It con¬ 
tains 5 tiers of boxes ; the price of one 
for a night is only 2J piastres. 

Teatro della Munizione, below the 
Monte di Pieta, a mean little building, 
originally the Sala d'Armi, but con¬ 
verted into a theatre in 1724, and the 
principal building of the kind in Mes¬ 
sina, until the erection of the Teatro 
Vittorio Emanuele. 

Teatrino della Pace, a very small 
theatre, in the Via della Pace. 


Palaces and Private Collections. 

Pcdazzo Belviso, opposite the Annun- 
ziata de’ Teatini, contains a museum 
of natural history, particularly rich in 
specimens of ornithology and con- 
chology. 

Palazzo Brunaccini, near the Piazza 
Gennaro, in the Corso, contains a col¬ 
lection of pictures of the Messinese 
and other schools. 

Pcdazzo Grano, in the Strada della 
Pace, is a good specimen of Sicilian 
Renaissance, dating from 1500. Be¬ 
sides a gallery of paintings, it lias a 
fine collection of conchology. 

The Gabinetto Benoit, near the An- 


nunziata de’ Teatini, contains a col¬ 
lection of Sicilian birds, and of speci¬ 
mens of conchology. 

Gabinetto Cacopardi, near S. Nic- 
colb, in the Corso. Here the tourist 
may see a large collection of coins, 
Greek, Roman, and mediaeval, some 
Greco-Sicilian vases, and specimens of 
conchology. 

Gabinetto Campanella, on the slope 
of Sta. Maria della Porta. This ca¬ 
binet comprises a large collection of 
native minerals, especially sulphates 
of strontian, the volcanic products of 
Etna and the Lipari Islands, the 
metals, agates, jaspers, and marbles of 
Sicily, the lavas, &c., of Vesuvius, and 
native shells, existing and fossil. 

Gabinetto Smeriglio, in the Via Ga¬ 
ribaldi. Here is a gallery of pictures 
of the Messinese school; besides a 
collection of conchology, and of Sici¬ 
lian marbles. 

Palazzo Stagno, in the Via di S. 
Agostino. In the possession of the 
noble family of this name is a beautiful 
Madonna and Child, claiming, on the 
strength of documents in the posses¬ 
sion of the family, to be from the pen¬ 
cil of Baffaelle, though rather in the 
style of Leonardo da Vinci. 


The Port. 

The port of Messina is very spa¬ 
cious, and one of the most secure, 
commodious, and picturesque that can 
be imagined. It is formed by the 
Braccio di S. Raniero, originally called 
S. Giacinto, the low, curved peninsula 
which sweeps round from the S. of the 
city northwards, so as to form a cir¬ 
cular land-locked harbour about a 
mile in diameter. From the resem¬ 
blance it bears to a sickle the penin¬ 
sula gave the town its ancient name 
of Zancle, which bore that meaning 
in the language of the Siculi. The 
port seems to owe its formation to an 
earthquake opening a chasm, which 
the sea immediately tilled, for it is of 
immense depth, 70 fathoms at the en¬ 
trance, so that vessels lie alongside 
the quay, moored to the shore, as in a 
dock. The entrance to the port between 



507 


ROUTE 27 .-MESSINA-ENVIRONS— EXCURSIONS. 


S. Salvatore and the quay is but 400 yds. 
wide. In the olden time it was closed at 
night by a thick iron chain, which was 
sold for corn in 1392. The peninsula 
is formed of a hard calcareous con¬ 
crete. It was formerly adorned with 
lines of splendid buildings extending 
for the length of a mile or more, 
among which the convents of the Be¬ 
nedictine and Basilian monks were 
most conspicuous and imposing. Now 
all these are removed, and the surface 
is a grassy plain, covered with aro¬ 
matic and medicinal plants. On the 
peninsula, besides the citadel and the 
fort of S. Salvador, whicli have been 
already described, stand the Lazza- 
retto, the Arsenal, the Lighthouse, 
and the Protestant burial-ground. 

The Lazzaretto stands about the 
middle of the sickle, facing the town, 
and not on the peninsula itself, but 
on an insulated shoal within the 
port. It dates from 1695. By it 
stands the Arsenal, with the coal- 
depot, a long rope-walk, and the rifle- 
practice ground. Behind it also are 
extensive salt-works, the resort of nu¬ 
merous aquatic birds, the salt being- 
produced by the evaporation of the 
sea-water in large shallow pits. It is 
said to emit an odour like violets, so 
as to perfume the shore, a fact noticed 
by the ancients. At the back of these 
Saline, and on the outer shore of the 
peninsula, at the centre of the arc 
formed by it, stands the 

Lanterna, or Lighthouse, erected in 
1555, from the designs of Fra Giovanni 
Angelo Montorsoli, and constructed of 
massive blocks of Sicilian marble. 
Around it is a square fort, mounting 
several guns. There is a covered way 
connecting this fort with the citadel. 
The tower commands a grand panora¬ 
mic view of Messina and the Straits. 
On this part of the sickle is the Pro¬ 
testant Burial-ground, conspicuous with 
its numerous tombstones. 


Environs of Messina. 

The environs of Messina arc highly 
beautiful and picturesque, and are said 
to resemble those of Barcelona, There 


are many delightful drives and walks 
along the shore and over the hills 
which rise behind the city. The 
“ Dromo,” or the level space to the S. 
of Messina, where the chariot and foot 
races were held in ancient times, and 
which is now covered with villas, or¬ 
chards, and gardens, is a favourite 
drive. But the most frequented pro¬ 
menade is along the shore to the N. 
towards the Faro, as far as the cir¬ 
cular domed church of La Grotta,—■ 
the daily drive of the wealth and 
fashion of Messina. It is described 
in the following account of the Ex¬ 
cursion to the Faro. 


Excursion to the Faro. 

No one who visits Messina should 
fail to make an excursion to the Faro, 
on the extreme point of Cape Pelorus, 
towards Calabria. The distance is 
only 8 miles, and as the road is level 
and good, the trip may be accom¬ 
plished hi 3 or 4 hours. A carriage 
may be hired for the excursion for 2 
piastres. 

You leave Messina by the Porta 
Reale Bassa, and passing the church 
of Porto Salvo, and that of S. Fran¬ 
cesco di Paola, on the further side of 
the Fiumara di Saddeo, proceed along 
the beach at the foot of hills cultivated 
with the olive and cactus. You soon 
reach the suburb of the Bingo, with 
fishermen’s huts along the shore, and 
the little church of Gesu e Maria, which 
contains a Madonna by Simone Co- 
mande. About a mile from the gates 
is the convent of Basilian monks 
called 

S. Salvadore de' Greci, a large edi¬ 
fice, of Italian architecture, with a fine 
portico. Charles III., when he visited 
his new dominions in Sicily, in 1735, 
was so charmed with the view it com¬ 
manded of the Straits and the Cala¬ 
brian coast, barely 4 miles distant, 
that he took up his residence in 
this convent, a fact recorded on a 
tablet outside the window of his 
bedchamber. The convent owes its 
origin to a vow made by Count Roger, 




508 


ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA-EXCURSION TO THE FARO. 


who, on his first landing in Sicily, per¬ 
ceived the bodies of 12 Christians sus¬ 
pended from a gallows on the point of 
the Sickle of Messina; whereon he 
vowed, in case of victory over the 
Saracens, to erect a temple on the spot, 
as a record at once of their martyrdom 
and his own piety. After his conquest 
the Count raised a church on the site, 
in 1082, which he dedicated to the 
“Saviour of the Wretched,” and four 
years later he added a convent, which 
he granted to the monks of St. Basil, 
with broad lands and many villages in 
fee. In 1546 Charles V. demolished 
the convent to enlarge the fort at the 
point of the Sickle, which now takes 
its name from the original building, 
and he founded a new convent for the 
monks on the shores of the Straits. 
The church is spacious, but has no 
objects of interest beyond a Transfi¬ 
guration by Deodato Guinaccia, and 
some paintings by Tuccari. The li¬ 
brary is said to contain some valuable 
Greek and Latin MSS. 

Crossing the Fiumara dell’ Annun- 
ziata, you continue along the shore, 
which in this part bears the attractive 
appellation of Paradiso. And in truth 
it is not wanting in beauty. On the 
one hand, you have groves of olives 
and oranges, or long vine-terraces 
overhanging the road, backed by cac¬ 
tus-clad hills; on the other, the blue 
Straits, studded with snowy sails, 
bounded by the wild coast of Calabria, 
with the Kock of Scylla opening in 
the distance; and a foreground of 
speronari drawn up on the beach, with 
bare-legged, red-capped fishermen 
mending their nets, or slumbering in 
the shade. But the title of Paradiso 
was bestowed on this shore not for its 
scenic charms, but from the circum¬ 
stance that the Governor of Messina, 
who retired with his family to a pa¬ 
lace here during the plague of 1743, 
entirely escaped the contagion. 

Traversing the village of La Pace , 
and crossing the Fiumara di Cur- 
curacci, you reach La Grotta, a cir¬ 
cular and domed church of Italian 
Boric, erected in 1622 on the site of 
an early chapel, which is supposed to 
have risen on the ruins of an ancient 


temple of Diana. It contains a pic¬ 
ture of the Nativity, by Domenico ■ 
Maroli. The church occupies a pro¬ 
minent part of the shore, about 3 in. 
from Messina. Driving through its 
arcade, you proceed along the beach, 
passing the remains of batteries erected 
by the English during their occupa¬ 
tion of Sicily, and just beyond the 
Fiumara Guardia see a similar record 
in the abandoned fort of S. Martino, 
above the road. The view from this part 
of the coast, looking back, with the dome 
of La Grotta on the point in the fore¬ 
ground, Messina and its shipping 
under the hills in the distance, and 
its lighthouse standing far out in the 
waves, is highly picturesque. The ham¬ 
let of Santa Agata is next reached, and 
presently Ganzirri, more than 5 m. 
from Messina. This is a mere fishing- 
village, at the head of the first and 
largest of the Pantani, or lakes, which 
here lie between the sandy beach and 
the heights inland. These lakes are 
of salt-water, connected with each 
other, and with the sea, by small 
canals. They are said to be very deep, 
and they abound in fish, especially eels 
and cockles, which are the best in Si¬ 
cily. The latter, which enjoyed a re¬ 
putation in ancient times, under the 
name of Pelorides, “ are reared with 
great attention, being placed, when 
young, in rows along the mud, where 
the water is 11 or 2 feet deep; there 
they burrow, and are left to fatten, until 
of a proper size, when they are raked 
up, and others put in their place.”— 
Smyth. There are two of these lakes, 
one very long, the other round, and 
they are designated from their confor¬ 
mation. The first is more than a mile 
in length, but hardly a furlong across. 
Vineyards, orchards, and olive-groves 
take the place of the dense woods which 
overhung it in ancient times. In win¬ 
ter and spring these lakes are fre¬ 
quented by wild fowl of many descrip¬ 
tions, which afford much sport to the 
citizens of Messina. There was, of old, 
a third lake, in the midst of which 
stood a temple, supposed to be that of 
Neptune, mentioned by Hesiod and 
Diodorus; but no traces of it are now 
visible. It probably lay between the 



509 


ROUTE 27 . -FARO—THE STRAITS. 


other two lakes, for on cutting the canal 
which unites them, at about 100 yards 
from the long lake, remains of an an¬ 
cient temple were brought to light, 
which may have been that of Neptune, 
fabled to have been built by Orion, and 
the site of which had been forgotten for 
ages, though the granite columns had 
been carried to Messina for the con¬ 
struction of the nave of the cathedral. 

At the distance of nearly 7 m. from 
Messina the road crosses the canal 
which joins the “ Long” to the “ Round 
Lake,” and skirts the shores of the latter 
to Faro. 

Faro is a small village, the residence 
of fishermen and pilots, on the southern 
side, and almost at the extremity, of the 
long low headland which bears its name. 
At the easternmost point of the cape 
stands the Torre cli Faro, a round tower, 
which serves both for a lighthouse and a 
fort, the latter now dismantled; but nu¬ 
merous martello towers along the beach, 
and forts on the heights commanding 
it, attest the care with which this corner 
of the island was fortified by the Eng¬ 
lish at the commencement of this cen¬ 
tury, when they made Messina the key 
of Sicily. The tower has only some 2| 
centuries of antiquity, but it probably 
occupies the site of the ancient Pharos, 
or Lighthouse, from which it derives its 
name. The word is also commonly 
applied to the Straits themselves, and 
the Two Sicilies are distinguished as 
“Sicily on this side the Faro,” i.e. the 
kingdom of Naples, and “ Sicily beyond 
the Faro,” or the island. The head¬ 
land on which the tower stands is the 
celebrated Cape Pelorus , one of the 
three promontories which gave the is¬ 
land its ancient name of Trinacria. 
Some Roman writers derive its name 
from the pilot of Hannibal, who was 
put to death by that general, on a sus¬ 
picion of treachery, when he thought 
himself land-locked, and could perceive 
no means of escape; though, on dis¬ 
covering the passage, he sought to atone 
for his rashness by erecting a monu¬ 
ment to Pelorus on the promontory. 
The cape, however, was known to the 
Greeks by that name centuries before 
the time of Hannibal. It is a low, 


sandy point stretching due eastward 
towards Seilla, and evidently thrown 
up by the currents, though ancient tra¬ 
dition, as recorded by Hesiod and Dio¬ 
dorus, regarded it as the work of the 
giant Orion, constructed for the erection 
of the temple of Neptune. About 2 
miles from its extremity begins a low 
ridge of sandy heights, which soon rise 
into hills of no great elevation, but 
steep and strongly marked ; and these 
continue to rise till they culminate 
in Monte Dinnamare and Monte Scu- 
deri, the highest of the long, lofty, 
and serrated range which overhangs 
Messina, and extends far beyond it 
to the S., sinking in a steep slope to 
the sea. It is a beautiful view, this, of 
the city, as seen from the Faro,—almost 
the same as that obtained from the deck 
of a steamer entering the Straits from 
the North, when, on turning the point 
of the Faro, Messina first comes into 
view. The Straits are here 3580 yards, 
or barely more than 2 m. wide, so nar¬ 
row, indeed, that at night you can hear 
the dogs on the opposite shore, and on 
a still morning the cock’s crow in Italy 
will be answered by the cocks in Sicily. 
Count Roger and his Normans here 
crossed into Sicily in small boats, swim¬ 
ming their horses by their side, follow¬ 
ing the example of Timoleon’s Corin¬ 
thians. From the village of Ganzirri to 
Punta del Pezzo, the most prominent 
point on the Calabrian shore, the dis¬ 
tance is 3971 yards. From the Faro 
Point to the rock of Scvlla is 6017, or 
less than 31 m. That celebrated rock 
is distinctly seen to the E., projecting 
into the sea in a square mass, with its 
fort in ruins on its brow, and the waves 
breaking in eternal foam on its base. 
Above it the mountains of Calabria rise 
in red, arid steeps to a great height, 
but more to the S. slope back behind 
San Giovanni and Reggio, though they 
are broken by deep ravines, and their 
crests are very rugged, and in winter 
all capped with snow. You see the 
Calabrian coast stretching far away 
northwards from Seilla in a lofty but 
level wall, studded with towns — 
Bagnara, Seminarn, Palmi, Gioja, Ni- 
cotera—till it terminates in the long, 
low headland of Vaticano, which shuts 



ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA—THE STRAITS—CHARYBDIS. 


510 

in tlie Gulf of Gioja. The next object 
that catches the eye as it scans the ho¬ 
rizon is the isolated cone of Stromboli, 
in theN.N.W., recognized by its eternal 
crest of smoke. Next lies Panaria 
more to the W., with Lipari and Vul- 
cano massed into one, and appearing 
from this spot like a distant headland 
of the Sicilian coast. The ancients were 
of opinion that Sicily was originally 
imited to Italy, and separated by some 
convulsion of nature :— 

* IIa;c loca vi quondam et vasta convulsa ruin a 

(Tan turn sevi longinqua valet mu tare ve- 
tustas) 

Dissiluisse ferunt, cum protenus utraque 
tellus 

Una foret; venit medio vi pontus, et undis 

Hesperium Siculo latus abscidit, arvaque et 
urbes 

Litore diductas angusto interiuit ajstu. 

Dextrum Scylla latus, lasvum implacata Cha- 
rybdis 

Obsidet.” Virg. Mn. iii. 414. 

The name of Rhegium, now Reggio 
(from prjyvu/ju or priyvvco, to rend or 
burst asunder), is also significant of 
this belief. But this view is not held 
by modern writers. The geological 
formation of the two shores is in many 
respects similar, but the general as¬ 
pect is very different. “ On examining 
with attention the opposite coasts of 
Sicily and Calabria, I could not dis¬ 
cover the slightest indication that 
they had once been united. Had the 
Straits been formed of rocks corre¬ 
sponding in shape and strata, we 
might have had some plausible reasons 
to infer that a separation had taken 
place by some convulsion of nature, 
but, on the contrary, the appearance of 
the two coasts is totally different. One 
fact, indeed, is certain. Instead of an 
increase in the width of the Straits, the 
land on the point of the promontory, 
within the memory of man, has gained 
on the sea, by the constant accumula¬ 
tion of sand in so narrow a channel.”-— 
Sir R. C. Hoare. 

Charybdis .—The precise site of this 
celebrated whirlpool, which possessed 
such terrors for the mariners of old, has 
been much disputed. Certain it is that 
nothing at all answering the descrip¬ 
tions of the ancient poets now exists in 


these seas. But there are in various 
parts of the Straits eddies which, under 
certain circumstances, are so violent as 
not to be unattended with peril to the 
boats which approach them. “The 
currents in the Faro,” says Admiral 
Smyth, “ are so numerous and so varied 
that I found it very difficult to ascer¬ 
tain anything with precision, as one 
series of observations seldom agreed 
with another; but I have generally 
found the statements of the most expe¬ 
rienced pilots approximate very near to 
each other. In settled seasons there is 
a central stream running N. and S. at 
the rate of from 2 to 5 m. an hour, and 
which, though properly speaking only 
a current, is governed by the moon. 
On each shore there is a counter, or re¬ 
turning set, at uncertain distances from 
the beach, often forming eddies to the 
central current ; but in very fresh 
breezes the lateral tides are scarcely 
perceptible, while the main one in¬ 
creases so as to send at intervals slight 
whirlpools to each shore. There is in 
general an uncertain rise and fall of a 
few inches, but before the vernal equi¬ 
nox they rise to 18 or 20 inches. When 
the main current runs to the northward, 
it is called the flood, and the contrary 
the ebb. The tide runs 6 hours each 
way, and there is usually an interval 
of from 15 to 60 minutes between the 
changes.” These eddies, or whirlpools, 
are vulgarly called “ garofali ,” or “ calo- 
feri." The principal ones are on the 
coast of Sicily, one between the Punta 
del Faro and the Punta Sottile, to the E. 
of the village of Faro, and it is strongest 
at ebb tide ; another between the Punta 
Sottile and Punta Palazzo, and just op¬ 
posite the said village. This is very 
. strong, especially with the flood tide, 
and, from its position opposite Scylla, 
is probably the Charybdis of the an¬ 
cients. Other smaller eddies will be 
found along this coast, off Sant’ Agata, 
La Grotta, and S. Salvatore de' Greci. 
Outside the harbour of Messina, at the 
point of the Fanale Piccolo, is a very 
strong gar ofalo, which is generally taken 
for the Charybdis of the ancients. “ To 
the undecked boats of the Greeks it 
must have been formidable, for even in 
the present day small craft are some- 













511 


ROUTE 27 . -PESCE SPADA-COLA PESCE. 


limes endangered by it, and I have 
seen several men of war, and even a 74- 
gim ship, whirled round on its surface, 
but by using due caution there is ge¬ 
nerally very little danger or inconve¬ 
nience to be apprehended. It appears 
to be an agitated water of from 70 to 
90 fathoms in depth, circling in quick 
eddies. It is owing, probably, to the 
meeting of the harbour and lateral 
currents with the main one, the latter 
being forced over in this direction by 
the opposite point of Pezzo.”— Admiral 
Smyth. Off this last point, on the Ca¬ 
labrian shore, there is also a very strong 
garofalo, caused by the meeting of the 
main current from the S. and the 
counter-current from the N., which is 
dangerous to boats when the wind is 
from the S.E. We should state that 
the French liydrographer, M. Daron- 
deau, who has recently surveyed the 
Straits by command of the Emperor, 
and published an elaborate map of 
them, is of opinion that the whirl¬ 
pool opposite the village of Faro 
is the true Charybdis. It may be, 
however, that the ancients had but 
vague notions as to the exact position 
of Charybdis, and included in that 
name the whole extent of this eddying 
sea, this “ mare vorticosum,” as Pliny 
terms it. It was believed by the an¬ 
cients that anything thrown into the 
whirlpool was cast up again on the 
shore at Taormina, some 30 m. distant. 
The vulgar belief of modern times is 
that Charybdis is a passage through 
the sea to the furnaces in the heart of 
Etna. 

Fata Morgana. —In the Straits of 
Messina may occasionally be witnessed 
the singular optical phenomenon, 
which, 'being popularly believed to be 
the work of supernatural agencies, has 
received its name from the Queen of 
the Fairies. It more frequently occurs 
on the Calabrian than on the Sicilian 
coast, particularly in the bay of Reggio, 
and has therefore been described in 
the Handbook for Southern Italy , Rte. 
155, to which we refer the traveller. 

Pesce Spada. —In the Straits, during 
July and August, may be seen the sin¬ 


gular and exciting pursuit of the sword¬ 
fish, a sport peculiar to these waters. 
This fish, the Xipliias gladius, the 
ya\ecoT7]s of the ancients, varies from 6 
to 14 feet in length, and in weight from 
100 to 300 lbs.; the long bone, which 
gives it its name, projects like a broad 
two-edged sword, a yard or more from 
the upper jaw. The chase is con¬ 
ducted pretty much as in ancient times. 
A number of large barks take up their 
positions at regular distances along the 
shore, each with a very tall mast, at 
the head of which a man is stationed to 
look out for the fish. He descries it 
at a considerable distance, for it often 
shows its dorsal fin above water, and 
generally swims near the surface. 
When lie gives the signal, a light 
attendant boat, called a luntra, starts 
in pursuit, and guided by the cries of 
the look-out man, soon comes up with 
the fish, when the harpooner in the 
bow deals his weapon with almost un¬ 
erring aim. To the head of the instru¬ 
ment is attached a long line, by which 
the animal is gradually wearied out. 
Sometimes, however, he turns upon his 
pursuers, and even pierces the boat 
with his sword, to the imminent peril of 
the mariners. The flesh is somewhat 
like veal, and is much relished by the 
Sicilians, who esteem it above that of 
all the finny tribe of their seas. 

Cola Pesce. —Among the wonders of 
Messina, especially as connected with 
these whirlpools, we must not forget to 
mention the celebrated man-fish of the 
Straits, vulgarly called, from his name 
of Nicholas, Cola Pesce. This strange 
being is said to have been born at Ca¬ 
tania, somewhere about the year 1300, 
to have lived at Messina, to have taken 
from his infancy to the sea as his na¬ 
tural element, in which he spent the 
greater part of his time, being as much 
at home in the water as others on the 
land, diving into its deepest recesses, 
revelling on its wildest billows, sport¬ 
ing with the dolphin and tunny as with 
brethren; visiting in this manner all 
the neighbouring coasts of Sicily and 
Calabria, and travelling great distances 
with extraordinary rapidity. His fame 
at length reached the ears of King Fre- 





512 ROUTE 27 . -MESSINA-CAPUCHIN CONVENT-THE TELEGRAPH. 


derick II., wlio, on some festive occasion, 
when all Messina was looking on from 
the shore, cast a cup of gold into the 
whirlpool off the harbour, to test his 
extraordinary powers. Cola plunged 
in, and after a while reappeared with 
the goblet, which he handed back to 
the monarch. Again Frederick cast it 
into the waves, and again Cola brought 
it to the surface. Not content with 
this severe test of his powers, the King 
a third time hurled the goblet into the 
whirlpool. Cola a third time followed 
it to the bottom, but, exhausted by his 
previous struggles with the eddying 
tide, he returned no more to the light 
of day; and Messina long mourned the 
royal caprice which had deprived her 
of her amphibious citizen. 

An agreeable excursion may be 
made to Reggio, on the opposite coast, 
for which steamers run twice a-day : see 
p. 468. The distance from the Light¬ 
house of Messina to the cathedral of 
Reggio is 13,187 yards, or about 7^ m. 
The traveller may even make the tour 
of the towns on the Calabrian coast, 
beginning with Reggio, and touching 
successively at S. Giovanni, Scilla, and 
Bagnara. The direct distance to S. 
Giovanni from the mouth of the har¬ 
bour is about 41 m.; to Scilla, 9J m.. 
A steamer, the ‘ Antelope,’ makes the 
round twice a-day. For all these 
places, see the Handbook of Southern 
Italy. 


Excursion to the Telegraph and 
the Badiazza. 

It is a delightful excursion to the 
Telegraph on the Colle di S. Rizzo, 
one of the hills above Messina, where 
the high road to Milazzo and Patti 
crosses the range. It is about 6 m. 
from the city, and as the road is very 
steep, the ascent will occupy about 3 
hours in a carriage, though the descent 
may be accomplished in one. You 
leave the city by the northern gate, 
and turn inland by the church of Santa 
Maria di Gesu Inferiore. The road fol¬ 
lows the rt. bank of the Fiumara di 
Santa Maria or della Badiazza, and a 


little Avay up it, on an eminence sur¬ 
rounded by noble pine-trees and cy¬ 
presses, stands the Capuchin convent, 
which, like all convents of this order, 
occupies a site that appears to have 
been chosen for its magnificent pros¬ 
pect. 

The Gonvento Cappuccino is more re¬ 
markable for the glories of nature than 
of art,—a fact noticed in the inscription 
on the cross on the esplanade. The 
building externally has no attractions. 
It was founded in 1560. Within the 
portico is a chapel, with an altarpiece 
of the “ Yergine degli Agonizzanti,” by 
Padre Feliciano, of Messina, called the 
“ Raphael of the Capuchins.” St. 
Francis is represented showing the 
stigmata in his hands to the Babe; a 
nice, well-coloured picture. By the 
same hand is a Pieta, in an oratory at 
the side of the church, of inferior merit, 
and much injured by damp. The 
church contains in the 1st chapel to the 
rt. a Transfiguration by another Capu¬ 
chin, Fra Umile, the only pupil of 
Rodriguez. In the 3rd, on this side, is 
the Stigmatization of St. Francis, by 
Filippo Paladino. Over the high 
altar is a Nativity, by Michelangelo 
Caravaggio, esteemed a chef-d'oeuvre, 
and in truth a good work of tlie master, 
particularly to be admired for the na¬ 
tural mode of treatment. In the little 
choir to the rt. is an early picture of the 
Virgin and Child, St. Peter, and St. 
John. In the sacristy are some good 
triptychs of the Flemish school. The 
refectory contains a large painting of 
the Last Supper, by Fra Umile. 

Above this the road ascends between 
vineyards and orchards, olive and 
orange groves, which carpet the valley, 
or cover the lower slopes of the hills 
which rise on either hand, clothed with 
cactus, arbutus, or myrtle to their sum¬ 
mits. At 2 m. from the gates, a path 
to the rt. leads up the bed of the Fiu¬ 
mara to the Badiazza, or ruined con¬ 
vent of Santa Maria della Scala, or 
dellaValle. Keeping the high road, after 
some miles, you obtain, through breaks 
in the hills as you ascend, partial view r s 
of the Straits, the Faro, the rock of 
Scylla, the Calabrian Apennines, and 
the green sickle and castled crags of 




513 


ROUTE 27 . -EXCURSION TO LA BADIAZZA. 


Messina at your feet. Tlie road winds 
round the slopes of the wild, conical, 
pine-crested hills, overhanging at a 
great height the ravine of the fiumara, 
at whose head, and at the very base of 
the steep, is the square, roofless abbey 
of La Scala. At the top of the pass 
stand the telegraph and a Norman 
watch-tower in ruins. The view from 
this spot is enchanting. It has been 
described at p. 281. 

A ladder-road, practicable only on 
foot or on horseback, leads from this 
spot down to the ruined abbey in the 
ravine. Before the construction of the 
carriage-road this was the old route 
from Messina to Milazzo and the north¬ 
ern coast. The tourist may vary his 
excursion by descending to the ruin, 
and returning on foot to Messina; or, 
on his way out, he may take the 
Fiumara della Badiazza, where it 
branches from the high-road, and meet 
his carriage again at the top of the 
pass. In that case he follows the rocky 
bed of the stream, taking the' rt. hand 
at three successive forks, and in little 
more than a mile reaches the ruin. 

Santa Maria della Valle , alias Santa 
Maria della Scala , and more vulgarly 
La Badiazza, stands at the head of the 
ravine, where it is narrowed by lofty, 
steep, and stony banks. The abbey 
dates from Norman times; it was richly 
endowed by William the Good, and by 
the Empress Constantia, but after the 
plague which ravaged Messina in 1347 
the nuns removed to the city, and oc¬ 
cupied the new church of La Scala, 
recently erected by Frederick II. of 
Aragon. For two centuries they kept 
up the old abbey for the viUeggiatura, 
but this being at length forbidden by 
the Council of Trent, the original 
building was abandoned and allowed 
to fall into utter decay. 


The exterior shows tall lancet win¬ 
dows, with smaller lancets in the cle¬ 
restory, decorated with banded vous- 
soirs of black and white stone. Each 
of the 3 apses shows a pointed window, 
and is surmounted by a battlcmentcd 
parapet. The W. door is of the 12th 
cent.; it has two broad flat orders, each 
showing the double chevron in relief 
and in intaglio, surrounded by a label 
of acanthus-leaves. The architrave of 
white marble seems a portion of a cor¬ 
nice of late Roman times. The whole 
is surmounted by a triangular pedi¬ 
ment, and a circular window. The N. 
door is of later date, having an equi¬ 
lateral pointed arch, with two orders of 
boutel mouldings, and a prominent 
label, corbelled on a single acanthus- 
leaf. The pilaster to the inner order 
is decorated with beautiful acanthus 
and vine foliage, and the shaft to the 
outer order shows the Greek honey¬ 
suckle and acanthus on its capital. The 
S. door resembles the N., but is simpler 
in its details. Internally the church 
has 3 aisles, the central one being 
much the largest, divided by rows of 
pointed arches resting on massive four- 
clustered columns, with singular capi¬ 
tals, some with bossed foliage, in the 
Norman style, others with a double 
tier of acanthus-leaves, and others un¬ 
like any to be seen elsewhere in Sicily. 
There are traces of a dome or lantern 
in the centre of the church, supported 
by large arches resting on octagonal 
piers, with curious pendentives of small 
arches, round and pointed, in tiers at 
the angles. The capitals are much 
smaller than the piers themselves. The 
windows, though pointed outside, are 
rounded within. This Norman abbey, 
with its singular features, is a most 
interesting study to the architect, while 
its lonely ruins have no less a charm 
for the lover of the picturesque. 









' 

























. 












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. 












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. 


, 

. 








































• ( 515 ) 


INDEX. 


ACI. 


A. 

Aci Gastello, village and for¬ 
tress, 449 

-Re ale, city of, 450. Scene 

of the fable of Acis and Ga¬ 
latea, 451 

Acqua de’ Corsari, hamlet, 140 

-Dolce, village, 270 

Acra\ ancient, tombs and re¬ 
mains of, 362 
Acradina, ancient, 740 
Adherbal, exploit of, 157 
Adranum, now Adernb, 233 
“ Adversis perfugium,” &c., 
motto, from Cicero, of the 
Liceo Library, Palermo, 67 
iEneas, the “ iliaetabilis ora,” in 
his lament for Anchises, de¬ 
scribed, 152 

JEschylus, fabled death of, 313. 
Agabuzzo, stream, 177 
Agathymum, ancient, site of, 
271 

Agnuni, port of Lentini, 486 
Agriculture, general, xv 
Agrigentum (the Greek Acra- 
gas), now Girgenti, ruins of, 
199. Site, origin, and his¬ 
tory, 200. Siege and sack of 
the city, narrated by Mr. 
Grote, 201. Temples, 198, 
203-15 

Agro, d’, stream, 463 
Agyrium, ancient, now Argirb, 
227 

Aidone, town, Lombard origin 
of, 307 

Alabaster, carvers of, Trapani, 
153. Quarry of, at Asaro, 
226 

Alabus, now Cantara, 384 
Alnesa, ancient city of, 267 
Albanian colonies, 218, 240, 
24 * 

Albergo de’ Poveri, institution 
for female poor at Palermo, 
xo6 

Alcamo, town of, 144. The 
birthplace of Ciullo, the ear¬ 
liest Italian poet, 146 


ASINELLO. 

Alessio, village, 463 
Ali, village and baths of, 464 
Alia, town of, 220 
Alimena, village, 283 
Alletto, dealer in vases and 
relics, Girgenti, 195 
Altavilla, hamlet, 250 
Alumelline, of Roccalumera, 
463 

Aluntium, ancient, vestiges of, 
270 ■ 

Amber, at the mouth of the 
Gumalonga, 383 
Amestratus, ancient fortress of, 
now Mistretta, 268 
Ammalate, delle, stream, 382 
Amphitheatres, ancient, ruins 
of— 

Catania, 408 

Neapolis (Syracuse), 347 
Termini, 254 

Anapus, stream, scenery of, 
*58 

Annunziata, dell’, stream, 508 
Antiquities and Art, summary 
of, xxiv 

Apol Ionia (now Pollina), 267 
Aqueducts, ancient— 

Acqua Corriente, 237 
Aderno, 233 
Caputo, 143 

Caraci, or d’Aragona, 232 
Epipolaj, 353 
Ficarazzi, 140 
Termini, 255 
Torrenuova, 271 
Arabic MS., spurious, story of, 
136 

Aragona, town of, 248 
Archimedes, exploits and fate 

of, 3*9 

Arena, river, 186 
Architects: see Sculptors. 
Arcivescovale, Palazzo, Pa¬ 
lermo, story of, 66 
Asaro, town of (olim Assorus), 
226 

Asinarus, now Falconara, 321. 
Scene of the final rout of the 
Athenians by the Syracus¬ 
ans, 322 

Asinello, rock of, described in 
the JEneid, 159 


BELMONTE. 

Atanea, Rupe (Girgenti), view 
from, 203 

Atys, stream, now Cannitello, 
187 

Augusta, or Agosta (olim Me- 
gara Hyblaea), town of, 385 
Avola, town of, 324 
-, d’, stream, 324 


B. 

Badiazza, della, stream, 513 
Bagaria, town of, 140 
Baida, village and church of, 137 
Barcellona, town of, 276 
Barilla, on the plain of Terra- 
nova, 373 

Barrafranca, town of, 307 
Bartlett, quoted, 11, 21, I2r, 
122, 131, 149, 204, 233, 290, 
39 1 

Baths, ancient— 

Calogero, San, 190 
Cefalh, di, 217 
Daphne, of, 331 
Girgenti, 214 

Himerenses (Thermae), 253 
Misterbianco, 238 
Paterno, 236 

Segestanae Aquae, or Pin- 
cianaj, 148 

Selinuntinae (Thermae), 
190 

Terme, le, or Achillei, 408 
Termini di Castro, 276 
Venere, di, 345 
Battles of— 

the Asinarus, 323 
Calatafimi, 148 
Capo Orlando, 271 
the Crimisus, 147 
Da scon (bay of), 357 
Drepanum, 157 
Milazzo, 279 
the Oreto, 98 
Syracuse, 357 
Bavuso, village, 280 
Belici, stream (olim Hypsas), 
186 

Belluzza, stream, 380 
Belmonte, Casino, near Pa¬ 
lermo, 115 











516 


INDEX 


BELPASSO. 

Belpasso Vecchio.J ruined town 
of, 236 

Bentinck, Lord William, his 
coup d’etat in'i8i2, 114. 
Bianca of Navarre, story of, 81. 

Her caustic personality, 391 
Biancavilla, town of, 234 
Birgi, stream, 178 
Biscari, town of, 361 
Bitumen, at Scldfani, 282. 
Boccadifalco, village, 132 
Bonagia, fishing village, 161 
Borgesi, or yeomanry, xvi 
Borgetto, town of, 14} 

Bosco di Caronia, largest forest, 
269 

Botta, quoted, 108 
Botte d’Acqua, Catania, 390 
Bbidges, ancient— 

Ammiraglio, dell’, 98 
Bagui, de’, 148 
Braccilino, di, 380 
Calatabiano, di, 455 
Capo d’Arso, di, 301 
Disgrazia, della, 296, 455 
Grande, 233 
Maccaroni, di, 232 
Marcellino, 380 
Sabuci, di, 382; 

Termini, di, 251 
Viccari, di, 219 
Villa, della, 380 
Brolo, small town of, 272 
Bronte, town and wine of, 290 
Bruca, la, harbour, 386 
Brydone, quoted, 11, 118 
Buccheri, town of, 374 
Buckland, Dr., on the Val del 
Bove, 434 

Bunbury, quoted, 222, 338 
Buongiovanni, of Caltagirone, 
modeller of statuettes, 6, 305 
Burgio, town of, 244 
Busaidone, rivulet, 320 
Buscemi, town of, 375 
Butera, town of, 313 

c. 

Cabrera, Bernardo, eccentric 
consolation of, 81. His ulte¬ 
rior trials, 237 
Caccomo, town of, 25 > 
Cacyparis, now Cassibili, 324 
Calacte, town of, 269 
Calascibetta, town of, 225 
Calatafimi, town of, 247 
Calatamar, Saracenic fort, in 
ruins, 244 

Callipolis, now Mascali, 454 
Caltabellotta, town of, 244 
Caltagirone (la Gratissima), 
town of, 304 

-to Catania, routes, 375, 377 

■Caltanisetta, city of, 298 

-to Catania, route, 306 

Cal tan turo, town of, 282 
'Camarana, stream (olim Hip- 
paris), 317 


CASTELLAMARE. 

Camarina, ancient, site and 
history of, 368 

Camaro, brook through Mes¬ 
sina, 470 

Camastra, Sto. Stefano di, town 
of, 268 

Cameo-cutters of Trapani, 153 
Camiso, Saracenic town of, 317 
Cammarata, town of, 247 
Campobello, village and quar¬ 
ries, 167 

Campofelice, village, 259 
Canicatti, town and landlord 
of, 298 

Canne, delle, stream, 193 
Cannitello, stream ( olim Atys), 
187 

Cantara, stream ( olim Alabus, 
or Onobalas), 384, 455 
Capaci, town of, 163 
Capes— 

Alessio, 462 
Andrea, S., 456 
Bianco, 192 
Boeo, 181 ' a 

Brolo, 272 
Calava, 272 
Croce, Sta., 386 
Grasso, or d’Ali, 464 
Mele, 324 
Milazzo, di, 277 
Mulini, 450 
Orlando, 268, 271 
Passaro, di ( olim Pachy- 
nus), 371 
Pelorus, 509 
Rama, 164 
Rasigelbi, 267 
Rosso, 251 

Scalambri ( olim Bucra), 
369 

Scaletta, 464 
Schisb, 456 
Tindaro, 272 

Capizzi, town of (olim Capi- 
tium), 288 

Capo d’Acqua, reservoir at 
Leucadia, 234 

Cappella Palatina, Palermo, 72. 
Story of, 75 

Carabba, di, stream, 454 
Carini (olim Hyccara), town of, 
163 

Carlentini, town, view from, 
380 

Carlo Maratta, fine example of, 
in the Oratorio del Rosario, 
Palermo, 65 

Caronia, village and river, 269 
Cartone, village and stream, 
276 

Caruso, historian, 283 
Cassibili, di, river (olim Cacy¬ 
paris), 324 

Castagno di Cento Cavalli, and 
other gigantic chestnut-trees, 
452-4 

Castellamare, ancient port of 
Segeste, 146 


CHJARAMONTE. 

Castelluzzo, ruined fort, 373 
Castel Termini, town of, 247 
Castelvetrano, town of, 167 

-to Girgenti, route, 186 

Castiglione, town of, 295 
Castrofilippo,village, view from, 
300 

Castrogiovanui, town of, loftiest 
inhabited site in Sicily, 222. 
Temple of Proserpine and 
castle, 224 

-to Caltagirone, route, 301 

Castronovo, town of, with pic¬ 
turesque ruin, 246 
Castro Reale, di, stream (olim 
Longanus), 276 

-, town of, 277 

Catacombs: Palermo, 109 ; 

Girgenti, 199 ; Syracuse, 544 
Catania (“la Chiarissima”), 
city of, 387. Physicians, 
&c., 387-8. Situation, 388. 
Climate and population, 389. 
Commerce, 390. Walls, gates, 
&c., 390. Castello Ursino, 
391. Streets, 392. Squares, 
393. Churches, 394-402. Clois¬ 
ters, Library, and Museum 
of S. Benedetto, 398. Le¬ 
gend of Sta. Agatha, 400. 
Festivals, 402. Public build¬ 
ings, University, &c., 403-6. 
History and antiquities, 
406-10. Port, and Mole of 
lava masonry, 410. 

-to Messina, route, 447 

-, Piana di (olim Leontinus 

Campus), 307 
Cattalica, town of, 193 
Cavallata, stream (olim Eri- 
meus), 324 
Catiiedkals of— 

Caltanisetta, 299 
Catania, 394 
Cefalii, 261 
Girgenti, 196 
Mazzara,-184 
Messina, 479 
Monreale, 120 
Nicosia, 285 
Palermo, 25 
Patti, 273 
Piazza, 303 

Syracuse (olim Temple of 
Minerva), 328 
Trapani, 155 

Cefalii (la Piaeentissima), city 
of (olim Cephalaidium), 260 
Centorbi, town of (olim Centu- 
ripa), 230 

Ceplialsedium, now Cefalu, 260 
Cenimi, town _and castle of; 
and tradition of Count Roger, 
283 

Charles the Lame, imprisoned 
at Cefalu, 266 

Charybdis (mare vorticosum of 
Pliny), 510 

Chiaramonte, town of, 361 
























INDEX 


517 


CHIUS A. 

Chiusa, town of, 24? 

Chorley, quoted, 38, 48 
Chronological Tables, xxix- 
xxxvlii 

Chrysas, now Dittaino, 226 
Chydas, now Furiano, 269 
Cicero, quoted (In Verr.), on 
the Temple of Hercules, 208; 
on Syracuse, 339. His dis¬ 
covery of the tomb of Ar¬ 
chimedes, 3 50 

Cincraone, or I'snello, stream, 
266 

Cinisi, town of, 164 
Climate, general, xii 
Cloisters: at Palermo, 44, 53 ; 
Monreale, 128; Cefalu, 265; 
Catania, 398 

Coins, abundance and imitation 
of, xxvi 

Collesano, town of, 260 
Colombara, ridge of rocks, near 
Trapani, 157.: 

Comiso, Saracenic town of, 317 
Comitini, village, 248 
Conservatorio, at Palermo: 

mortality of the infants, 69 
Coutadini, or peasantry, xvi 
Contessa, town of, 244, 465 
Convento de’ Cappuccini, and 
cemetery, Palermo, 108 

-di S. Benedetto, Catania, 

396 

Coral fishery, xxii 

-workers, of Trapani, 153 

Corleone, town of, 242. Ori¬ 
ginally a Lombard settle¬ 
ment, 243 

Corn-stores, ancient, in the 
rock, Girgenti, 194 
Cotton, cultivation of, xx, 313 
Crancotta, stream, 276 
Craters: Santa Sofia, 238 ; Cor- 
dillo and Po, 239; Monti 
Rossi, 430; Val del Bove, 
433 ; Summit of Etna, 439; 
Fossa della Palomba, 432 
Crimisus, stream, now Freddo, 
147 

Cuba, la, Saracenic tower, near 
Palermo,,, 106 

Curcuracci, di, stream, 508 
Cyane, fount and stream of, 
notable for growth of papy¬ 
rus, 359. Legend of, 360 

D. 

Dante, MS. copy of, in the 
Olivella Monastery, Palermo, 
61 

-, quoted, on Phalaris, 201 

Diavolo d’opera, mound and 
telegraph, on the track from 
Agosta to La Bruca, 386 
Dionysius, of Syracuse, his 
siege of Motya, 178 
Diplomas of early Sicilian Icings, 
at Monreale, 130 


FAVAROTA. 

Dirillo, river, 316 
Dittaino (olim Chrysas), con¬ 
fluent of the river Simeto, 
226, 383 

Doric order, prevalence of, xxv 
Drepanum, now Trapani, 153 
Duff, quoted, viii 

E. 

Earthquakes and Eruptions, 
notable: of 1169,415; 1536-7, 
417; 1669, 418; 1792, 424; 
1843,428; 1852,429 
El Cassr (the Palaeopolis of 
Polybius), Arab name of the 
old town, or centre, of Pa¬ 
lermo, 12 

Empedocles, of Agrigentum, 
drainer of swamp at Selinus, 
170 

Enna (ancient city), site, ori¬ 
gin, and legends of, 221 

-(ancient lake), 302 

Entella, remains of, 245 
Epiopolas, ancient, 351 
Erbessus, ancient, now Grotte, 
298, 366 

Eremberga, heroic bride of 
Count Roger, 287 
Erinaeus, now Cavallata, 324 
Errante Giuseppe (of Trapani), 
his monument and fame, 155 
Eryx, remains and history ,of, 
160 

Etna (popularly, Mongibello), 
Mount, 411. Cultivated, 
Woody, and Desert Regions, 
411-13. Cones, 413. Erup¬ 
tions (76) on record, 413-30. 
Myths and traditions, 414. 
Nicolosi, 430. Monti Rossi, 
and Fossa della Polomba, 
432. Val del Bove, 433. 
Ascent, 435. Casa del Bosco 
and Grotta delle Capre, 437. 
Casa degli Inglesi, 438. The 
Crater, 439. Sunrise and sun¬ 
set effects from the summit, 
439-41. Torre del Filosofo, 
441. Balzo del Trifoglietto, 
and La Cisterna, 442. Mr. 
Gladstone’s narrative, 442-47 
Etnea, title of Randazzo, 293 
Exports, statistics of, xxiii 

F. 

Faceuinus Ajinis, now;Nocito, 
280; 

Faino, stream, 313 
Falconaro, or No to, stream 
(olim Asinarus), 321 
Falcone, village, 276 
Faro (olirn Pharos), village, 
tower, and lighthouse of, 509 
Fata Morgana, 511 
Favara, town of, 299 
Favarota, la, village, 164 


GIARDINI. 

Favorita, la, villa near Palermo, 

1 IIj 

Fergusson, quoted, xxviii 
Festa della Barra, Messina, 501 
Feudo di S. Angelo, Saracenic 
castle, 248 

Ficarazzi, village, 140 
Ficuzza, royal farm of, retreat 
of Ferdinand I., 242 
Fisheries, xxi ; 

Fiumedinisi di Sopra, town 
and castle of, 463] 

Flati, stream, 144, 165 
Flora, La, Palermo, 97 
Flora, the, of Sicily, xiii 
Floridia, town of, 364 
Forbes, Captain, quoted, 17, 
166, 280 

Forgia, stream, 387 
Forte, del, coast-tower, 276 
Francavilla, town of, and view 
from, 297 

Frascolaro, stream (olirn Oanis), 
368 

Freddo, stream (olirn Crimisus) 
147 

Fruits, statistics of, xviii 
Fulci, di, stream, 463 
Furiano, river (olirn Chydas), 
269 

G. 

Gabelle, delle, stream, 307 
Gaggera, stream (olirn Scaman- 
der), 148 

Gagliano, town of (olim Ga¬ 
latia), 229 
Galati, village, 465 
Galice, stream, 383 
Gallo, quoted, 36, 47, 48, 51, 55, 
80, 93 

Gangi, or Ganci, town of, 284. 

Birthplace of lo Zoppo, 285 
Garibaldi, exploits of, at Pa¬ 
lermo, 17; near Catalafimi, 
148; Monte de’ Romane,i65 ; 
Harbour of Marsala, i8r ; 
flank march through the 
pass of Mezzagna, 217 ; battle 
of Milazzo, 279 
Gavarrello, stream, 187 
Gazzi, Mr. Gregory’s silk-fac¬ 
tory, 465 

Gela, ancient, site of Terra- 
nova, 314 

-,-, river, now di 

Terranova, 315 

Gellias, of Agrigentum, his 
princely hospitality, 211 
Gello, stream, 280 
Gemmellaro, Dr., naturalist of 
Nicolosi, and authority on 
Etna, 431 

Geology, general, ix 
Gesso, town and pass of, view 
from, 280 

Giampilieri, village, 464 
Giardini, fishing-town of, 456 









518 


INDEX 


GIARDINO. 

Giardino Inglese (the Hyde j 
Park of), Palermo, 113 
Giarratana, small town of, 
361 

Giarre, town of, 452 
Giarretta, or Timeto, river 
(olim Symasthus), 307, 383 
Giojosa Nuova, town of, 272 
Gikgenti, city of (olim Agri- 
gentum), 194. Temple of 
Jupiter Polieus, 198. Ruins 
of Agrigentum, 199 

- to Castrogiovanni, route, 

297 

-to Syracuse, route, 308 

Gluliana, village, 243 
Gladstone, Right lion. W. E., 
journal of, quoted: on hus¬ 
bandry, xvi; on temples, 
xxvi; on the mule, xlvi; on 
the ascent of Etna, 442; on 
effects of volcanic action, 454 
Goethe, on the approach to Pa¬ 
lermo, 1 

Golden Shell (appellative of 
Palermo), 11 

Goodwin, quoted, xiv, xvi, xl, 
70 

Gorgias, orator and philosopher, 
of Leontini, 381 
Grammichele, town of, 57; 
Grande, river (olim Himera), 
282 

Grote, Mr., quoted: on the 
siege of Seliuus, 172; on 
Acragas, 201; on the siege 
of Himera, 257-9 
Grotta— 

Alloro, del, or Perciata, 116 
Capre, delle, 437 
Ciclopi, de’, 449 
Colombe, delle, 452 
Diana, di, 190 
Donnavilla, 276 
Fragapani, de’, 207 
Giarraffe, le, 116 
Giganti, de’, 100 
Issica (at), various and 
doubtful, 320 
Macagnone di, 164 
Maraviglia, della, 366 
Minichello, di, 276 
Morselli, de’, 116 
Passarello, del, 116 
Pulzelle, delle, 191 
Quatro Arie, delle, 138 
Santuario, del, 366 
Teodoro, San, 269 
Trovata, 366 

Grotte, village and caves of 
(olim Erbessus), 298 
Guglia, La, monument, of dis¬ 
puted origin, near Magnesi, 

„ 379 

Guides to Etna, 435 
Gurnalonga, confluent of the 
river Simeto, 383 
Gymnasium, presumed ruins 
of, at Tyndarig, 275 


JATI. 

H. 

Halesus, stream, now Pettineo, 
268 

Halycia, now Salem i, 166 
Halycus, stream, now Pl&tani, 
192 

Hannibal, the Rhodian, exploit 
of, 182 

Helorus, ancient city, site of 
(popularly, Stampaci), 372 

-, ancient river, now Tel- 

laro, 321 

Heraclea Minoa, ancient city 
of, 192 

Heracleo,pirate, exploits'of, 370 
Herbita, ancient, 286 
Hermitage of S. Rosalia, Pa¬ 
lermo, view from, 119 
Hermocrates, of Syracuse, re¬ 
storer of Selinus, 17 3 
Herschel, quoted, 197 
Himera, ancient city of: its 
site and history, 257-9 
Himera Meridionalis, river,now 
di Petralia, 221 
Hipparis, now Camarana, 517 
Hirminium, now Ragusa, 318 
Hoare, quoted, 510 
ILodierna, mathematician, mo¬ 
nument to, at Palma, 310 
Horace, quoted, on the tradi¬ 
tional suicide of Empedocles, 
442 

Hughes, quoted, 202, 223, 332, 
502 

Husbandry, backward state of, 
xvii 

Hybla, heights of, 324. Its 
honey,325 

-, Major, now Paterno, 236 

-, Minor, now Ragusa, 318 

Hyccara (now Oarini), 163 
Hypsas, stream (now Belici),i86 

I. 

Imachara, ancient, conjectured 
site of, 287 

Imports, statistics of, xxiv 
Information, preliminary, on 
passports, money, &c., xxxix 
Inns, general description of, 
xlviii 

Inquilini, or small farmers, xvi 
Ipsica, valley of, or Rock-City, 
320. Presumably sepulchral, 
321 

Isburus, streamlet, now Ver- 
dura, 191 
Islands— 

Corrente, delle, 371 
Feminine, delle, 163 
Lipari, 273 
Passaro, di, 371 
Itala, village and 5 stream, 464 

J. 

Jati, 'stream, 165 


LYELL. 

Judica, Baron, museum of, at 
Palazzolo, 362 

Junction of Sicily and Italy, 
theory of, examined, 510 
Juvenal, quoted, on the mullet 
of Taornima, 456 

K. 

Knight, Gaily, xxviii, 12, 23, 
67, 70, 72, 79, 112, 292, 399 

L. 

Labdalum, ancient, site of, 355 
Lais, some account of, 163 
Lakes — 

Enna, 302 
Gurrita, 294 
Lentini, 378, 382 
Naftia, 375 
Pergusa, di, 202 
Terranova, di, 316 
Landro, post-house, 220 
Larderia, di, village and stream, 
465 

Lascari, di, stream, 260 
Lava, ravages of, 234, 289, 291, 
296, 390. 414-10, 448,451 

Leake, Colonel, quoted, 333 
Lentini (olim Leontini), town 
of, 380. Superb view from 
Capuchin convent, 382 
Leonforte, town of, 226 
Leontini, ancient, history of,38i 
Leontinus Campus, now Piana 
di Catania, 307 

Lercara de’ Freddi, town of, 
246 

Letojanni, village, 462 
Lettiga (olim lectica), local 
sedan-chair, xlv 
Licata, or Alicata (la Dilettis- 
sima), town of (olim Phin- 
tias), 3ix 

Licodia di Yizzini, town of, 374 
Light, Sir Henry, quoted, 297 
Lilybaeum, now Capo Boeo, 
site of Marsala, 181 
Linguagrossa, town of, 295 
Locust-tree (carob), xix 
Lognina, hamlet, 449 
Longanus, stream, now Castro 
Reale, 276 

Lottery, and office, at Palermo, 
70 

Louis Philippe, in retirement, 
at Milazzo, 279 
Lucata, Donna, fountain, 369 
Lungarino, hamlet, 324 
Lyell, Sir C., quoted: on gene¬ 
ral structure, x; on Grotta 
de’ Giganti, 100; on the Si¬ 
meto, 232; on the Macca- 
luba, 249; on the Pantalica 
caverns, 366; on the cones of 
Etna, 413 ; on the Val del 
Bove, 433 ; on the perennial 
ice near Casa lnglesi, 441 




















INDEX. 


519 


MACCALUBA. 


M. 

Maccaluba (mud-volcano), 249 
Macasoli, stream, 192 
Madhouse, Palermo, 105 
Madiuni, river (olim Selinus), 
174 

Madonna della Grotta, sepul¬ 
chral quarries at Marsala, 180 
—— di Trapani, 158 
Magnisi, promontory of (olim 
Thapsus), 379 
Maletto, village, 292 
Manfria, stream, 313 
Manganaro, post-house and 
locanda, 219 
Mangano, stream, 452 
Maniace, town of, 291 
Manna-ash, xix, 260 
Manufactures and commerce, 
statistics of, xxii-iv 
Marcellus, his capture of Syra¬ 
cuse, 356 

Marina (Foro Borbonico) of 
Palermo, 20 

-of Messina, 475 

Marinella di Selinunte, 174 
Marobia, la, marine pheno¬ 
menon at Mazzara, 185 
Marsala, river (olivi Sossius), 
183 

-, town of, 179. Saracenic 

origin of name, 181. Wine 
stores, 182 

Martorana, la, Palermo, legend 
of, 55 

Mauli, stream, 365 
Maurolico, the Abate, philo¬ 
sopher, monument to, 494 
Mazzara (the “Inclita”), city 
of, 183 

-, river (olim Mazarus), 185 

Mediaeval architecture and re¬ 
mains at Eandazzo, 294 
Megara Hybla?a, ancient, site 
and history of, 3 84 
Meli, Giovanni, poet, his monu¬ 
ment and epitaph, 43 
Melilli, village in honey dis¬ 
trict, 379 

Mena', now Mineo, 377 
Menfrici, or Menfri, town and 
quarries of, 84, 187 
Messina, city of, “ La Nobile” 
(olim Zancle), 465. Hotels, 
cafes, &c., 465. Steamers, 

467. Situation and approach, 

468. Climate, population, 
and commerce, 470. His¬ 
tory and antiquities, 471. 
Earthquakes, 472. Walls and 
fortifications, 473. Streets, 
474. La Marina, 475. Squares 
and fountains, 477. Churches, 
479-500. Religious festivals, 
501. Public buildings, 502. 
University, 504. Theatres, > 
palaces, and port, 506. Ex- j 


MONTE. 

cursion to the’ Faro, 507. 
Cola Pesce, tradition of, 511. 
Telegraph and Badiazza, 512 
Metopes, from Selinus, at Pa¬ 
lermo, 84; at Selinus, 175 
Mezzojuso, town of, 218 
Miehael Angelo, altarpiece 
attributed to, 63 
Milazzo, town of (olim Mylfe), 
277. Castle and view, 278 
Mili, village, 465 
Militello, town of, 377 
Mimnemum, ancient palace, 
presumed remains of, 139 
Mineo (olim Mens), town of, 
ill 

Mineralogy, general, xii 
Mines, summary of, xx ; those 
at Fiumedinisi di Sopra, 463 
Mirabella (alias Imarca), town 
of, 304 

Mirti, de’, stream, or Myrtle 
River, 217 

Misericordia, post-house, 221 
Misilmeri, town of, 216 
Missals at San Martino, 136 
Misterbianco, town of, 238 
Mistretta, town of (olim Ames- 
tratus), 268 
Modica, town of, 318 
Mojo, hamlet, 296 
Mola, Palermo, 115 
Molo, port of Girgenti, 194 

-(and fort), port of Palermo, 

ii5 

Monalus, stream, now Pdllina, 
267 

Money of Sicily, xxxix 
Mongibello (popular name of 
Etna), 411 

Monreale, excursion to, 119. 
II Duomo, 120. Saracenic 
character and Norman origin 
of, 123. Cloisters, 128. Li¬ 
brary, 130. View towards 
Palermo, 131 
Montagna del Re, 144 
Montallegro, alabaster town of, 

19? 

Monte— 

Aguzzo, or Cuccio, 137 
Artesimo, 226 
Barbaro, 146, 149 
Barrucu, 243 
Belampo, 162 
Billemi, 162 
Bonifato, 146 

Bosco, Santa Maria del, 174 
Busammara, 174, 218 
Calogero, San, 174, 190 
Cammarta, 246 
Cane, di, 255 
Cantaro, 297 
Caputo, 132 
Cardillo, 239 
Carubasso, 385 
Castrogiovanni, 298 
Catalfano, 141, 256 
Cavalli, de’, 243 


NOCITO. • 

Monte— 

Chiarastillo (range), 241 

Chiaro, 310 

Corn eta, la, 241 

Dinnamare, 509 

Eryx,146 

Etna, 411 

Falcone, W 

Forza, 462 

Gallo, 162 

Gibelmanna, 259 ’ 

Giulinano, San, 152, 9, 299- 

Guardia, della, 3x2 

Inici, 146 

Madonian (chain), 220 
Mannaro, 221, 284 
Marco, San, 174 
Micuno, 302 
Minardo, 290 
Moarta, 143 
Molladizzo, 309 
Mucini, 220 

Nebrodes (range), 259 ’ 
Pellegrino, 11, 116, 256 
Pizzuta, la, 241 
Plemmyrium, 326 
Po,239 1 
Pupalello, 302 
Quisquina, 244' 

Romani, de’, 165 
Rossi (twin cones of Etna), 
432 

Scuderi, 463, 509 1 
Stromboli, 272, 510 
Sutera, 247 
Zactiti, 163 

Monte di Pieta, at Palermo, 70 

-S. Giuliano, town of, 159 

Monti, M. A., poet and orator, 
44 

Mosaics: at Palermo, 57, 73; 
Monreale, 123 ; Patemo, 236 
Cefalu, 263 ; Messina, 484 
Moto, di, stream, 280 
Motta Sta. Anastasia, town of, 

237 

Motya, now S. Pantaleo, 178 
Mountains, principal, heights 
of, vii 

Mylae, now Milazzo, 277 

N. 

Naftia, mephitic lake or crater, 
375. Tradition of, 376 
Naro, Saracenic town of, 300 

-, stream, 309 

Naso, mediaeval town of, 271 
Naulochus, town of, 280 
Naxos, site and history of, 455 
Neapolis, ancient, 346 
Neotum, now Nota, 322 
Nicolosi, town of, 431 
Nicosia, city of, 285 
Niscemi, tow r n of, and effect of 
the earthquake of 1790, 373 
Nissoria, village, 226 
Nocito, stream (olim Facilinus), 
280 










'520 


INDEX. 


N. 0 . P. 

N. 0 . P., &c., initials distinctive 
of the Catanian churches, 394 
Noto, town of (olim Neotum), 
322 

Novelli, Pietro, violent death 
of, 40. Bust, [by Villareale, 
and epitaph, 43 

0 . 

Observatory at Palermo, 78 
Offamilio, Walter, English 
Archbishop of Palermo, 25, 
33 

Ogliastro, village, 217 
Oil-painting, earliest in Sicily, 
by Antonello da Messina, 505 
Oil, statistics of, xviii 
Olivieri, village, 276 
Olympeium, ancient temple, 
near Otygia, 559 
Onobalas, now Cantara, 455 
Orothus, now Oreto, 12 
Oreto, stream, 12, 102 
Ormonde, Marquis of, quoted, 
19, 168, 225, J02, 432 
Ortygia, island of, Syracuse, 
331 , 3 56 

Orvino, rock of, 163 
'Ovid, quoted: on Etna, xi, 413; 
Enna, 222, 302 ; Hybla, 379 ; 
Cyane, 358, 36o 

•Oxen of the Sun, traditional 
pasture of, 280 

P. 

Pace, la, village, 508 
Paceco, town of, 177 
Pachino, town of, 371 
Painteks, Sicilian: native or 
workers in the country— 
Abadessa, 395 
Anemolo (or Romano), 
Vincenzo, 42, 43, 48, 55, 
58, 62, 88, 89, 293, 49 2 
Anna, Stefano Santo d’, 
491 

-, Vito d’, 39. 5 °, 59 . 

63, 264, 377 

Antonello da Messina, 42, 
89, 487, 489, 495, 500, 
504, 50;- 

Antoniello di Palermo, 49 
Antonio, d’, Salvo, 485 
Aquila, d’, Pietro, 49, 62,64 
Arso, d’, Tommaso, 496 
. Assaro, Giuseppe, 44 
Asturino, Gerardo, 46 
Barbalonga, 303, 486, 491, 
495 . 50 ° 

Barbera,la,Vincenzo, 253-4 
Blasco, Michael, 188 
Borromans, William, 45, 
60, 64, 223, 286, 299, 395 
Bova, Antonio, 48, 481, 
486, 487 

Bramero, Paolo, 89 
Calamech, Andrea, 483, 489 


PAINTERS. 

Painters, Sicilian: native, or 
workers in the country— 
Campolo, Placido, 397, 487 
Camarda, Gasparo, 497 
Camulio, Bartolommeo, 89 
Caravaggio, Michelangelo, 

52, 68, 3 77 . 49 r > 512 

-, Polidoro, 490, 495 

Cardillo, the elder, 499 

-, Domenico, 488 

Carreca, Andrea, 41, 51, 55, 

247, 299 

Castelli, Bernardo, 50 
Catalano, the elder, 492 
Celi, Placido, 498 
Comande, Francesco, 497 
Conca, Cavaliere, 51 

-, Sebastian, 61 

Cordillo, the elder, 499 
Crescenzio, Antonio, 80,89, 
101 

Crestadoro, Giuseppe, 493 
Desaliba, Antonello, 278, 
574 

Errante, Giuseppe, 90, 395 
Feliciano, Padre, 512 
Filocamo, Antonio and 
Paolo, 39. 49 i 
Forte, lo, Salvatore, 61,491 
Fulco, Giovanni, 489 
Gabriello, Onofrio, 293, 
2 94 . 495 

Gauci, di, Zoppo (Giuseppe 
Salerno), 38, 58, 59, 62, 
244, 285, 402 

Giordano, Luca, 45, 50, 90 

-, Stefano, 486 

Girgenti, Paolino, 89 
Grano, Antonio, 37, 62, 64 
Guinaccia, Deodato, 496, 
500 

Manno, Antonio, 51, 61 
Maroli, Domenico, 499 
Martorano, Gioacchino, 36 
Menniti, Mario, 490, 492, 
499 . 504 

Mittica, Salvatore, 497 
Monocolo, 253 
Monosiiio, Salvador, 486 
Muziani, 68 
Napoli, di, Cesare, 500 
Novelli, Pietro (II Mon- 
realese), 16, 29, 35, 36, 
38, 40, 42, 45, 46, 48, 51, 

53 , 60, 61, 62, 80, 88, 89, 
112, 129, 133-6, 226, 241, 
283, 317. ?97 

-, Rosalia, 38, 41, 42, 

65, 64, 89, 135, 247, 264 
Paladino, Filippo, 42, 50, 
61, 135, 223, 307, 311, 
J 74 . 177 . 595 

-, Giuseppe, 489, 496 

Palma, Jacopo, the elder, 
50 

Patania, Giuseppe, 35, 62, 
285 

Quagliata, Giambattista, 
485, 489, 490, 491 


PALERMO. 

Painters, Sicilian: native, or 
workers in the country— 
Randazzo, Filippo, 37, 39, 
286 

Rapisarda, Giuseppe, 395. 
401 

Ribera, 68, 90, 136, 244 
Riccio, Antonello, 465, r 495 
Riolo, Vincenzo, 61 
Rodriguez, Alfonso, 485, 

487, 490, 492, 493, 4<fi. 

497 . 504 . 505 

-, Bernardo, 88 

Rossi, Mariano, 30, 188, 
397 

Saliba, Antoneilus Misse- 
nius, 402 

Schidone, Bartolommeo, 49 3 
Scilla Agostino, 494, 496, 
500, 505 

Serenario, Gaspare, 37, 402 
Simone, Giovanni, 487 
Sozzi, Francesco, 39, 401 

-, Olivio, 54, 62, 304, 

400 

Stommer, Matthew, 247, 
264 

Subba, Letterio, 481, 496 
Suppa, Andrea, 487, 489 
Tancredi, Filippo, 49, 51, 
401, 489, 492, 493 
Tuccari, Giovanni, 395, 

488, 490 

Vaccaro, Francesco, 305 
Vallone, 105 
Vandyck, 40, 44, 63 
Vasta, Pietro Paulo, 400 
Velasquez, Giuseppe, 29, 
41, 49, 51, 78, 129, 134, 
247, 285, 286, 294 
Velletri, Daniele di, 68 
Veneziani, Cavaliere, 395 
Verde, lo, Giacomo, 38, 40, 
45, 61, 64, 105, 242, 253 
Vigilia, Tommaso, 64, 89, 
90, 28 3 

Vigneri, Jacopo, 503 
Palagonia, town of, 376 

-, villa, Bugaria, 141 

Palazzo Adriano, town of, 243 
Palazzolo, town of (olim Acne), 
362 

Palermo, city of (olim Panor- 
mus), 1. Hotels, Trinacria, 
&c„ 2. Bankers, Consuls, 
Physicians, &c„ 4. Steamers, 
&c., 7. Post-office, 7. Va¬ 
lets and Guides, 8. Climate, 
9. Situation, 11. History 
and antiquities, 13. Chrono¬ 
logy of churches, &c., 14, 
Walls, fortress, and gates, 15. 
Streets, and their aspect, 17. 
Population and district divi¬ 
sion into Rioni, 19. List of 
squares, churches, &c., 20. 
Marina, 20. Piazze (or 
squares), 21. Churches, 25- 
66, Public Buildings, 66-92. 












INDEX. 


521 


PALERMO. 

Private Palaces, 92. Thea¬ 
tres, 95. Festival of Santa 
ltosalia, 95. Environs, 97- 
114. The Port, 114. Monte 
Pellegrino, 116. Excursion 
to Monreale, 119-31 ; to S. 
Martino, 131-6; to Baida, 
137-9; to Segeste, 139; to 
Bagaria and Solunto, 140 
Palermo to Trapani, route, 143 

-to Alcamo, route, 162 

-to Selinus, route, 165 

-to Catania, route, 216 

■ -to Sciacca, route, 239 

-to Girgenti, route, 243 

-to Messina, route, 250 

-to Giardini, route, 289 

Palma, town of, 310 
Pancucci, Michele, cicerone at 

Girgenti, 19; 

Panormus, now Palermo, 13 
Pantacia, ancient stream, le¬ 
gend of, 386 

Pantalica, or Rock City: pro¬ 
perly a necropolis, 365 
Pantano, il, salt-fen, 387 
Pantini, salt-lakes near Mes¬ 
sina, 508 

Papal authority not recognised 
in Sicily, 125 

Papyrus, on the banks of Cyane, 
159 

Parco, town of, 240 
Parthenicum, rains of, 144 
Parvin, M. Bienvenu, Superin¬ 
tendent of Albergo de’ Poveri, 
106 

Patella, or Abbatelli, Francesco, 
Knight of Palermo, and ex¬ 
ceptionally demonstrative 
husband, 93 

Patemo, town of ('olim Hybla 
Major), 23; 

Patti (La Magnanima), city 
of, 273 

■ -, di, stream, 274 

Pesce Spada (sword-fish), pur¬ 
suit of, at Messina, 511 
Petralia, di, river (olim Hi- 
mera Meridionalis), 221 

- Soprana, town of (olim 

Petrsea), 283 

-to Bronte, route, 284 

Petroleum, ancient well of, at 
Agrigentum, 213 
Pettineo, di, stream (olim Hale- 
sus), 268 

Phalaris, “ brazen bull ” of, 311 
Phalarium, site of, now Monte 
della Guardia, 312 
Philoxenus, poet of Cythera, 
confined in the Latomia of 
Syracuse, 353 
Phintias, now Licata, 311 
l’iana E de' Greci, town of, pre¬ 
serving ancient costume and 
customs cf the Albanians, 240 
Piazza (la Deliziosa), city of, 
3°3 


rORCAUI. 

Piazza Pretoria, and fountain, 
Palermo, 22 

Piedimonte, town of, 295 ; view 
from, 296 

Pietraperzia, town and castle 
of, 306 

Piraino, di.town and river of,272 
Pisani, Baron Pietro, philan¬ 
thropist and reformer, 105 
Piscina, ancient fish-pond, of 
Agrigentum, 212 
Pizzuta, la, height and monu¬ 
ment near Note, 323 
Placido, Don, of “the Crown,’’ 
Catania, 387 

Platani, stream (olim Halycus), 
192 

Plemmyrium, peninsula of, 358 
Politi, Don Raffaello, local 
antiquary, of Girgenti, 19; 

-, Salvatore, his nephew, 

cicerone, of Syracuse, 327 
Political Divisions and Popula¬ 
tion, xiv 

Polizzi, town of, birthplace of 
Caruso, 282 

Pollina, castle and village of 
(olim Apollonia), 267 

-, stream (olim Monalus), 

267 

Pomve (ancient gateway's)— 
Agata, Santa, Palermo, 16 
Boccetta, Messina, 473 
Ciaera, or Zaera, Messina, 
473 

Canali, di, or Pescaria, Ca¬ 
tania, 391 

Castro, di, Palermo, 15 
Decima, della, or Siracusa, 
Catania, 391 
Felice, Palermo, 15 
Ferdinanda, or Fortino, Ca¬ 
tania, 391 

Ferro, di, Catania, 391 
Fortino Yecchio, del, Ca¬ 
tania, 391 

Garibaldi, Messina, 473 
Giorgio, San, Palermo, 49 
Giudecca, Cefalu, 261 
Greci, de’, Palermo, 16 
Imperiale, Messina, 47 3 
Legua, Messina, 473 
Montalto, Palermo, 16 
Nuova, Palermo, 16 

-, Mfessina, 473 

Reale, Cefalu, 261 

-, Messina, 47 3 

Spada, Monte S. Giuliano 
(olim Eiyx), 161.1 
Termini, di (or Garibaldi), 
Palermo, 17 

Trapani, di, Monte S. Giu¬ 
liano, 161 

Uzada, di, or Reale, Cata¬ 
nia, 391 

Yega, di, or Saracena, 
Catania, 391 

Porcari, stream (olim Panta¬ 
cia), 386 


ROGER. 

Porta Voce (or focus of sound) 
in Girgenti Cathedral, 197 
Porticello, village, 142 
Porto Maggiore, ancient port of 
Syracuse, 357 

-, Palo, village and harbour,. 

T , 371 

Portus Odysseae, ancient, site of, 
370 

Pottery, ancient, 68 
Power, quoted, 318 
Pozzallo, town of, 370 
Pozzo di Gotto, town of, 276 

-degli Martiri, hollow near 

Melilli, 379 

Pretoria, Piazza, Palermo, 22 
Prima series, &e. (ancient title 
of Palermo), 28 

Printing, early, at Monreale, 
130 

Procida, John of, traditionally 
associated with Trapani, 157 
Professa, Casa (Jesuit church),, 
at Palermo, 37, 

Q. 

Quarries: at Menfrici, 84 
Campobello, 167; at Syra¬ 
cuse, 331, 42 

Quatrefages, A. de, quoted: 2, 
96, 116, 148, 278, 279, 389, 
440 

R. 

Racalmuto, town of, 298 
Ragusa, or Mauli, river (olim 
Herminium), 318 

-, Salvator (of “ the Trina- 

cria ”), model landlord, 3 

-, town of ( olim Hybla 

Minor), 317 

Railway from Palermo to Ba¬ 
garia, 6 

Rams, Greek bronze, 78 
Randazzo, town, history, and 
mediaeval character of, 292 

-to Giardini, route, 296 

Raphael, a Presepio attributed 
to, 61 

Reale, Palazzo, Palermo, story 
of, 70 

Regalbuto, town of, 229 
Reitano, stream, 268 
Resuttana, town of, 220 
Rezzonico, quoted, 42, 133 
Ribera, town of, 192 
Riposto, town of, 452 
Roads and conveyances, xliii 
Rocca— 

Cidvole, di, 249 
Cusa, di, 168 
Entella, d’, 245 
Guelfonia, 473 
Samo, di, 286 
Roccalumera, village, 463 
Roccella, village, 259 
Roger (and Robert) de Haute- 


















522 


INDEX. 


ROGER. 


SCULPTORS. 


SILK. 


ville, founders of the Norman 
dynasty, 13 

Roger, King, extant edifices of, 
14. Crowned in the Santa 
Maria Incoronata at Palermo, 
in 1140, 34 

Romano, Don Baldassdre, local 
antiquary of Termini, 254 
Rosa, Marina, river, 270 
Rosolini, town of, 321 
Routes, various (27), v 
Ruggedness, the distinctive 
feature of Sicily, 225 

s. 

Saffron (Zaffarana), cultivation 
and export of, xx 
Saint Paul, tradition of, at 
Syracuse, 343 
Salica, stream, 276 
Sala di Partenico, town of, 144 
Salemi (olim Halycia), town 
of, 166 

Salito, stream, 220 
Salso, river, 232, 3 01 
Salt, statistics of, xxi 
Sambuca, town of, 245 
San Alfio, village, 453 

-Benedetto, stream, 226 

-Biagio, stream (olim Acra-: 

gas), 309 

-Cataldo, town of, 298 

-Domenico, church, Pa¬ 
lermo, 41 

-Filippo d’Argiro, site of 

Agyrium, 227 

-Fratello, town of, 269 

-Leonardo, stream, 219, 387 

-Marco, town of, 270 

-Martino, monastery of, 132 

-— Michele di Campo Grosso, 
stream, 250 

-- Pantaleo, islet (olim Mo- 

tya), 178 

-Pietro, stream (ohm Halv- 

cus), 247 

-Salvadore de’ Greci, con¬ 
vent near Messina, 507 
Santa Agata, legend of, 400 

-Agata, village, 270, 508 

-Agata di Militello, town 

of, 270 

-Caterina, church, Palermo, 

19 

-Caterina, town of, 220 

■-Cristina, village, 241 

-Croce, town of, 368 

-Flavia, village, 141 

--Lucia, stream, 277 

--Maria Catena, Palermo, 

legend of, 54 

--Maria della Valle, or della 

Scala, Norman Abbey near 
Messina, 513 

-Maria di Gesu, Palermo, 

101 

— Maria di Licodia, village, 
with ancient reservoir, 234 


Santa Rosalia, festival of, 95. 
Her Hermitage and) legend, 

117. Statue by Tedeschi, 

118. Statue above the Her¬ 
mitage, and view, 119 

-Teresa, stream and village, 

463 

Santo Stefano, hamlet, 465 
Santoni, i, sepulchral remains 
at Acra, 363 
Saponara, stream, 280 
Sarcophagi: at Palermo, 28, 
29, 33, 83; Monreale, 127 ; 
Girgenti, 197 ; Patti, 273; j 
Acra, 363 ; Catania, 404 
Savoca, town of, 463 
Scale tta, village and custom¬ 
house, 464 

Scamander, ancient, now Gag- 
gera, 148 

Sciacca, town of, 187. Casi di 
(incidents of its history), 189 
Scicli, town and stream of, 369 
Scirocco, and other winds pre¬ 
vailing at different seasons, 10 
Sclafani, village, 282 
Scogli de’ Ciclopi (olim Scopuli 
Cyclopum), lava rocks, 449 
Scoglio del Mai Consiglio, 157 
Scoglitti, small port, 367 
Scordia, town of, 377 
Sculptors and Architects, 
Sicilian: native, or workers 
in the country— 

Amato, Antonio, 482 
Anello, Antonio, 24, 25 
Bonanno da Pisa, 122, 478- 
9 . 483 , 487 
Bramante, 16 
Brugnani, Ignazio, 478 
Buceti, Ignazio, 478, 482, 
49 1 

Camilliani, Francesco, 23 
Duca, del, Jacopo, 483, 485 
Firrera, Giovanni, 127 
Fuga, Ferdinando (a dis- 
figurer), 25, 26 
Gagini, Antonio, 30, 31, 33, 
43 , 37 . 48 , 49 * 6 5 . H8, 
244, 282, 285, 305, 374. 
402, 482, 483 

-, Domenico, 64, 282 

-, Fazio, 282 

-, Vincenzo, 54, 282, 294 

Gambara, Antonio, 27 
Guarino, 488 
Guerci, Gaspare, 25 
Gulli, Simone, 475 
Lambertini, Acanio, 493 
Lasso, Giulio, 21 
Livolsi, Giambattista, 285 
Mangani, Itmocenzio, 489 
Marabitti, Ignazio, 34, 47, 
49, 61, 65, 97, 114, 132, 
285, 482 

Marino, Giovanni Battista, 
478 

Martino, 478, 482, 483 
Marvuglia, 60 


Sculptors and Architects, 
Sicilian: native, or workers 
in the country— 

Matina, la, Nunzio, 22 
Mattone, Antonino, 60 
Mazzola, Domenico, 394, 
396 

Mazzolo, Giovanni, 479 
MiLanti, Giuseppe, 63 
Montorsoli, Giovanni An¬ 
gelo, 476, 482 
Musarra, Giuliano, 158 
Novelli, Pietro (II Mou- 
realese), 16, 60, 278 
Palazzotto, Emmanuele, 69 
Palma, Nicola, 97, 106 
Pampillonia, 127 ^ 

Pennino, Filippo, 31, 51 

-, Leonardo, 244, 264 

Pintorno, Fra Umile, 285, 
294, 402! 

Ragusa, Giambattista, 25 
Ricca, Michael, 196 
Scudamiglio, Annibale, 158 
Sergotta, 23, 34 . 37 . 45. 5L 
, 65, 483 

Siracusa, Federico, 51, 196, 
264 

-, Santi, 488 

Smiriglio, Mariano, 37 
Sozzi, Olivio, 54 
Tardi, Antonio, 486 
Tartaglia, Giacomo, 155 
Tedeschi, Gregorio (of Flo¬ 
rence), 22, 118, 482 
Trani, di, Barisano, 121 
Travaglia, Giovanni, 24,25 
Vaccarini, Giambattista, 
394 

Vagberino, Angelo, 23 
Villamaci, Luca, 482 
Villareale, Valerio, 30, 43, 
no, 396 
Sculpture, ancient: at Palermo, 

I 82 ; Catania, 405 ; Messina, 

! 505 

| Scylla, rock of, 509 
Seasons for travelling, l 
S edotti, Gaetano, cicerone to 
Tyndaris, 274 

Segeste, unfinished temple of, 
and view from, 149. Theatre, 
150. History of, 151 
j Selinus, now Selinunte, ruins 
1 of, 168. Their antiquity, 171. 
Origin and siege of the city, 
172. Virgil’s epithet, pal- 
mosa, still illustrated, 173 
Serradifalco, Duke of, quoted, 
170. 276 

-, town of, 298 

Serravalle, village and river, 

| 268 

Sferracavallo,' fishing-village, 
162 

Siculiana, town of, 193 
Siculo-Norman style, xxviii 
Silk-district, Piano di Naso, 
i 271; Gazzi, 465 


























INDEX, 


523 


SILK. 

Silk (retail), at Albergo de’ 
Poveri, 106 

-worm, cultivation of, 465 

Silver chest of relics of Santa 
Rosalia, 30 

Simeto, or Giarretta river (olim 
Symiethus), 232, 308 
Smyth, quoted, 18, 320 
Socrates’ hemlock - cup (re¬ 
puted), 135 

Solunto (olim Soloes and So- 
lentum), remains of, 142 
Sortino, town of, 366 
.Sossius, now Marsala, river, 183 
Spaccaforno, town of, 320 
Spadafora, town of, 280 
Sperlinga, village, 285 
Springs, hot: at Ga'ggera (Aquae 
Segestame), 148 ; at Sciacca, 

190 ; at Termini, 254 a 
Stafenna, stream, 321 
Steamers to Sicily, xli 
Strada, la, hamlet and stone- 

pine, 454 

Straits of Messina, 281, 469 
Stufe (vapour-baths) of Sciacca, 

191 

Sugar-cane, the only plantation 
of, at Avola, 324 
Sulphur, statistics of, xx. 
Mines at Montalta and Cotte 
Rotondo, 193; Monte Mar- 
maro, 221; Lercara, 246 ; 
Comitini, 248; Caltanisetta, 
298 ; Gesii Longo, 301; Er- 
baspina, 307 

Symaethus, now Giarretta, 307 
Syracuse, town of, 325. Dain¬ 
ties in fish, honey, fruits, 
and wines, 325. Ancient 
grandeur and renown, 326. 
Distaff still used, 326. Sal¬ 
vatore Politi, cicerone ; Al- 
losco, vetturino; and Storace, 
muleteer, 327. Temple of 
Minerva, site and history of, 
328. Temple of Diana, 330. 
Fountain (and legend) of 
Arethusa, 330. Baths and 
other remains, 331. Museo, 
332. Fortifications and Gas¬ 
tello di Maniace,334.Churches 
and Palazzi, 335. Historic 
summary, 336. Siege by the 
Athenians (415 b.c.), 337 - 
Cicero’s description of ancient 
Syracuse, 339. Acradina, 340. 
Santa Lucia, 341. Latomia 
de* Cappuccini, 342. Crypt 
of S. Marziatio, 343- Le Cata- 
combe, 344. Walls and caves, 
345. Neapolis, 346. Amphi¬ 
theatre and vast altar (Ara), 
347. Latomia and Orechio 
di Dionisio, 348. Teatro 
Greco, 349. Ninfeo, and other 
remains, 350. Epipolae, walls 
and] fortifications of, 351. 
Aqueducts, Latomia, and Fort 


THAPSUS, 

Euryalus, 353. Belvedere, 
view from, 355. Tyche, 355. 
Ortygia (island of), and Porto 
Piccolo, 356. Porto Maggiore, 
357 * Plemmyrium (Isola), 
158 

Syracuse to Catania, routes, 378, 
384 

T. 

Taormina, town of, 459 
Tauromenium, ancient, theatre, 
Naumachia, and other re¬ 
mains of, 456-9. History of, 
and view from, 460 
Tea, an essential of Sicilian 
travel, L 

Tellaro, or Abisso, stream (olim 
“clamosus Helorus”), 321, 
37i 

Temples, ancient, of— 

JEsculapius, Agrigentum, 
215 

Castor and Pollux, Agri¬ 
gentum, 21 x 

Ceres and Proserpine, Agri¬ 
gentum, 203 

Ceres and Proserpine, Cas- 
trogiovanni(sites of), 224 
Concord, Agrigentum, 206 
Diana, Syracuse, 330 
Empedocles (presumed 
Hieron of), Selinus, 169 
Hercules, Agrigentum, 207 
JunoLacinia, Agrigentum, 
204 

Jupiter Olympius, Agri¬ 
gentum, 209 

Jupiter Olympius, Selinus, 
176. 

Jupiter Olympius, near 
Syracuse, 359 
Jupiter Poleius, Girgenti, 
198 

Minerva, Syracuse, 328 
Segeste, at, unfinished, and 
dedication unknown, 149 
Selinus, at, five, dedication 
unknown, 169-76 
Yenus, at Monte S. Giu- 
liano, site of, 160 
Yulcan, Agrigentum, 212 
Termini (La Splendidissima). 
city of, 251. Derivation from 
Thermx . Uimerenses, 253. 
Remains of Thermae, 254 

-to Calascibetta, route, 281 

-, river, 251. . Alias, degli 

Aranci, 276 

Terra-cotta, specimens of, 68, 
9i 

Terranova, town and history 

of, 313-15 

-to Syracuse, routes, 360, 

364, 367, 372 

-, di, stream (olim Gela), 

H 5 

Thapsus, now Magnesi, 379 " 


UGO. 

Theatres, ancient— 

Acrae, 363 
Catania, 407 
Greco (Syracuse), 349 
Segeste, 150 
Taormina, 456 
Tyndaris, 275 

Theron, reputed tomb of, at 
Agrigentum, 214 
J Tidal caprices on the coast at 
Mazzara, 185 

Timoleon, his victory on the 
Crimisus, 147 

Timpe del Tocco, lava preci¬ 
pice at Aci Reale, 451 
Tindari, Scala di, view from, 
274 

i Toledo, Palermo, 17 
Tombs of the kings, Palermo, 
28; Monreale, 127 
Tonnara di Marzamemi, exten¬ 
sive fishery, 371 
Topography, general, vii 
Toretta, town of, 162 
Torre delle Mandre, beacon- 
tower on Capo Rosso, view 
from, 251 

-Saracena, 165 

-Scipi, martello tower, 251 

-Yerdura, di, ruined tower, 

191 

Torres, Antonio, meritorious 
landlord and cook, of Syra¬ 
cuse, 325 

Torto, river, 256, 281 
Tour (or Giro) of the Island, 
xlvi 

Tours, various, lii-vi 
Trabia, town of, 251 
Trapani (olim Drepanum), 
city of, 153 

—— to Castelvetrano, route, 
177 

Travelling, modes of, xliii; re¬ 
quisites for, xlix 
Tremisteri, village and stream, 
465 

Trezza, village and fort, of lava, 
449 

Trinacria, ancient name of 
Sicily, from her three capes 
(rpets aKpai) and triangular 
form, vi 

-(hotel), merits of, 2 

Triocala, ancient, site of, 244 
Troglodytes, conjectured abodes 
of, 320, 365 
Troina, town of, 286 
Tunny fishery, xxi 
Tusa, town of, 267 
Tyche, ancient, 355' 

Tyndaris ancient histoiy and 
remains of, 274 

TJ. 

Ugo Faleando, old chronicler, 
on the magnificence of the 
Palazzo lleale, Palermo, 71 




















524 


INDEX. 


VAL. 


V. 

Val del Bove, 433 

-di N#to, 361 

Valguarnera, Villa, Bagaria, 
141 

Yallelunga, town of, with good 
locanda, 220 

Vases, ancient, xxvi, 68, 91, 
4 °5 

Venus, the SLandolina, in the 
Museo of Syracuse, 332 
Verdura, streamlet (olim Isbu- 
rus), 191 

Verres, licence and rapacity of, 
208, 222, 276, 346 
Vespers, Sicilian (a.d. 1282), 
story of, from Amari, 103 
Vetturini, general honesty of, 
xlv 


LONDON : PRINTED 


V1ZZINI. 

Vicari, town of, 219 
Vidamarzo, village, 464 
Villafrate, town of, 218 
Villarosa, town of, 221 
Villa Scabbrosa, Catania, 411 
Villasmundo, hamlet, 380 
Vino di Capriata, to be asked 
for at Castelvetrano, 167 
Virgil, quoted: on husbandry, 
xvi; approach to Trapani, 
152; scene of funereal ho¬ 
nours to Anchises, 159; 
Acragas, 310 ; honey of Hy- 
bla, 379 ; Etna, 413, 415, 445 - 
6; junction of Sicily to main- 
" land assumed, 510 
Virgin’s Letter, the, tradition 
of, 484 

Vita, town of, 166 
Vittoria, town of, 316 
Vizzini, town of, 374 


ZIZA. 


W. 

Weights and measures, xli 

Wine, statistics of, xvii. Esta¬ 
blishments at Marsala, 182. 

X. 

Xitta, la, S. Lorenzo, hamlet, 
177 

z. 

Zancle, ancient, mow Messina, 
471 

Zappulla, river, 271 

Zia Paola, village, with good 
inn,463 

Ziza, la, Saracenic tower near 
Palermo, no 


1 


THE END. 


BY IV. CLOM'ES AND SONS, STAMEORD STREET, 
AND CHARING CROSS. 









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Tke nvmibers affixed to the names cd' }Jaces 
the routes in the Handbook in which they ai*e 


■**#»**. PoSSe 

f f il L . ,.1vf A 


for the Handbook 


i 


l 






































































































































































MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER, 

1863 . 


Thk great advantage of this medium of Advertising for those who are desirous of com¬ 
municating information to Travellers can scarcely be questioned, as it enables Steam, 
Railway, and other Public Companies, Landlords of Inns, Tradesmen, and others, to bring 
under the immediate notice of the great mass of English and American Tourists who 
resort to France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Portugal, Sweden, 
Norway, Denmark, Russia, the East, and other parts of the world every Season, in the 
most direct way, the various merits of their Railways, Steamers, Hotels, Taverns, Articles 
of Merchandise, Works of Art, and such other information as they may desire to make 
known. 

Annual Circulation, 15,000. 

Advertisements must be paid in advance and sent to the Publisher’s before May. 

The Charges are—A Page, 4i. Half-page, 21. 2s. A Column, ’ll. 2s. Haifa Column, 1 1. 2s. 


INDEX TO ADVERTISEMENTS. 


GERMANY. Page 

Bonn.— Golden Star Hotel.31 

Cologne. —Farina’s Eau de Cologne .. . 9 

Frankfort. —Taccbi’s Glass Warehouse. 8 

Roman Emperor Hotel.12 

Bohler’s Manufactory of Staghorn . 14, 15 
Munich. —Wimmer's Magazine ... 7 

Four Seasons Hotel.30 

Prague and Vienna.— Hofmann’s Glass 

Manufactory.10 

Vienna. —Lobmeyr’s Glass Manufactory 11 

Neulioefer, Optician.19 

Wildbad.— Hotel Klumpp.47 

FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, ITALY, & 
BELGIUM. 

Bagneres. —Hotel de France .... 33 
Brienz.— Grossmann’s Wood Sculpture . 6 


Brussels.—C arter’s Hotel.44 

Chamonix. — Hotels de Londres and 

d’Angleterre.50 

Cormayeuk—H otel Royal.33 

Florence.—B iancliini's Mosaic ... 6 

Costa and Conti, Artists.10 

Mannaioni’s Marble Works . . . .11 

Bacciotti’s Picture-rooms.11 

Betti's Mosaic.12 

Grossi, Furrier.12 

Roberts, Perfumer.24 

Geneva.—B aker, Chemist.37 

Berguer, Watchmaker *..... 40 

Hotels on the Voirons.40 

Hotel des Bergues.46 

Hotel de l’Ecu.47 

Interlachen.—HG tel Interlachen . . 41 

Lausanne.—H otel Gibbon.47 

(Near).—Hotel Beau Rivage . ... 43 

Leghorn.—M icali’s Marble Works . .10 

Lisieux.— Hotel de France.27 

Lyons.—G rand Hotel de Lyon ... 46 
Mayence.—H otel d’Angleterre ... 36 

Naples.—H oiel Crocelli.28 

Neuchatel.—H otel de Belle Ville . . 41 

Nice.—H ow’s HOtel de l’Univers ... 7 

Pensions Anglaises.27 

Paris.—E nglish Bank.28 

Hotel Chatham.36 

Hotel des Etrangers.44 

Kirkland and Co., Literary Agents . . 44 

Pisa.—H uguet and Van Lint, Sculptors . 6 

Rome.—S hea, House Agent .... 13 
Rouen.—H otel d’Angleterre .... 44 

May , 1863. 


Page 

Strasbourg.—H otel d’Angleterre. . . 44 

Toulon.—H otel de la Croix d’Or ... 42 

Tours.—H otel du Faisan.42 

Vichy.—H otel de l’Univers .... 42 

Zurich.—K erez, Chemist.lo 

HOLLAND. 

Rotterdam.—D utch Rhenish Railway . 25 

Kramers, Bookseller.26 

ENGLAND. 

Athenamm.19 

Black’s Guides.49 

Books of Excursions.36 

Books for Travellers.45 

Brown and Poison’s Patent Flour . , .23 

Burrow’s Malvern Glasses.28 

Carter, Bootmaker.41 

Cary’s Telescope.7 

Chubb’s Locks and Safes.18 

Continental Express Agency .... 20 
Epps, Homoeopathic Chemist . . . .26 

Foreign Books.33 

Galignani’s Paris Guide.26 

Handbook for London ...... 10 

Handbook of Travel-Talk.37 

Heal s Bedsteads.29 

Hugo’s Medical Atoms.51 

Lee and Carter’s Guide Depdt . . . .52 

Letts’ Maps for Tourists.26 

Locock’s Pulmonic Wafers.51 

London and Westminster Bank ... 22 
McCracken—Custom House Agents . . 2-5 

Measom’s Railway Guide-Books . . 38, 39 

Mechi’s Dressing-cases, &c.22 

Mudie’s Library.19 

North British insurance.21 

Olivier and Carr—General Agents . 16, 17 

Parr’s Life Pills.37 

Passport Agency Office—Adams’s . . 20 

Passport Agency—Dorrell and Son’s . . 51 

Passport Agency—Letts’.28 

Pelican Life Insurance.22 

Phillipps and Co., Shipping Agents. . . 24 

Portmanteaus—Southgate’s .... 48 

Rowland’s Perfumery.27 

South-Eastern Railway.32 

South-Western Railway.50 

Spiers’ Ornamental Manufactures ... 26 

Swiss Couriers’ Society.44 

Thomson’s Crinolines.27 

Thresher’s Essentials for Travelling . .22 

Works of the Season.34, 35 


B 

















































2 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


Mav, 


NEW BRITISH TARIFF, 1863. 


London, May 1,1363. 

MESSRS. J. & R. M C CRACKEN, 

LATE OF 7, OLD JEWRY, LONDON, 

AGENTS, BY APPOINTMENT, TO THE ROYAL ACADEMY, NATIONAL GALLERY, 
AND GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND ART, 

GENERAL AND FOREIGN AGENTS AND WINE MERCHANTS, 

AND 

AGENTS GENERALLY FOE THE RECEPTION AND SHIPMENT OF WORKS OF 

ART, BAGGAGE, &C., 

FROM AND TO ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD, 

Avail themselves of this opportunity to return their sincere thanks to the 
Nobility and Gentry for the patronage hitherto conferred on them, and to inform 
them that in consequence of the demolition of the above premises, which they 
have occupied for more than thirty years, they have REMOVED to larger and 
more commodious premises, at 

38, QUEEN STREET, CANNON STREET WEST, E.C., 

Where they hope to be honoured with a continuance of the favour which has been 
hitherto accorded to them. Their charges are framed with a due regard to 
economy, and the same care and attention will be bestowed as heretofore upon all 
packages passing through their hands. 


J. and R. McC. have the advantage of 

o 

DRY AND SPACIOUS WAREHOUSES, 

Where Works of Art and all descriptions of Property can he kept during the 
Owners’ absence, at most moderate rates of rent. 


Parties favouring J. and R. McC. with their Consignments are requested to he 
particular in having the Bills of Lading sent to them direct by Post, and also to 
forward their Keys with the Packages, as, although the contents may he free of 
Duty, all Packages are still examined by the Customs immediately on arrival. 
Packages sent by Steamers or otherwise to Southampton and Liverpool also attended 
to; but all Letters of Advice and Bills of Lading to be addressed to 33, Queen 
Street. 





1863. 


r> 

O 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 

MESSRS. J. AND R. MCCRACKEN 

ARE THE APPOINTED AGENTS IN ENGLAND OF MR. J. M. FARINA, 

GEGENUBEP. DEM JULICHS Pl.ATZ, COLOGNE, 

FOR HIS 

CELEBRATED EAU DE COLOGNE; 

A I. SO TO 

Messrs. BOUVIER FRERES, of Neuchatel, for their 

SWISS CHAMPAGNE, 

Which obtained a Prize Medal at the Exhibition of 1862; and to 
The Baron RICASOLI, for his 

BROLIO WINE. 

This fine Wine (much resembling Claret, but of fuller body) also obtained a Prize 

Medal at the Exhibition of 1862. 


LIST OF DUTIES. 


All kinds of Merchandise, Works of Art, Antiquities, Curiosities, &c., are now 
admitted into England FREE OF DUTY, except the following (and a few others 
not of sufficient interest to enumerate here), which are still liable to Duty, viz.:— 






£ 

s. 

d. 

Arquebusade Water 

• • 

• 

the gallon 

0 

14 

0 

Cigars and Tobacco, manufactured (3 lbs. 

only allowed in 

a 





passenger’s baggage) 

• • 


the lb. 

0 

5 

0 

Tobacco, unmanufactured (with 5 per cent. 

additional) 


ditto 

0 

3 

0 

Coffee .... 

• • 


ditto 

0 

0 

3 

Confectionery (Sweetmeats and Succades) 

• • 


ditto 

0 

0 

2 

Cordials and Liqueurs 

\ 

• • 


the gallon 

0 

14 

o 

Eau de Cologne, in long flasks 

• • 


each 

0 

0 

G 

-- in other bottles 

• • 


the gallon 

0 

14 

0 

Maccaroni and Vermicelli . 

• • 


the exot. 

0 

0 


Perfumed Spirits . 

• • 


the gallon 

0 

14 

0 

Plate, of Gold 

• • 

the oz. troy 

0 

17 

0 

-of Silver 

• • 


ditto 

0 

1 

6 

Tea . . . . 

• • 


the lb. 

0 

1 

0 

Wines in Cask, under 20° of strength 

• • 


the gallon 

0 

1 

0 

„ above 26° and under 42° of strength 


ditto 

0 

2 

G 

„ ,, 42°, for every degree of alcoholic stren 

gth ditto 

0 

0 

o 

O 

-in Bottle (6 bottles to the gallon) 

• • 


ditto 

0 

o 

G 

Spirits in Cask and in Bottle • 

• • 


ditto 

0 

8 

6 


Spirits in Casks must contain not less than 21 gallons. 


B 












4 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER, 


May, 


ANTWERP 


MESSRS. J. AND R. MCCRACKEN’S 

PRINCIPAL CORRESPONDENTS ARE AT 

ALEXANDRIA. Messrs. Briggs & Co. Mr. E. St. J. Fairman. 

ALICANTE. Messrs. Jasper White & Co. 

ANCONA . Messrs. Moore, Morellet, & Co. 

f Messrs. F. Mack & Co. 

\ Mr. P. Van Zeebroeck, Picture Dealer, &c.. Rue des Recollets, 2076. 
ATHENS, PIRJ3US Mr. J. J. Bucherer. 

BADEN BADEN ... Messrs. Stuffer & Binder. Mr. F. Pelikan’s Successor. 

BAD EMS. Mr. H. W. Thiel. Messrs. Becker & Jung. 

BAGNERES DE BI-, 

GORRE (Hautes > Mr. Leon Geruzet, Marble Works 
Pyrenees).I 

ti a st Tf I Messrs. Jean Preiswerk & Fils. Mr. Jean Thommen, Fils. 

■BAbLiii. \ Messrs. Liechtenhan & Burckhardt. 

I Messrs. Schicicler Brothers. 

BERLIN.< Mr. Lion M. Cohn, Comm re . Expediteur. 

\( Messrs. C. Harsch & Co., Glass Manufacturers, 67, Unter den Linden. 

BERNE. Mr. Albert Trumpy. 

BEYROUT. Mr. Henry Heald. 

BOLOGNA. Sig. G. B. Renoli. Sig. L. Meni 

BOMBAY. Messrs. Leckie & Co. 

( Messrs. A. H. Sabatier & Co. 

Messrs. J. Sansot & Fils, Hotel des Princes et de la Paix. 

Mr. Leon Geruzet, 44, Alldes de Tourny. 

Messrs. Riviere & Co. 

BOULOGNE S. M... Messrs. Mory, Pere, Fils, & Vogue. Mr. A. Sire. 

CALAIS. Messrs. Mory, Pere, Fils, & Vogue. 

CALCUTTA. Messrs. Gillanders, Arbuthnot, & Co. 

eiPTQRjn ) Mr. Thomas Wolf, Glass Manufacturer, 

L/ vLiorSA .IVlr. Carl Knoll, au Lion Blanc. 

CARRARA. Sig. F. Bienaime, Sculptor. Sig. Vincenzo Livy, Sculptor. 

Cl VITA VECCHIA . Messrs. Lowe Brothers, British Vice-Consulate. 

COBLENTZ. Messrs. Sachs & Hochheimer, Wine Merchants. 

pat nr mv f Mr. J- M. Farina, gegeniiber dem Julichs Platz. 

lhjjn j .} Messrs. G me . Tilmes & Co. Mr. P. J. Cassinone. 

CONSTANCE. Mr. Fred. Hoz. 

CONSTANTINOPLE Messrs. C. S. Hanson & Co. Mr. Alfred C. Laughton. 

COPENHAGEN. Messrs. H. J. Bing & Son. 

CORFU. Mr. J. W. Taylor. 

f Messrs. H. W. Bassenge & Co. Mr. E. Arnold, Printseller. Mr. 
TYRP'QTYFM ) T H * Uhmann, Royal Porcelain Manufactory Depot. Mr. J. Kreiss, 

s ^.) Glass Manufacturer. Madame Helena Wolfsohn, Schossergasse, 

, ( No. 5. Mr. A. L. Mende. 

Messrs. EMM'e. Fenzi & Co. Messrs. French & Co. Messrs. Ma- 
quay & Pakenham. Mr. E. Goodban. Mr. J. Tough. Messrs. 
Nesti, Ciardi, & Co. Mr. Ant°. di Luigi Piacenti. Mr. S. 
Lowe. Mr. Gaeto. Bianchini, Mosaic Worker. Messrs. P. Baz- 
zanti & Fig., Sculptors, Lungo l’Arno. Heirs of F. L. Pisani, 
Sculptor, No. 1, sui Prato. Mr. P. Mannajoni, Sculptor in Ala¬ 
baster, Lung'Arno, North Side, No. 2036 a. Sig. Carlo Noccioll 
S ig. Luigi Ramacci. 

( Mr. P. A. TAccra’s Successor, Glass Manufacturer, Zeil. 
FRANKFORT 0. M.< Messrs. Bing, Jun., & Co. Mr. F. Bohler, Zeil D, 17. 

V Mr. G. A. Zipf. 

FRANZENSBAD.... Mr. C. J. Hofmann. 

GENEVA. Mr. AuGst. Snell. Mr. F. Pelikan’s Successor, Grand Quai.No. 171. 

( Messrs. Gibbs & Co. 

GENOA.< Messrs. G. Vignolo & Figl Mr. A. Mossa, Croce di Malte. 

( Mr. G. Gibelli. 

PT t VMT c Messrs. De Buyser Freres, Dealers in Antiquities, Marche au 

'* ±i N .t Beurre, No. 21. 

GIBRALTAR. Messrs. Archbold, Johnston, & Powers. Messrs. Turner & Co. 

HAMBURG. Messrs.S chaar& Clauss. Mr.G. F. Rode. 

HAVRE. Messrs. A. Louedin & Fils. 

HEIDELBERG.{ M l ^ H ’ ZlMMERMANK - ScHULZE & Matter, Successors to Mr. M. 


FLORENCE 





































MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER, 


1863, 


5 


MCCRACKEN’S LIST OF CORRESPONDENTS — continued, “• 

HONFLEUR. Mr. J. Wagnek. 

INTERLACKEN.... Mr. J. Grossmann. Mr. Clement Sesti. 

LAUSANNE.. Mr. Longchamps. Mr. Dubois Renou, Fils. 

C Messrs. W. Macbean & Co. Messrs. Thomas Pate & Sons 
I Messrs. Maquay, Pakenham, & Smyth. Messrs. Giac°. Micalx 

LEGHORN .< & Fig°., Sculptors in Alabaster and Marble. Mr. M. Ristorl. 

I Mr. Carlo Carocci, Uffizio della Strada Ferrata. Messrs. Gio 
l Galliani & Co. Mr. Ulisse Cotreman. 

LEIPZIG. Mr. J. E. Oehlschlager’s Successor. 

TJSRfW J Mr. Arthur Van Zeller, in the Peninsular and Oriental Steam 

.t Navigation Company’s Offices. 

LUCERNE. Messrs. F. Knorr & Fils. 

MADRAS. Messrs. Binny & Co. 

MADRID. 

MALAGA. Mr. George Hodgson. 

r Mr. Emanuel Zammit. Messrs. Josh. Darmanin & Sons, 45, Strada 

MALTA.< l Levante, Mosaic Workers. Mr. Fortunato Testa, 92, Strada So> 

0 Lucia. Mr. Carmelo Dimech. Mr. L. Francalanza, 123, Strada 

MANNHEIM . Mr. Dinkelspiel. Messrs. Eyssen & Claus. [St. Giovanni. 

MARIENBAD. Mr. J. T. Adler, Glass Manufacturer. 

tvt * pqtt'tt t t?q I Messrs. Claude Clerc & Co. Messrs. Horace Bouchet & Co. 

MARSEILLES.{ Mr . Philigret, 8, Rue Suffren. 

MAYENCE . Mr. G. L. Kayser, Expediteur. Mr. W. Knussmann, Cabinet Maker. 

MESSINA. Messrs. Cailler & Co. 

mtt ant 5 Messrs. Buffet Sc Beruto, Piazzale di S. Sepolcro, No. 3176. 

. \ Messrs. Brambilla. 

) Mr, Hy. Wimmer, Printseller, Promenade St. No. 12. Heirs of Seb. 
Pichler. Messrs. May & Widmayer, Printsellers. Messrs. L. 
Negrioli & Co. 

NAPEES. Messrs. Iggulden & Co. Messrs. W. J. Turner & Co. 

NEW YORK . Messrs. Wilbur & Price. Mr. Thomas Scott. 

C Messrs. A. Lacroix & Co., British Consulate. Messrs. E. Carlone 
[ 8c Co. 

r Mr. Paolo Galimbf.rti, at the Red Horse, Dealer in Antiquities. 
NUREMBERG. < Mr. John Conrad Cnopf, Banker and Forwarding Agent. 

I Mr A Ptpwttpt 

OSTEND. Messrs. Bach & Co. 

PALERMO. Messrs. Thomas Brothers. 

PARIS. Mr. L. Chenue, Packer, Rue Croix Petits Champs, No. 24. 

PAU. Mr.BERGEKOT. 

PISA. Messrs. Huguet & Van Lint, Sculptors in Alabaster and Marble. 

dp a pttf 5 Mr. W. Hofmann, Glass Manufacturer, Blauem Stern. 

EKAc*uit.(Mr. P. Czermak, ditto. Mr. A. V. Lebeda, Gun Maker. 

{ Messrs. Torlonia & Co. Messrs. Freeborn & Co. Messrs. Mac- 
bean & Co. Messrs. Plowden, Cholmeley, & Co. Messrs. 
Maquay, Pakenham, & Hooker. Mr. E. Trebbi. Mr. Luigi 
Branchint, at the English College. Mr. J. P. Shea. 

DATTPBn »ir I Messrs. Preston & Co. Messrs. C. Hemmann & Co. 

ROTIERDAM.| Messrs. Boutmy & Co. 

SCHAFFHAUSEN .. Mr. Fred Hoz. 

odd-tt tp j Mr. Julian B. Williams, British Vice-Consulate. 

SEVIDDb.^Don j0AN Ant> bailly. 

SMYRNA. Messrs. Hanson & Co. 

ST. PETERSBURG . Messrs. Thomson, Bonar, & Co. 

SYRA. Mr. Wilkinson, British Consul. 

TumTTNnr 5 Mr. A * H * J ’ Wali) . Bazaar. 

inuiJAii,.(Messrs. Buzberger & Lanzrein. 

TRIESTE. Messrs. Moore & Co. 

TURIN . Messrs. J. A. Lachaise & Ferrero, Rue de l’Arsenal, No. 4. 

, Messrs. Freres Schielin. Mr. Antonio Zen. 

VENICE .•( Messrs. S. & A. Blumenthal & Co. 

I Mr. L. Bovardi, Campo S. Fantino, No. 2000, rosso. 

VEVEY . Mr. Jules Getaz. 

Trrpxrxr A i Mr. W. Hofmann, Glass Manufacturer, am Lugeck, No. 768. 

V IEaNA .(Messrs. J. & L. Lobmeyer, Glass Manufacturers, 940, Kamthner 

VOLTERRA. Sig. Otto. Callaj, and Messrs. G. Cherici 8c Fig>. [Strasse. 

WALDSHUTT. Mr. Fred. Hoz. 

ZURICH . Messrs. Weiss zum Bracken. 












































MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. May, 


FLORENCE. 

G. BIANCHINI, 

MANUFACTURER OF TABLES AND LADIES’ ORNAMENTS 
OF FLORENTINE MOSAIC, 

Xo. 4844, VIA WE’ IE11I, 

Opposite the Royal Chapel of the Medici, 

TNVITES the English Nobility and Gentry to visit his Establishment, where 
may always be seen numerous specimens of this celebrated and beautitul 
Manufacture, in every description of Rare and Precious Stones. Orders for Tables 
and other Ornaments executed to any Design. 

G. Bianchini’s Ao-ents in England are Messrs. J. & R. M‘Crackejt, 
38, Queen Street, Cannon Street West, London. 


BRIENZ —INTERLACKEN. 

J. GROSSMANN, 

SCULPTOR IN WOOD, AND MANUFACTURER OF SWISS 
WOOD MODELS AND ORNAMENTS, 

AT INTEEZiACKEIf. 

IT IS WAREHOUSE is situated between the Belvedere Hotel and Scliweizerhof, 
J where he keeps the largest and best assortment of the above objects to be 
found in Switzerland. He undertakes to forward Goods to England and elsewhere. 

Correspondents in England, Messrs. J. & R. McCRACIvEN, 38, Queen Street, 
Cannon Street West, London. 


PISA. 


HUGUET AND YAN LINT, 

SCULPTORS IN MARBLE AND ALABASTER, 

Xiung' Arno, under the Hotel Peverada. 

MUIE oldest established house in Pisa, where may be found the best assortment 
of Models of the Duomo, Baptistry, and Tower. Also Figures and other 
local objects illustrative of the Agriculture and Customs of the country, executed 
in the highest style of art. 

Their extensive Show Rooms are always open to Visitors. 

Correspondents in England, Messrs. J. & R. McCRACKEN, 38, Queen Street, 
Cannon Street West, London. 









18<$3 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISED 


7 


NICE. 


HOTEL DE L'UNIVERS. 

T. W. HOW, 

FROM LONDON", PROPRIETOR. 

I his Hotel, most eligibly situated in one of 
the most central positions in the town, on 
the south side of the Place St. Dominique, 
and close to the Corso, Cercle, Public Libra¬ 
ries, Theatre, Sea-Baths, &c., has been en¬ 
tirely renovated, and furnished with the 
comforts necessary to English travellers. 

Apartments or single rooms on most 
moderate terms. 

Table d hote. The Times and Galignani 
token in. 

Correspondents in London, Messrs. J. and 
R. M'Ckacken, 38, Queen Street, Cannon 
Street West. 


CARY’S IMPROVED POCKET 
TOURIST’S TELESCOPE. 

(See * Murray's Handbook.') 

Manufacturer of all descriptions of Mathema¬ 
tical, Surveying, and Optical Instruments, for 
the use of Naval and Military Officers, kc. 
Also the Binocular Reconnoitring Field 
Glass, so highly spoken of by officers and 
other gentlemen; price, with best sling-case, 
51. 5s. Cary's improved Achromatic Micro¬ 
scope, with two sets of choice lenses, capable 
of defining the severe test objects, from 4 1. 4s. 
Travelling Spectacles of all kinds. 

Mathematical and Optical Instrument 
Maker to the Admiralty, Royal Military Col¬ 
lege, Sandhurst, Christ's Hospital, and East 
India College, Agra, &c ; and Optician to the 
Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital. 

181, STRAND, LONDON. 

Established upwards of a Century. 


MUNICH. 


HENRY WIMMER, 

SUCCESSOR TO 

J. M. DE HERMANN, 

PRINT AND PICTURE SELLER TO HIS MAJESTY THE KING 

OF BAVARIA, 

HOYAL PItOMEMDE STRASSE, Xo. 12, 

MAGAZINE OF OBJECTS OF FINE ARTS, 

PICTURES, PRINTS, DRAWINGS, AND LITHOGRAPHS, 

Invites the Nobility and Gentry to visit his Establishment, where he 
has always on Sale an extensive collection of Pictures by Modern 
Artists, Paintings on Glass and Porcelain, Miniatures, Drawings, En¬ 
gravings, and Lithographs, the latter comprising the Complete Collec¬ 
tions of the various Galleries, of which Single Copies may be selected. 

He has also on Sale all that relates to the Fine Arts. 

H. WIMMER undertakes to forward to England all purchases made 
at his Establishment, through his Correspondents, Messrs. J. & R. 
M‘Cracken, 38, Queen Street, Cannon Street West, London. 








8 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


Mar, 

FRANKFORT O. M. 

- ♦ — 

P. A. TACCHPS SUCCESSOR, 

ZEI1, So. 44, 

BOHEMHAU FAHEY GLASS AMD E1YOTAE 

WA1E1MMJSE. 


P. A. TACCHPS SUCCESSOK, Mancfactukek of Bohemias 
Glass, begs to acquaint the Public that he has always an extensive 
Assortment in the Newest and most Elegant Designs of 

ORNAMENTAL CUT, ENGRAVED, GILT, & PAINTED GLASS, 

BOTH WHITE AND COLOURED, 

In Dessert Services, Chandeliers, Candelabras, Articles for the Table 
and Toilet, and every possible variety of objects in this beautiful 
branch of manufacture. He solicits, and will endeavour to merit, a 
continuance of the favours of the Public, which he has enjoyed in 
so high a degree during a considerable number of years, 

P. A. Tacchi’s Successor has a Branch Establishment during the 
Summer Season at 

WIESBADEN, in the Old Colonnade, 

Where will always be found an extensive Selection of the newest 
Articles from his Frankfort Establishment. 

Visitors to Frankfort should not fail to pay a visit to the Show 
Rooms of Mr. P. A. Tacchi’s Successor. 


His Agents in England, to whom he undertakes to forward Pur¬ 
chases made of him, are Messrs. J. & R. M‘Cracken, 38, Queen 
Street, Cannon Street West, London, 





1863 . 


9 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


COLOGNE ON THE RHINE. 


JOHANN MARIA FARINA, 
GEGENUBER DEM JULICII’S PLATZ 

(Opposite the Jiilich’s Place), 

PURVEY OR TO H. M. QUEEN VICTORIA; 

TO H. R. H. THE PRINCE OF WALES; 

TO H. M. THE KING OF PRUSSIA; THE EMPEROR OF RUSSIA; 
THE KING OF HANOVER, ETC. ETC., 

OF THE 

ONLY GENUINE EAU DE COLOGNE. 


fl^HE frequency of mistakes, which are sometimes accidental, hut for the most 
A- part the result of deception practised by interested individuals, induces me to request 
the attention of English travellers to the following statement:— 

The favourable reputation which my Eau de Cologne has acquired, since its invention by 
my ancestor in the year 1709, has induced many people to imitate it; and in order to be able 
to sell their spurious article more easily, and under pretext that it was genuine, they pro¬ 
cured themselves a firm of Farina, by entering into partnership with persons of my name, 
which is a very common one in Italy. 

Persons who wish to purchase the genuine and original Eau de Cologne ought to be parti¬ 
cular to see that the labels and the bottles have not only my name, Johann Maria Farina, 
but also the additional words, gegeniiber dem Jiilich’s Flatz (that is, opposite the Julich’s 
Place), without addition of any number. 

Travellers visiting Cologne, and intending to buy my genuine article, are cautioned against 
being led astray by cabmen, guides, commissioners, and other parties, who offer their services 
to them. I therefore beg to state that my manufacture and shop are in the same house, 
situated opposite the Julich’s Place, and nowhere else. It happens too, frequently, that the 
said persons conduct the uninstructed strangers to shops of one of the fictitious firms, where, 
notwithstanding assertion to the contrary, they are remunerated with nearly the half part of 
the price paid by the purchaser, who, of course, must pay indirectly this remuneration by a 
high price and a bad article. 

Another kind of imposition is practised in almost every hotel in Cologne, where waiters, 
commissioners. See., offer to strangers Eau de Cologne, pretending that it is the genuine one, 
and that I delivered it to them for the purpose of selling it for my account. 

The only certain way to get in Cologne my genuine article is to buy it personally at my 
house, apposite the Jiilich’s Fleece, forming the corner of the two streets, Unter Goldschmidt 
and Oben Marspforten, No. 23, and having in the front six balconies, of which the three 
higher ones bear my name, Johann Maria Farina. 

The excellence of my manufacture has been put beyond all doubt by the fact that the 
Jurors of the Great Exhibitions in London, 1851 and 1862, have awarded to me the Prize 
Medal, and that I obtained honourable mention at the Great Exhibition in Paris, 1855. 

Cologne, January, 1863. JOHANN MARIA I ARINA, 

GEGENUBER DEM JULICH’S PLATZ. 

*** My Aqency in London is at Messrs. J. & R. M‘Cracken, 38, Queen 

Street, Cannon Street West. 







-uuitiwii j^r>u<J.tv ADVERTISER. 


lO 


Mav 

J 


y 


WILLIAM HOFMANN, 

BOHEMIAN GLASS MANUFACTURER, 

TO HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA, 

Recommends his great assortment of Glass Ware, from his own Manufactories in 
Bohemia. The choicest Articles in every Colour, Shape, and Description, are sold, 
at the same moderate prices, at both his Establishments— 

At Prague, Hotel Blue Star; at Vienna, 768, Bugeck. 


Agents in London, Messrs. J. and R. MCCRACKEN, 38, Queen Street, Cannon 
Street West. 

Goods forwarded direct to England, America , <f'C. 


LEGHORN. 


HIACINTH MICALI AND SON, 

Via Ferdinanda , No. 1230. 

Manufactory of Marble, Alabaster, and 
Scagliola Tables, and Depot of objects of 
line Arts. 

Their extensive Show-rooms are always 
open to Visitors. 

THEIR AGENTS IN ENGLAND ARE 

MESSRS. J. AND R. M'CRACKEN, 

38, Queen Street, Cannon Street West, 
London. 


ZURICH, 

J. H. KEREZ, 

CHEMIST AND DRUGGIST, 

DESPECTFULLY announces to Tour- 
D* ists and Visitors that he prepares and 
dispenses Medicines and Prescriptions ac¬ 
cording to the English Pharmacopoeia with 
the purest and choicest Drugs and Chemicals. 
J. H. Kerez, having been a principal dis¬ 
pensing Assistant at one of the first Houses 
in England, hopes that his experience and 
attention will merit the support and confi¬ 
dence of the English Nobility and Gentry. 

J. II. K. keeps constantly on hand a well- 
selected Stock of the most popular English 
Patent Medicines and Perfumery. 


This Day, a New and Cheaper Edition, with Map, 16mo., 3s. (id. 

MURRAY’S 

HANDBOOK FOR LONDON AS IT IS. 


JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 


FLORENCE. 


MESSRS. COSTA & CONTI, 

ARTISTS, 

No. 1318, VIA DEI BARDI (Studio on the First Floor). 

Messrs. Costa and Coxti keep the largest collection in Florence of original 
Ancient and Modern Pictures, as well as copies of all the most celebrated masters. 
N.B.—English spoken. 

Correspondents in England, Messrs. J. and R. M'CRACKEN, 38, Queen 
Street, Cannon Street West, London. 










.863. 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


11 


VIENNA. 


Roliemiaii White and Coloured Crystal Glass Warehouse. 

J. & L. LOBMEYR, 

GLASS MANUFACTURERS, 

No. 940, KARNTHNERSTRASSE, 

Be< 5 to inform Visitors to Vienna that they have considerably enlarged their Esta¬ 
blishment. The most complete assortment of all kinds of Bohemian White and 
Coloured Crystal Glass, and of all articles in this branch of industry, in the 
newest and most elegant style, is always on hand. The rich collections of all 
Articles of Luxury, viz. Table, Dessert, and other Services, Vases, Candelabnis, 
Lustres, Looking-glasses, &c. &c., will, they feel assured, satisfy every visitor. 

The prices are fixed at very moderate and reasonable charges.—The English 
language is spoken. 

Their Correspondents in England, Messrs. J. and R. M'Cracken, No. 38, 
Queen Street, Cannon Street West, London, will execute all orders with the 
greatest care and attention. 


FLORENCE. 


PETER MANNAIONI, 

SCULPTOR IN MARBLE AND ALABASTER, AND 
WORKER IN FLORENTINE MOSAIC, 

LUNG’ ARNO, NORTH SIDE, No. 2036a. 

A vast collection of objects of Art of every kind is to be seen in this establishment, such as 
Marble and Alabaster Statues and Vases, Ancient and Modern Pictures, Miniatures, Engrav¬ 
ings, and Drawings, Objects of Antiquity, Bronzes, &c. Artists’ Books and Florentine Mo¬ 
saic. Commissions taken for Marble Busts and Portrait Painting, and generally for all 
kinds of Architectural Works, as Monuments, Chimney Pieces, Furniture, &c. 

Correspondents in London, Messrs. J. and R. M'CRACKEN, 38, Queen Street, Cannon 
Street West. 


FLORENCE. 

— ■ 

PICTURE ROOMS. 

MR. E, BACCIOTTI, 

Via Legnajoli, No. 1, 

X EAR THE EUROPE HOTEL. 

The best Copies of the Florentine Galleries may be found there. If desired, 
arrangements can be made for prices to include delivery free of charges in London 
or New York. 

Correspondents in London, Messrs. J. and R. M‘CRACKEN, 38, Queen Street, 
Cannon Street West. 













12 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


May, 


FLORENCE. 


-K>«- 

FRANCESCO BETTI/ 

MANUFACTURER OF FLORENTINE MOSAIC, 

LUNGO L’ARNO NUOVO, & BORGO OGNISSANTI, No. 3, 


K EEPS an Assortment of Tables, Cabinets, Jewel Boxes, 

Presse Papers, Brooches, Pins, &c., mounted and unmounted. 

He undertakes to deliver his Works in England. 


FLORENCE. 


PELLETERIE. 

SIGNOR GROSSI, 

VIA MERCATO TVUOVO-, 

Vis-a-vis le Palais Bartolommei. 


Les meilleures PelJeteries, confectionnees Si l’usage de Paris, peuvent se trouver a des prix. 
tres modiques a cet Etablissement, vu les acquisitions considerable que le Proprietaire fait 
chaque amide de personnes aux diverses foires du Nord. 

Anglais parle. 


FRANKFORT O. M. 


MESSRS. LOHR & ALTEN, 

PROPRIETORS OP 

THE ROMAN EMPEROR HOTEL, 

Beg to recommend their House to English Travellers. 

This large and well-situated Establishment is conducted under the immediate 
superintendence of the Proprietors, and newly furnished with every comfort, and 
a new splendid Dining-room. 

The “ Roman Emperor ” is often honoured by Royal Families and other high 
personages. The following have lately honoured this Hotel— 

H.M. THE KING AND QUEEN OF WURTEMBERG. 

H.M. THE QUEEN OF HOLLAND. 

H.R.H. THE CROWN PRINCE AND PRINCESS OLGA OF WURTEMBERG. 
H.I.H. THE ARCHDUKE OF AUSTRIA. &c. &c. &c. 

Table-d'hote at 1 , lfl. 30kr. Breakfast, 42kr. 

„ „ 5, 211. Tea, 42kr. 

Bed Rooms, from lfl. to 3fl. 














1863. 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


13 


ROME. 

J. P.^SHEA, 

ENGLISH HOUSE-AGENT, 

FORWARDING AGENT 
TO H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES. 

11, PIAZZA DI SPAGNA. 

At this Office persons applying for 

Large or Small Furnished Apartments 

invariably obtain correct and unbiassed information on all matters connected with 

Lodging-Houses, Boarding-Houses, 

and 

Household Management, 

while 

Low and Fixed Charges 

for practical services offer safe and satisfactory assistance to Proprietor and Tenant, 
as testified by the increasing confidence of English and American Travellers 
since the opening of the establishment in 1852. 

Plans and Lists of Apartments sent by Post 

to persons who wish to secure accommodation, or avoid inconvenience at the 
approach of Carnival or the Holy Week. 

AS CUSTOM-HOUSE AGENT, 

Mr. Shea clears and warehouses 

Baggage and other effects 

for travellers who, to avoid the expense of quick transit, send their things by sea or 

luggage-train, directed to his care. 

He also superintends the 

Packing of Works of Art and other Property 

intrusted to his care, and the forwarding of the same to England, &c.; and being 
Agent for Messrs. Burns and Mclvers’ Italian line of steamers, can offer 
facilities on the freight of packages between Italy and England. 


CORRESPONDENTS- 


LONDON.Messrs. J. & R. M'CRACKEN, 38, Queen Street, 

Cannon Street West. 

Messrs. OLIVIER & CARR, 37, Finsbury Square. 

LIVERPOOL.Messrs. STAVELEY & STARR, 9, Chapel Street. 

FOLKESTONE.Mr. FAULKNER. 

BOULOGNE S.M.Mr. BERNARD, 18, Quai des Paquebots. 

PARIS .Messrs. KAHN & CO., 8, Place de la Bourse. 

MARSEILLES .Messrs. GIRAUD FRERES, 44, Rue Sainte. 

NEW YORK .Messrs. AUSTIN, BALDWIN, & CO., 72, 

Broadway. 














14 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


May. 

FRANKFORT O. M. 



— ♦ ~ 

FRIEDRICH BOHLER, 

MANUFACTORY OF STAGHORN, 

Zeil No. 54 (next door to the Post-Office). 

Furniture of every description, as Sofas, Chairs, Tables, &c. &c. Chan¬ 
deliers, Table and Hand Candlesticks, Shooting-tackle, Inkstands, Paper- 
knives, Penholders, Seals, &c. Knives, Riding-whips, Cigar-cases and 
Holders, Pipes, Match-boxes, Porte-monnaies, Card-cases, Thermometers, 
Goblets, Candle-screens, Figures and Groups of Animals executed after 
Eiedinger and others. Brooches, Bracelets, Earrings, Shirt-pins, Studs, and 
Buttons. Stag and Deer Heads with Antlers attached to the Skull. Sofa- 
rugs or Foot-cloths of Skins of Wild Animals with Head preserved. 

Orders for a Complete Set or for any quantity of Furniture will be 
promptly executed. 

The Agents in London are Messrs. J. and R. M c Cracken, 38, Queen 
Street, Cannon Street West. 


































MURRAY'S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


1861 


15 


FRANKFORT O. M. 

FRIEDRICH ROHLER, 


Zeil, 

clicht ncben 


Stempel, bewilligt vom Senat 



No. 54, 

cl e r Post, 

der freien Stadt, Frankfurt. 



Pendules (Ornamental Clocks) of every description, Vases, Goblets, Antique 
and Modern Statuettes and Groups, Groups ol Animals, Inkstands, 
Paper-weights, &c. &c., in Bronze, Cast Iron, Galvano-plastic, &c. 

Crown-chandeliers ; Branch, Table, and Hand CandlesticKS, in Bronze, 
Ac.; Lamps of every description. 

Porcelain and Britannia-metal Goods, Liqueur-chests. 

Travelling Dressing-cases, Railroad Companions, Picnic-baskets, Tra¬ 
velling Bags, Brushes, Combs. 

Work-tables and Boxes, Tapestries, Fans, Ball-books, Smelling-bottles, 
Opera-Glasses, &c. &c. 

Superior Copies of the Ariadne by Dannccker, and the Amazon by Kiss. 

Genuine Eau de Cologne of Jean Maria Farina, opposite the Jiilichsplatz. 

The Agents in London are Messrs. J. and R. M c Cracken, 38, Queen 
Street, Cannon Street West. . 





































































































































16 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER, 


May, 


TO VISITORS TO THE CONTINENT. 

OLIVIER <3e CARR, 
37, Finsbury Square, London, 

(Mr. Olivier established in 1830,) 

COMMISSION MERCHANTS AND GENERAL AGENTS 

For Shipment and Reception of Goods to and from all Farts of the World. 

/"\LIVIER & CARR liave the honour to inform 

^ VISITORS TO THE CONTINENT 

that they undertake to receive and pass through the Customhouse in London, 

Liverpool, Southampton, &c., 

WORKS of ART, BAGGAGE, and PROPERTY of EVERY DESCRIPTION, 

which are attended to on arrival 

with, the utmost Care in Examination and Removal, 

under their own personal superintendence. They beg to call particular attention to 

their Moderate Charges, 

which have given universal satisfaction. 

Many Travellers having expressed a desire to know in anticipation to what 
expenses their Purchases are liable on arrival in England,- the following 

Rates of Charges on the Reception of Packages 

may be relied upon, for Landing from the Ship, Clearing, Delivery in London, 
and Agency:— 

On Trunks of Baggage.about 9s. each. 

„ ,, if several sent together. 5s. to 7s. „ 

I On Cases of Works of Art, &c., of moderate size and value . about 15s. „ 

„ ,, „ of larger „ „ 20s. to 25s. „ 

On very large Cases of valuable Statuary, Pictures, &c., on which an estimate 
cannot well be given, the charges will depend on the care and trouble required. 
When several cases are sent together the charges are less on each case. 

OLIVIER & CARR undertake the 

FORWARDING OF PACKAGES OF EVERY KIND 

to the Continent, to the care of their Correspondents, where they can remain, if 
required, until the arrival of the owners. 

Also 

THE EXECUTION OF ORDERS FOR THE PURCHASE OF GOODS 

of all kinds, which, from their long experience as Commission Merchants, they 
are enabled to buy on the most advantageous terms. 

Residents on the Continent will find this a convenient means of ordering any¬ 
thing they may require from London. 

N.B.—The keys of locked Packages should always be sent to Olivier & Carr, 
as everything, although free of duty, must be examined by the Customs on arrival. 

INSURANCES EFFECTED, and Agency Business of every description 

attended to. 








186 : 3 . 


17 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


OLIVIER 

At Aix-la-Chapelle. 

,, Alexandria . . 

,, Antwerp . 

,, Basle .... 
>, Bordeaux . . 

,, Boulogne . 

,, Brussels . . . 

,, Calais . . . 

,, Cologne . 

,, Constantinople . 

,, Dresden . 

,, Florence . . . 

,, Frankfort 

,, Genera . . . 

,, Genoa . . . 

,, Hamburg . . 

,, Havre . . 

,, Interlaclcen . 

,, Leipzig . 

, Leghorn . 

,, Marseilles 

,, Milan .... 

,, Munich . 

,, Naples 

,, .Vice .... 

,, Ostend 

,, Pam .... 


,, Paw . 

,, Prague . . . 

,, Pom . . . . 

,, Rotterdam . . 

,, Trieste . . . 

,, Turin 
,, Venice 
,, Vienna . 


& CARR’S principal Correspondents are— 

. . . Messrs. A. S0UHEUR and CO. 

. . . Messrs. FAIRMAN and CO. 

. . . Mr. F. VERELLEN BEERNAEIIT. 

. . . Mr. J. J. FREY. 

. Mr. F. BEYERMAN, to whom 0. and C. are Agents for 
the Sale of his Wines. 

. . . Mr. L. BRANLY. 

. . . Mr. L. STEIN, 22, Montagne de la Cour. 

. . . Messrs. MORY, Pere, Fils, and VOGUE. 

. . . Mr. C. H. VAN ZUTPHEN ; Messrs G. TILMES and CO. 

. . . Messrs. VALSAMACHY and CO., Galata. 

. . . Mr. JOHANN CARL SEEBE. 

. . . Messrs. W. H. WOOD and CO.; Mr. J. TOUGH. 

. . . Mr. MARTIN BECKER, 5, Bleidenstrasse. 

Mr. MORITZ B. GOLDSCHMIDT, Banker. 

. . . Messrs. JOLIMAY and CO. 

. . . Mr. J. NIMMO, 12, Strada Ponte Reale. 

Messrs. SANTA MARIA and LERTORA. ** 

. . . Messrs. JULIUS WUSTENFELD and Co. 

. . . Messrs. H. L. MULLER and CO. 

. . . Messrs. RITSCHARD and BURKI. 

. . . Messrs. GERHARD and HEY. 

. . . Mr. MARIO GIOVANNETTI, 13, Scali della Darsena. 

Messrs. HENDERSON BROTHERS. 

. . . Messrs. GIRAUD FRERES. 

Messrs. HORACE BOUCHET and CO. 

. . . Mr. LOUIS MALEGUE, Rue de l'Agneau, No. 8 rouge. 

. . . Messrs. GUTLEBEN and WEIDERT. 

. . Messrs. THOS. RAGLAND and CO. [le Port). 

. Messrs. LES FILS DE CH. GIORDAN, Quai Lunel, 14 (sur 
... Mr. J. DUCLOS ASSANDRI. [Trevise. 

. . . Messrs. VICTOR GRAND and CO., Bankers, 14, Rue de 

Messrs. DELASSUS and LEDOUX, Packers, &c., 6, Rue 
Neuve St. Augustin, pres la Bourse. 

M. HECTOR L’HERBIER, 18, Rue de laDouane. 

. . . Mr. BERGEROT. 

. . . Mr. J. J. SEIDL, Hibemergasse, No. 1000. 

. . . Mr. J. P. SHEA, 11, Piazza di Spagna; Messrs. G. DAL- 

LEIZETTE and CO. 

. . . Messrs. P. A. VAN ES and CO.; Mr. J. A. HOUWENS. 

. . . Messrs. MARTIN FRERES. 

. . . Mr. CHI ABODO PIETRO, Via Dora Grossa, 13. 

. . . Mr. HENRY DECOPPET. 

. . . Messrs. ARNSTEIN and KRAUS. 


Any other houses will also forward goods to 0. & C. on receiving instructions 
to do so. Travellers are requested always to give particular directions that their 
Packages are consigned direct to OLIVIER &CARR, 37, FINSBURY SQUARE. 


OLIVIER & CARR ARE AGENTS TO 

Mr. F. BEYERMAN, Bordeaux, 

and 

Mr. DUMOULIN Aine, Savigny sous Beaune, 

and are 

General Importers of Wines. 

Being appointed Agents to Growers, they supply all qualities of 

Clarets and Burgundies in the Wood at Growers’ Prices, 

simply charging Freight, Duty, and Expenses, in addition to the Grower’s Price. 
They have a Stock in London of Wines in Bottle, all imported by themselves 
direct from the Growers. 


Clarets.from 21s. per doz. 

Hock.. 2ls. ,, 

Sparkling Moselle and Hock, 45s. and 60s. 


Burgundy . 
Champagne . 
Fine Marsala 


from 24s. per doz. 
48s. ,, 

28S. ,, 


And other Wines. 


> 9 

9 9 












18 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. May, 

CHTJBB’S LOCKS anti SAFES. 



«For perfection of workmanship and construction of Locks* 
also for the manufacture of Iron Safes. 5 

PRIZE MEDAL AWARDED, INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 1862. 

-•< >• 

CHUBB & SIO N, 

BY APPOINTMENTS, 

^lakom to THE QUEEN ; 1I.R.H. tiic late IPRENCE CONSORT 5 
ami to H.at.BI. THE PRINCE OE WALES. 


Y nHUBB’S PATENT DETECTOR 

\J LOCKS, the most secure from picklocks 
and false keys, are strong, simple, and datable, 
and made of all sizes and for every purpose to 
which a Lock can be applied. 

Trunks, Portmanteaus, Travelling Bags, Dress¬ 
ing Cases, Writing Desks, <fcc., fitted with only 
the usual common and utterly insecure Locks, 
can have the place of these supplied by Chubb’s 
Patent without alteration or injury. 

Travellers’ Lock-Protectors and Port¬ 
able Scutcheon Locks for securing Doors that 
may be found fastened only by common Locks. 

CHUBB & SON have always in stock a 
variety of Writing and Despatch Boxes in- 
Morocco or Russia Leather and japanned Tin; 
the latter being particularly recommended for 
lightness, room, durability, and freedom from 
damage by insects or hot climates. 

Best Black Enamelled Leather Travelling Bags of various sizes, all with 
Chubb’s Patent Locks! 

Cash, Deed, and Paper Boxes of all dimensions. 


HUBB’S FIREPROOF SAFES are constructed in the very best 
manner, of the strongest wrought-iron, fitted with Chubh’s Patent Drill- 
preventive and their Gunpowder-proof Steel-plated Locks, are the most 
secure from fire and burglary, and form the most complete safeguard for Books, 
Papers, Deeds, Jewels, Plate, and other valuable property. 

CHUBB & SON have also Safes not fireproof, but equally secure in all other 
respects, intended for holding plate where protection from fire is not an object, 
and affording much more room inside than the Fireproof Safes. They are recom¬ 
mended specially in place of the ordinary wooden cases for plate, which may so 
easily be broken open. 

Complete Illustrated Priced Lists of Chubb's Locks, Boxes, Safes, and other 

Manufactures, gratis and post-free. 




CHUBB and SON, Makers to the Bank of England, 
57, St. Paul’s Churchyard, London, E.C. 



































































1863. 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER 


19 


THE ATHENAEUM. 

NOTICE .— On the Repeal of the Paper Duty, the Price of ‘The* 
Athenaeum ’ was reduced from Fourpence to THREEPENCE. 

Every Saturday, of any Bookseller or News Agent, Price Threepence. 

Each Half-Yearly Volume complete in itself, with Title-Page and Index. 

THE ATHENiEUM 

JOURNAL OF ENGLISH AND FOREIGN LITERATURE, 
SCIENCE, AND THE FINE ARTS. 

Contains :—Reviews of every important New Book— Reports of the Learned 
Societies— Authentic Accounts of Scientific Voyages and Expeditions — 
Foreign Correspondence on Subjects relating to Literature, Science, and Art 
—Criticisms on Art, Music, and Drama—Biographical Notices of dis¬ 
tinguished Men —Original Papers and Poems—Weekly Gossip. 

THE ATHENJEUM is so conducted that the reader, however distant, is, in 
respect to Literature, Science, and Art, on an equality in point of information with 
the best-informed circles of the Metropolis. 

Subscription for Twelve Months, 13s.; Six Months, 6s. 6c?. If required to be 
sent by Post, the Postage extra. 

Office for Advertisements— 

20, WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND, LONDON, W.C. 


MUDIE’S SELECT LIBRARY. 

CHEAP BOOKS. 


P URCHASERS of Books for Public and Private Libraries, Merchants, 
Shipping Agents, and others, are invited to apply for the Revised 
List of Surplus Copies of Works withdrawn from Mudie’s Library 
for Sale. This List contains the Names of nearly One Thousand 
Books of the Past and Present Seasons, at the lowest current Prices. 


CHARLES EDWARD MUDIE, 

New Oxford Street, London. 


VIENNA. 

For Optical Instruments, Opera Glasses, &c. 


THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 

JOS. NEUHOEFER, late CH. GROSS & CO., 

1149, KOHLMARKT, VIENNA, 

Manufacturer of Double Opera Glasses with 6, 8, and 12 lenses, oxen invention and newest 
construction, to be used for the theatre, travelling, and the field. Telescopes for the army and 
navy, Racing-glasses, and all other kinds of Optical and Mathematical Instruments. 













•20 


MURRAY'S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER 


May, 

J ' 


PASSPORT AGENCY OFFICE, 

LONDON, 59, FLEET STREET, E. C. 

Regulations for obtaining Foreign Office Passports gratis. 

ESIDENTS in the United Kingdom or London, 
who desire to avoid trouble, can have their 
PASSPORTS obtained and vised with expedi¬ 
tion, upon application to W. J. ADAMS, 59, 

Fleet Street. 

Country Residents, by this arrangement, are 
saved the trouble of coming to London, as the 
Passport can be forwarded to them by Post ( [en 
Regie). 

Fee obtaining Passport, Is. 6 d. ; Visas, Is. each. 

Passports carefully Mounted and Cased, and 
Hames lettered thereon in Gold. 

Passport Cases from Is. 

Visas obtained to United States Passports. Every description of Stationery for Travellers. 

THE LATEST EDITIONS OF MURRAY’S HANDBOOKS. 

Phrase Books and Dictionaries. 

Bradshaw’s British and Continental Guides and Handbooks to France, Belgium, 
Switzerland, Paris, London, &c. 

Kellar’s and Lf.nthold’s Maps of Switzerland, Original Edition, 6s. 6 d. and 10s. GcZ. 
Railway Rugs, Waterproof and Dust Coats, Door-fasteners. Handbags, &c. 

INDIA. 

Bradshaw’s Overland and Through Route Guide to India, China, and Australia, 5s. 
Bradshaw’s Handbook to the Bombay Presidency and the North-West Provinces, Madras, 
and Bengal, 10s. 6 d. each. _ 

Experienced Couriers may be had on application free of charge. 

W. J. ADAMS (Bradshaw’s British and Continental Guide Office), 
LONDON, 59, FLEET STREET, E.C. 

Office Hours 8 to 7. Saturdays 8 to 3. 




T he original continental daily parcels express agency 

(the Proprietors of which are the Sole Agents for England of the Belgian 
Government Railway and Royal Prussian Post-Office) was established in 1849, for 
CONVEYANCE BY GOVERNMENT MAIL PACKETS EVERY NIGHT 
(Sunday excepted), via DOVER, CALAIS, and OSTEND, of Samples of every 
Description, all kinds of Papers, Plans, Books, Parcels containing Articles for 
Private Use, and any others, between ENGLAND and the CONTINENT, viz. : 
To and from France, Spain, Sardinia, Belgium, Holland, Russia, the 
Zollyerein and other German States, Austria, Bavaria, Switzerland, 
Prussia, Italy, the Levant, the Mediterranean, &c., at fixed and moderate 
Rates, to be had gratis. 


T Offices and Agents of the Continental Express..^, 

LONDON. ° r Government 

Chief Office, 52 and 53, Gracechurch St., City, D. N. Bridge, /Mail Packet 
Manager. West End, 34, Regent Circus (Universal Office). Offices. 
Prussia, all Germany, &c. —The Post Office of each locality. 

Belgium. — Ostend, 10, Georges Street: L. Carbon.—Brussels, 77,Montagne 
delaCour: J. Piddington. Rue Duquesnoy and North Railway Station.— 
Antwerp, Ghent, Liege, Verviers, and all other Places in Belgium; 
Government Railway Station. 

Holland. —In all the principal Towns: Van Gend & Loos. 

France. — Paris, 2, rue Drouot, two doors from the Boulevard des Italiens: 
N. G. Verberckmoes.—Boulogne, ruede l’Ecu: G. Sauvage. 


London , ls2 May, 1863. 


JOHN PIDDINGTON, 

JOHN FRIEND, )Propnetors. 
























MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


21 


1863. 


NORTH BRITISH AND MERCANTILE 

INSURANCE COMPANY. 

Established in 1809 .—Incorporated by Royal Charter and Special Acts of Parliament. 


President —HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF ROXBURGHE, K.T. 

Vice-Presidents X S is Geace N THE DuKE Sutherland, and 

J The Most Noble the Marquis of Abercorn, Iv.G. 


ORDINARY 

Edinburgh. 

Frederick Pitman, Esq., W.S. 

John Brown Innes, Esq., W.S. 

Henry D. Fergusson, Esq., W.S. 

J. Maitland, Esq., Account.-Gen. to Court of 
Session. 

R. B. Maconpchie, Esq., W.S. 

Sir James Gardiner Baird, Bart. 

J. F. W. Drummond, Esq., Merchant. 

James Campbell fait, Esq., W.S. 

G. Auidjo Jamieson, Esq., C.A. 

Vice-Admiral Henry Dundas. 

Laurence Davidson, Esq., W.S. 

D. B. Wauchope, Esq., Merchant, Leith. 

Secretary — John Ogilvie. 

Actuary — David Chisholm. 

Auditor — George Murray, C.A. 

Inspector of Agencies — Alfred Good. 


directors. 

London. 

j John White Cater, Esq., Merchant. 
Charles Morrison, Esq., Merchant. 

A. de Arroyave, Esq., Merchant. 

Edward Cohen, Esq., Merchant. 

James du Buisson, Esq., Merchant. 

P. du Pre Grenfell, Esq., Merchant.; 

A. Klockmann, Esq., Merchant. 

John Mollet.t, Esq., Merchant. 

Junius S. Morgan, Esq., Merchant. 

' John H. Wm. Schroder, Esq., Merchant.; 

; George Garden Nicol, Esq., Merchant. 
George Young, Esq., Merchant. 

Manager of Fire Department. 

George H. Whiting. 
Manager of Life Department. 

W. Fred. Birkmvre. 
Superintendent of Fcn'eign Department. 
G. H. Burnett. 

Secretary — F. W. Lance. 


Medical Officer —JOHN G. M. BURT, M.D. General Manager —DAVID SMITH. 


LIFE ASSURANCE. 

T HE system of the iNORTH BRITISH AND MERCANTILE 

INSURANCE COMPANY combines the benefit of Mutual Assurance with the safety 
of a large Protecting Capital, and affords all the facilities and advantages which can pru¬ 
dently be offered by any Life Assurance Office. 

The rates adopted by the Company are moderate. 

Ninety per cent, of the Profits are divided among the assured in the Participating Class. 
From the REPORT by the DIRECTORS, read at the FIFTY-THIRD ANNUAL 
GENERAL MEETING, held 2nd March, 1863, the following particulars as to the present 
position of the Company are extracted:— 

FUNDS AND REVENUE. 


At 31st December, 1862, the Accumulated Funds 

amounted to.£2,122,828 8 

And the Annual Revenue to. £422,401 2 

LIFE DEPARTMENT.— New Business in 1862. 


0 

2 


No. of Policies. Sums Assured. New Premiums. 

1037 £768,334 £23,641 0 0 

Note. —The recent improvement in tbeBusinesswill.it is expected, beneficially affect the 
Bonus to be declared at the next Division of Profits in 1865. 

NEW CONDITIONS. 

The Conditions of the Company’s Policies have recently been revised, and the Assured are 
now freed from many of the usual Restrictions. 

Prospectuses containing the New fables of Premiums may be obtained, along with Forms 
of Proposal, See., from the Head Office, or any of the Agents in the United Kingdom. 

FIRE INSURANCE. 

The Company INSURES against FIRE—Silk, Cotton, Woollen, and Flax Mills, Buildings 
of all Descriptions, Furniture, Stock in Trade, Merchandise, Agricultural Stock, Implements 
of Husbandry, and Effects of every kind, at home and abroad, at the lowest rates of 
Premium corresponding to the risk. 


HEAD OFFICES—EDINBURGH, 64, Princes Street. 
LONDON—58, Threadneedle Street, and 4, New Bank Buildings. 
West-End Office, 8, Waterloo Place, Pall Mall. 










MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER, 


22 


May, 


PELICAN LIFE INSURANCE OFFICE. Established in 

1797. No. 70, Lombard Street, E.C., and 57, Charing Cross, S.W. 


BISECTORS 


Octavius E. Coope, Esq. 

William Cotton, Esq., D.C.L., F.R.S. 
John Davis, Esq. 

Jas. A. Gordon, Esq., M.D., F.R.S. 
Edward Hawkins, jun., Esq. 
Kirkman D. Hodgson, Esq., M.P. 


Henry Lancelot Holland, Esq. 
William James Lancaster, Esq. 

John Lubbock, Esq., F.R.S. 

Benjamin Shaw, Esq. 

Matthew Whiting, Esq. 

Marmaduke Wyvill, jun., Esq., M.P. 


Robert Tucker, Secretary and Actuary. 


Examples of the amount of Bonus awarded at the recent division of profits to Policies of 
£1000 each, efiected for the whole term of life at the undermentioned ages:— 


Age when 
Assured. 

Duration of 
Policy. 

Bonus in Cash. 

Bonus in 
Reversion. 



Jb 

s. 

d. 

£ 

s. 

d. 

( 

7 years. 

29 

7 

0 

66 

0 

0 

20 < 

14 years. 

36 

2 

0 

73 

10 

0 

l 

21 years. 

44 

8 

0 

82 

0 

0 

c 

7 years. 

49 

13 

6 

84 

10 

0 

40 1 

14 years. 

61 

2 

0 

95 

10 

0 

l 

21 years. 

75 

2 

6 

108 

0 

0 

c 

7 years. 

95 

4 

6 

127 

10 

0 

60 J 

14 years. 

117 

2 

6 

144 

10 

0 

I 

21 years. 

144 

1 

0 

165 

10 

0 


%* For Prospectuses, Forms of Proposal, &c., apply at the Offices as above, or to any of 

the Company’s Agents. 


rpHE LONDON and WESTMINSTER BANK issues Circular Notes of £10 
-*- each, payable at every important place in Europe. These Notes are issued without 
charge, and they are cashed abroad free of commission. The Bank also issues, free of charge. 
Letters of Credit on all the principal cities and towns in Europe. The Letters of Credit 
are issued only at the head office, in Loth bury. The Circular Notes may be obtained at the 
head office, in Lothbury, or at any of the Branches, viz.:— 


Westminster Branch, 
Bloom sbuiy „ 

Southwark ,, 

Eastern „ 

Marylebone „ 

Temple Bar „ 


1, St. James’s Square. 

214, High Holborn. 

3, Wellington Street, Borough. 
87, High Street, Whitechapel. 

4, Stratford Place, Oxford Street. 
217, Strand. 


May 1, 1862. 


Wm. EWINGS, General Manager. 


ESSENTIALS 

FOR 

TR AVELLI NG. 

Thresher’s India Tweed Suits. 
Thresher’s Kashmir Flannel Shirts. 
Thresher’s Kashmir Woollen Socks. 
Thresher’s Coloured Flannel Shirts. 
Thresher’s Travelling Bags. 

SOLD ONLY BY 

THRESHER & GLENNY, 

NEXT DOOR TO SOMERSET HOUSE, 
STRAND. 


EVERYTHING FOR THE TOURIST. 


T| R ESS 1NG -CASES.—A t MECHI and 
-C' BAZIN'S Establishments, 112, Regent 
Street, 4, Leadenhall Street, and Crystal 
Palace,are EXHIBITED the FINEST SPECI¬ 
MENS of BRITISH MANUFACTURES, in 
Dressing-Cases, Work Boxes, Writing Cases, 
Dressing Bags, and other articles of utility or 
luxury, suitable for presentation. A sepa¬ 
rate Department for Papier Mfichd Manufac¬ 
tures and Bagatelle Tables. Table Cutlery, 
Razors, Scissors, Pen-knives, Strops, Paste, 
&c. Shipping orders executed. An extensive 
assortment of superior Hair and other Toilet 
Brushes. 
























The LANCET states—“This is Superior to 
anything of the kind known.” 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


23 



PATENT 
CORN FLOUR 

Paisley, Manchester, Dublin, & London. 


This favourite article of Diet is especially suitable for 

PUDDINGS, CUSTARDS, BLANCMANGES; 

and, being very light and of easy digestibility, it is recommended for 

BREAKFASTS, SUPPERS, &c„ 

for which it is easily prepared, requiring only to be boiled with milk for five 

minutes, and taken with sugar. 

It is preferred for all the purposes to which the best Arrowroot is applicable, 
and prepared in the same manner. For various culinary purposes, such as to 
thicken Soups, Sauces, Beef-tea, &c. &c., it is invaluable, and extensively used in 
all parts of the world. 

RECIPE FOR IWFiLTSTTS’ FOOD. 

To 1 dessert-spoonful of Brown & Polson, mixed with a wineglassful of cold 
water, add half-a-pint of boiling water; stir over the fire for five minutes; 
sweeten slightly, and feed the baby ; but if the infant is being brought up by 
hand, this food should then be mixed with milk,—not otherwise, as the use of two 
different milks would be injurious. —From the ‘ Cook's Guide,' by Mons. C. E. 
Francatelli, late Chief Cook to Her Majesty the Queen. 


Caution to Families. —All the various articles of this class have been made to 
resemble the general appearance of Brown and Poison’s packages; and, as they can 
be obtained much cheaper, they are often substituted or urged upon purchasers 
instead of Patent Corn Flour. All £ lb. and larger Packets are now signed by 
the Makers, “ John Brown ” and “ John Polson.” 

BROWN AND POLSON, 

Manufacturers and Purveyors to Her Majesty, 

PAISLEY, MANCHESTER, DUBLIN, AND LONDON. 


The First Manufactured in the United 
Kingdom and France. 










24 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISE!; 


■* 


Mav, 


FLORENCE. 


THE FLORENTINE BOUQUET, 

Distilled from a combination of those delicious flowers for which Florence is so highly 

celebrated, by 

ROBERTS & CO., 

DISTILLERS OP ESSENCES, 

AND 

PHARMACIENS TO THE BRITISH LEGATION, 

4190, VIA TORNABUONI (Opposite the Corsi Palace). 

In consequence of the daily increasing demands from England for this now fashionable bou¬ 
quet the proprietors have established a depot in LONDON at 

A. Whitburn’s, Foreign Chemist, 174, Regent Street, 


Where it may be obtained in any quantities; as also at tbeir depots in 


LEGHORN, H. Dunn, Via Grande. 

TURIN, Mondo, Via Madonna degli Angeli, 
No. 9. 

MILAN, Pozzi, Ponte di Porta Orientate. 
GENOA, Bkuzza, Piazza Nuova. 

PISA, Carrai, Lungo I’Arno. 

LUCCA, Farmacia Militare, Via Grande. 
BOLOGNA, Melloni, Via Vetturini. 

SIENA, Ciuoli, Piazza Tolomei. 

ANCONA, Belluigi, Vincenzo. 


MODENA, Vandini, Via Emilia. 

AREZZO, Ceccherelli, Via Vallelunga. 
VERONA. Scud ell a ri. 

BORGO SAN SEPOLCRO, Gigli. 

P1STOIA, FERDrNANDO Masi. 

CITTA DI CASTELLO, Vegni. 

PADOVA, Gasparini. 

ViCKNZA, Curti. [Toledo. 

NAPLES, Lonardo e Romano, 303, Via 
I ROME, SlNIMBERG HI. 


Travellers are informed that at the above Pharmacy a supply of the following goods is 
kept. All English and French approved Patent Medicines and Medicated Lozenges; English 
and French Plain and highly Perfumed Soaps in great variety; Pure Cod Liver Oil from 
Newfoundland ; Dr. de Jongh's ditto; Seidlitz Powders; Robinson's Patent Groats; Taylor’s 
Homoeopathic Cocoa; Oatmeal; Racahout des Arabes; Soda and Seltzer Water in Syphoide 
Vases; Congress Water direct from the Spring; India-rubber Goods of every description ; 
Finest Turkey Sponge; Sponge Bags; Metcalfe’s Tooth Brushes, Hair Brushes, and Nail 
ditto; Epps’s Homoeopathic Globules; Marrow Oil. 

Depot for the Genuine Eau de Cologne of Jean Maria Farina (gegeniiber deni Jiilichs 
Platz); Rowland's Macassar Oil, Odonto, and Kalydor; Henry’s Calcined Magnesia. 


STEAMSHIP AND TRANSIT AGENCY, 

Between England and all parts of Germany, Holland, 

Sweden, and Denmark. 

Correspondents Abroad—Rotterdam—Messrs. I). A. Van Oordt and Co. At Mannheim 
and all places on the Rhine—The Agents of the Netherlands Steamboat Company. Bremen 
—Mr. J. H Bachmann, and Messrs. L. Delius and Co. Gothenburg—Messrs. August Leffler 
and Co. Copenhagen—Mr. C. K. Hausen. Calcutta—Messrs. Wattenbach, Heilgers, and Co. 
Southampton-Messrs. Keller, Wallis, and Postlethwaite. Havre—Messrs. Wm. Iselin arid 
Co. Antwerp—Mr. M. Kennedy. 

Baggage, Effects, and Merchandise will be received by any of the above-named, and for¬ 
warded to England to the care of the undersigned, who are sole Agents in London for the 
Steamers of the North German Lloyd of Bremen ; of the Netherlands Steamboat of Rotter¬ 
dam ; for those between London and Copenhagen, and between London and Gothenburg, and 
Stockholm via Gothenburg. Marine Insurances effected. 

PHILLIPPS, GRAVES, & PHILLIPP5, 11, Rood Lane, London, E.C.; 

And at Lloyd's. 












1863 . 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER 


25 



COLOGNE, THE RHINE, NORTHERN AND EASTERN GERMANY, 
AND SWITZERLAND, via HOLLAND. 

-K>«- 

The shortest and cheapest route between England and the above-named places is by the 

Boats of the 

General Steam Navigation Company, 
FROM LONDON TO ROTTERDAM, 

AND THENCE BY THE 

BUTCH RHEIIISII RAHWAY. 

One of the General Steam Navigation Company’s First-Class' Steamers * COLOGNE,’ 
‘LEO,’ or ‘CONCORDIA,’ leaves St. Katharine's Wharf for Rotterdam, every Tuesday, 
Thursday, and Saturday. The average passage is 18 hours, of which 10 hours are on the 
Rivers Thames and Maas, and 8 at Sea. An Agent of the Dutch Rhenish Company will attend 
the arrival of the Steamers at Rotterdam to assist the Passengers in transshipping to the 
Railway. 

Passengers adopting this Route will not only avoid the landing in small Boats at Ostend, 
and crossing the Rhine at Cologne or Ruhrort, but will also effect a large saving in distance 
and expense. 

T H IS © U Cl HI T ICKETS 

ARE ISSUED IN LONDON FOR THE FOLLOWING FLACES AND KATES:— 



SINGLE JOURNEY. 

RETURN 

JOURNEY. 


Available for 

10 days. 

Available for 30 days. 


1st Class. 2nd Class. 

1st Class. 

2 nd Class. 

LONDON TO 










£. s. 

d. | £. 

s. 

d. 

£. s. 

d. 

£. 

s. d. 

Amsterdam . 

i 14 

6 i 

y 

y 

o 

2 II 

9 

i 

14 6 

Berlin . 

5 3 

6 I 3 

IO 

o 

9 7 

o 

6 

6 0 ‘ 

Bremen . 

3 16 

6 2 

12 

6 

6 12 

6 

4 

11 0 

Brunswick . 

3 i 3 

O 2 

r 3 

o 

6 16 

o 

4 

12 0 

1 )eutz (Cologne). 

2 12 

6 i 

15 

6 

4 5 

o 

2 

17 6 

Dresden. 

5 12 

° i 5 

15 

6 

io 4 

6 

6 

17 6 

Dusseldorf . 

2 7 

6 i 

12 

o 

3 15 

o 

2 

11 0 

Emmerich. 

I iq 

6 i 

7 

o 

2 iq 

3 

2 

0 6 

Frankfort on the Maine . 

3 8 

O 2 

7 

o 

5 lb 

6 

4 

0 6 

Hanover . 

3 12 

O 2 

8 

6 

6 3 

6 

4 

4 ° 

Harburg for Hamburg . 

4 4 

6 2 

18 

o 

7 9 

o 

5 

2 6 

Leipzig. 

5 ° 

6 3 

8 

o 

9 i 

o 

6 

2 0 

Magdeburg. 

4 8 

6 3 

o 

o 

7 17 

o 

5 

6 0 

Minden. 

3 5 

6 1 2 

4 

6 






The Direct Tickets are available for One Month from the date of issue, and enable the 
holders to break the journey at the chief intermediate places. 

Return Tickets are also issued at a considerable reduction of price, and conferring the 
same privileges as the Direct Tickets. 

From Dusseldorf and Cologne Steamers run several times daily, passing through the whole 
of the celebrated scenery of the Rhine. There are frequent daily communications between 
Cologne, Bonn, Aix-la-Chapelle, Wiesbaden, Baden-Baden, Frankfort, Carlsruhe, &c. 

Tickets for the above places, Lists of Fares, and every information as to hours of departure, 
See .,can be obtained at the OFFICE OF THE DUTCH RHENISH RAILWAY, 40, GRACE- 
CHURCH STREET; Tickets for Amsterdam,Cologne, and Dusseldorf, at the Offices of the 
General Steam Navigation Company, 37, Regent Circus, Piccadilly, and 71, Lombard Street. 

LOIVDOIV OFFICE, 40, Graceelmrch Street, E.C. 
































26 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER 


May 


* 



MAPS for TOURISTS, as recom- 

mended by Murray.— Messrs. LETTS 

have procured from various reliable sources the ; 

best Maps of every part of the World where j 

Travellers are wont to resort, and believe that 

the annexed epitome will meet all requirements. 

ENGLAND —The Ordnance Maps, on thescale 
of 1 inch to the mile, at 5s. each sheet 
coloured and mounted; or 2s. plain, un¬ 
mounted. 

WALES —Similar to the above, with the 
Geological Formations, if required. 

SCOTLAND— The Ordnance or Ainslie’s 1- 
inch Maps ; or Black’s at 2s. per sheet, 1 
coloured. 

IRELAND— The 1 inch Ordnance Survey, at 
6 d. per sheet plain, unmounted. 

ALGIERS— The French Government Maps, ' 
on various scales, at 3s. per sheet. 

AUSTRIAN EMPIRE — The Government 
Map, on the scale of J inch to the mile, I 
at 2s. 6cZ. and 4s. per sheet: any part i 
of this extended empire may be had. 

AUVERGNE— Desmarest’s; incase 1 1. 10s. 

BELGIUM —Van der Maelen’s large Map on j 
the scale 3 inches to the mile, at 5s. per ! 
sheet, mounted in case. 

DAUPHINE —Bourcet; in case 21. 

GERMANY —Hendschel's Post Map; Diez’s 
Eisenbahn Karte; and large scale Maps 
by Perthes & Engelhardt. 

GREECE— French Government Survey, in 
20 sheets, 1Z. 15s.; case 2 l. 12s. 6 cl. 
Kiepert’s Pocket Map, case, 5s. 

ITALY —Austrian Government Survey, on 
the scale of li miles to the inch, at 
2s. 6d. to 7s. 6d. per sheet. 

MADEIRA—Ziegler’s colour-printed Map, 10s. 

NORWAY AND SWEDEN— Forsell’s, in 8 
sheets, 21. 10s.; Muuch’s, in case, ll. 4s. 

PALESTINE —Van der Velde’s celebrated 
Map, in case, 26s.; memoir, 7s. 6 d. 
extra. French Government Map of j 
Lebanon, 1 l. 10s. 

PYRENEES— Lezat’s and Veuillement’s, at 
6s. each in case. 

ROME-Ba ron Moltke’s, at 6s. & 18s., in case. 

RUSSIA —Austrian Government Map, in 22 J 
sheets, at 5s. per sheet. 

SARDINIA —Alberto de la Marmora’s beau¬ 
tiful Map, mounted in case, 26s. 

STYRIA, TYROL — See Austrian Empire. 

SWITZER LAN D--Swiss Government Survey, I 
on the scale of If inches to the mile, in j 
24 sheets, at prices from 5s. upwards ; j 
Leuthold’s, at 12s. 6d. in case; Studer ! 
and Escher’s Geological, at 18s. 6 d. 

TURKEY —Austrian Government Survey, at j 
4s. per sheet. 

N.B. —Such of the above as are not in Stock 
can be ordered by means of the Index Maps, | 
all of which, with Specimen Maps, may be ! 
consulted. 

LETTS, SOOT, &. CO., Stationers and 
Map Agents to H.M. Board of Ordnance 
and the Geological Society, 8, LOYAL 
EXCHANGE, LONDON. 


O X FjO R D. 

SPIERS AND SON, 

102 & 103, HIGH STREET, 

Respectfully invite TOURISTS to VISIT 
their Extensive Warehouses for Useful and 
Ornamental Manufactures, suitable for Pre¬ 
sents and remembrances of OXFORD. 

Copies of every published GUIDE-BOOK 
and MAP of Oxford and its neighbourhood 
kept in stock, as well as Views, Photographs, 
Stereoscopic Pictures, &c. 

At the Great Exhibitions in London, Paris, 
and New York, Honourable Mention or the 
Prize Medal was awarded to their Manu¬ 
factures. 

Information relative to Oxford afforded to 
strangers visiting their establishments. 


HOMOEOPATHIC MEDICINE 
CHEST AND GUIDE. 

Contains Twenty-four Remedies, and a Guide 
giving full instructions for their use. This 
Case, leather-covered and specially adapted 
for the pocket, is always available in cases of 
emergency, as sea-sickness, sore throat, and 
all common complaints. Complete 20s. 

JAMES EPPS, 

HOMOEOPATHIC CHEMIST 
(the first entirely Homoeopathic established 
in England), 

112 , Great Russell Street; 170, Piccadilly: 
AND 48 , TlIREADNEEDLE STREET, LONDON. 


GALIGNANFS 

NEW PARIS GUIDE. 


Compiled from the best authorities, revised 
and verified by personal inspection, and ar¬ 
ranged on an entirely new plan, with Map 
and Plates. Royal 13mo. 10s. 6 d, bound; or 
without Plates, 7s. 6ci. bound. 

London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. 


ROTTERDAM. 

H. A. KRAMERS, 

Importer of Foreign Books. 

Mr. Murray’s * Handbooks for Travel¬ 
lers,’ Baedeker’s ‘ Reischandbiichev,’ and 
Joanne’s ‘ Guides pour les Voyageurs,’ 
always in Stock. 

English, French, and German Books im¬ 
ported Weekly, and a great variety of New 
Books kept in Store. 

47, GELDEKSCHE KADE. 














1863. 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER, 


27 


LISIEUX. 

HOTEL DE FRANCE. 

EAUTIFUL GARDENS; 

Comfortable Rooms. 

English spoken by the 'Master 
and Mistress of the Establish¬ 
ment. 

GERMAN ATTENDANCE. 


T ravellers see 

STRANGE SIGHTS” is indeed a 
true saying, but nothing more strange than 
the diversity exhibited in Dress. Generally 
it is fitted to the wants and habits of the 
peoples; but in one respect all nations 
appear unanimous, for, if we visit the Boule¬ 
vards of Paris, the Alcala of Madrid, the 
Nevskoi of St. Petersburg!), the Unter den 
Linden of Berlin, the Promenades of Italy, or 
Broadway in New York, we everywhere ob¬ 
serve the elegant contour given to the Ladies’ 
dress by the use of 

THOMSON’S CRINOLINES. 

Well did they deserve the Prize Medal 
awarded them at the London Exhibition of 
IS62, as their manufactures are undoubtedly 
pre-eminent for elegance, lightness, strength, 
and flexibility; and their rapid adoption is 
a sure test of their superior quality, as no 
lady with any pretensions to good taste would 
be seen without them. By the enterprise of 
MESSRS. THOMSON they may be obtained 
in every city in Europe and America; but 
we must caution Ladies to observe that every 
Crinoline of their manufacture has, in addition 
to their name, the Trade Mark of a “ Crown ” 
stamped upon them. This is the more neces¬ 
sary to observe, as many imitations are sold, 
and great discomfort occasioned to the wearer 
by the use of such imitations. 


N IjC E. 

Villa Visconti - Cimies, 

AND 

THE MARINE VILLA, No. 69, 
PROMENADE DES ANGLAIS. 

Pensions Anglaises. Conducted by an English 
Lady and'Gentleman. Charming modem re¬ 
sidences winter or summer. Frequented by 
the first English families. Superior accommo¬ 
dation. 

The Proprietors are about to establish a 
Pension on the Lake of Geneva in connexion 
with their Houses at Nice. 



Ton lists and Travellers, 


Visitors to the Seaside, 

and others exposed to the scorching rays of the 
Sun and heated particles of Dust, will find 

ROWLANDS’ RALYD0I1 

a most refreshing preparation for the Com¬ 
plexion, dispelling the cloud of languor and 
relaxation, allaying all heat and irritability, 
and immediately affording the pleasing sensa¬ 
tion attending restored elasticity and health¬ 
ful state of the skin. 

Freckles, Tan, Spots, Pimples, Flushes, 
and Discolouration, fly before its application, 
and give place to delicate clearness, with the 
glow of beauty and of bloom. In cases of 
sunburn, or stings of insects, its virtues have 
long been acknowledged. 

Price 4s. 6 d. and 8s. 6 d. per Bottle. 


The heat of summer also frequently com¬ 
municates a dryness to the hair, and a ten¬ 
dency to fall off, which may be completely 
obviated by the use of 

ROWLANDS’ MACASSAR OIL, 

a delightfully fragrant and transparent pre¬ 
paration, and as an invigorator and beautifier 
of the Hair beyond all precedent. 

Price 3s. 6d., 7s., 10s. 6d. (equal to four 
small), and 21s. per Bottle. 


White and Sound Teeth are indispensable 
to Personal Attraction, and to health and 
longevity by the proper mastication of food. 

ROWLANDS’ 0D0NT0, 

OK, PEARL DENTIFRICE, 

a White Powder, compounded of the choicest 
and most fragrant exotics. It bestows on 
the Teeth a pearl-like whiteness, frees them 
from Tartar, and imparts to»the Gums* a 
healthy firmness, and to the Breath a pleasing 
fragrance. 

Price 2s. 9 d. per Box. 

SOLD AT 

20, HATTON GARDEN 

LONDON; 

And by Chemists and Perfumers. 

V Ask for “ROWLAND’S” Articles. 
























28 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


May, 



Tourist’s & Passport Agency, 

8, ROYAL EXCHANGE, LONDON, E.C. 

M ESSRS. LETTS undertake to supply 
intending Travellers either through 
this or Foreign Countries with every informa¬ 
tion that can be of service to them on their 
route—relative to times and means of Convey¬ 
ance, Couriers, Currency, &c.—and to provide 
PASSPORTS with the requisite vises with 
the utmost promptitude and regard to eco¬ 
nomy. The Passports, being mounted on 
strong, thin linen, and inserted in Russia, 
Morocco, or Roan Cases, will) the Propri¬ 
etor’s name lettered on the outside, are ren¬ 
dered sufficiently durable to last many seasons 
and facilitate their examination by the Police 
authorities. TRAVELLERS to INDIA 
or the CONTINENT may be provided 
with the Newest Editions of 
ENGLISH, FRENCH, AND GERMAN 
GUIDE BOOKS, 

as well as the most approved selection of 
Maps, both English and Foreign (see separate 
List), and with Polyglot Washing-Books, 
Books of Travel-Talk, and Dictionaries. 
Trustworthy Couriers will be recommended 
by giving sufficient notice. 

TOURISTS in the UNITED KINGDOM 

will find the following articles extremely 
valuable (many indispensable ):— 

MAPS AND GUIDES* 

by Murray, Black, Stanford, and Johnston, 
for England, English Counties and Lakes, 
Isle of Wight, Wales (North and South), 
Scotland and Scotch Counties, and Ireland, 
together with the beautiful series of Oun- 
naxce Maps (without which no Pedestrian 
should commence his tour), in neat and port¬ 
able Cases, from Is. each. 

Also LETTS’ Shilling Series of Govern¬ 
ment Maps, on the scale of 1 inch to the 
mile, folded in a neat paper cover. They 
may be obtained from any Bookseller (or the 
Publishers for 13 stamps), and embrace al¬ 
most all the leading Cities, Watering places, 
and Tourists’ Resorts in England and Ireland. 
Each Map contains 18 miles one way and 12 
the other, or a superficial area of 216 miles. 

Every description of Stationery required 
by the Traveller, of which the undermen¬ 
tioned may form a sample, kept in stock, 
and forwarded on receipt of remittance to 
amount of order :— 

EesJcs, Flexible Writing Cases, Metallic 
Books, Tourists’ Cases, Fcrpetaal Diaries, 
Luggage Labels, Foreign l'aper and Enve¬ 
lopes, Cash Belts, Purses, Bags, Botanical 
Paper, and other Requisites. 

LETTS, SON, & CO., 

8, ROYAL EXCHANGE, LONDON, E.C., 
Stationers, Travelling Desk Manufacturers, 
Lithographers, and Agents to H.M. Board of 
Ordnance and the Geological Society. 

* Illustrated Catalogues of Ordnance and other 
Maps, Guides, and Atlases, forwarded per return of 
Post, upon receipt of One Postage Stamp. 


PARIS. 

THE ENGUSH BANK, 

35, RUE YIYIENNE, 

A FFORDS every Banking 

-Ll- facility to persons having money 
transactions between France and England. 

Opens Current Accounts with Com¬ 
mercial Houses and Private Individuals. 
Allows Interest on Deposits. 

Honours the Drafts, Letters of Credit, 
and Circular Notes of all recognised 
Bankers throughout Great Britain. 

Cashes Coupons, Dividend Warrants, 
and approved Mercantile Bills, payable 
in London. 

Grants Drafts on London, payable on 
demand, for all amounts. 

Undertakes the Sale and Purchase of 
Public Securities, and transacts every 
description of Banking and Exchange 
Business upon the most favourable 
terms. 

Bank Hours from Ten to Four. 

NAPLES. 

pRAND HOTEL CROCELLI.— 

U Situated in the healthiest part, and the 
only hotel commanding a fine view of Mount 
Vesuvius and the magnificent scenery of tbe 
Bay. Families and single gentlemen may 
depend upon good attendance, cleanliness, 
and moderate prices. Heading Room sup¬ 
plied with English and French papers, Smok¬ 
ing Room, Table-d’hote, and every comfort 
and convenience. 

JEAN M ASTI NELLI, Proprietor. 

FIELD GLASSES. 

BURROW’S 
MALVERN 
GLASSES 

Are noted throughout the world, and their 
new and perfected 

RIFLE TELESCOPES 

command the preference of the highest autho¬ 
rities. Details and prices on application. 

W. and J. Burrow, Great Malvern. 
London. —Arnold, 72 , Baker Street, W.; 
Wai.es and Co., 56, Cheapside, E.C. 













1863 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER, 


29 


HANDSOME BRASS AND IRON BEDSTEADS. 


H EAL and SON’S SHOW ROOMS contain a large assortment of Brass 

Bedsteads, suitable both for Home use and for Tropical Climates; handsome Iron Bedsteads 
with Brass Mountings and elegantly Japanned ; plain Iron Bedsteads for Servants; every description 
of Wood Bedstead that is manufactured, in Mahogany, Birch, Walnut Tree Woods, Polished Deal 
and Japanned; all fitted with Bedding and Furniture complete, as well as every description of Bed- 
: room Furniture. 






\ 



isxm Dxt Jxiijuyuli 

CONTAINS DESIGNS AND PRICES OF 150 DIFFERENT ARTICLES 

OF BEDROOM FURNITURE, AS WELL AS OF 
100 BEDSTEADS, AND PRICES OF EVERY 
DESCRIPTION OF BEDDING, 

SENT FREJE^ 6Y POST. 

IIEAJL aid SOU - , 

BEDSTEAD, BEDDING, AND BEDROOM 
k FURNITURE MANUFACTURERS, 

196, TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD, 

LONDON. 


le sommier elastique portatif. 

H EAL and SON have patented a method of making a Spring Mattress port¬ 
able The great objection to the usual Spring Mattress is its being so heavy and cumbersome. 
The ‘ Sonimier Elastique Portatif ’ is made in three separate parts, and when joined together 
has all the elasticity ot the best Spring Mattress. As it has no stuffing of wool or horse-hair, it can¬ 
not harbour moth, to which the usual Spring Mattress is very liable; the prices, also, are much below 
those of the best Spring Mattresses. 

HEAL AND SON, 190, TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD, W. 















30 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER 


May. 

y ' 


MUNICH. 

' ■ ♦ 

THE FOUR SEASONS HOTEL, 

No. 4, MAXIMILIANS STRASSE. 


%* The Maximilian Street, which has been built at the express commands of His 
Majesty the King of Bavaria, may justly be considered one of the finest streets in Ger¬ 
many, both for its magnificent and grand Buildings, as well as for its beautiful ornamental 
Promenades. 

AUGUST SCHIMON, Proprietor. 


rpTIIS spacious new Hotel, for Gentlemen and Families, is situated 

4 in the most healthy part of the town, has been recently con¬ 
structed and elegantly furnished in the newest and most fashionable 
style by the present proprietor, who will spare no effort to promote 
the comforts and satisfaction of those who may do him the honour of 
frequenting his Hotel. The Hotel is situated in the most central part 
of the town, and near to the Royal Palace, the Boyal Theatres, and the 
Post-office. The Hotel contains 200 large and small Apartments, all 
of them having the view of the above-mentioned handsome Street on 
the south side ; together with two large Dining Saloons, Coffee-rooms, 
Smoking-rooms, and Billiard Tables. 

The lovers of Hews will find at the Beading-rooms belonging to the 
Hotel (where smoking is not permitted) the best German, French, 
English, American, and Italian Newspapers and Periodical Literature. 


HOT and COLD BATHS, as well as VAPOUR BATHS* 

ARE ALWAYS READY. 

ELEGANT CARRIAGES ON HIRE. 

An Omnibus from the Hotel attends the arnval of the Trains. 

A Fixed Charge for Attendance. 






1863. 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


31 


BONN ON THE RHINE. 


MR. SCHMITZ, 

PROPRIETOR OP THE GOLDEN STAR HOTEL, 

Begs leave to recommend bis Hotel to English Travellers. The apart¬ 
ments are furnished throughout in the English style ; the rooms are 
carpeted ; and the attendance, as well as the kitchen and the wine- 
cellar, is well provided. Mr. SCHMITZ begs to add that at no first- 
rate Hotel on the Rhine will be found more moderate charges and more 
cleanliness. 


The STAR HOTEL has been honoured by the visits of the following 
Members of the English Royal Family :— 


1857. Oct. 


. 16 | 


II. 

H. 


1857. Aug. 20 
1857. Aug. 8 H. 
1857. July 29 j 

1857. July 29 j H> 

i H - 

1857. July 15 < 


1856. t Nov, 


■ •{ 


1846. June 18 

1818. May . . 
1825. March 
and Sept. . 

1834. July. . 

1836. Aug. . 

1837. July. . 

1839. Nov, . 

— Nov. . 

1840. 

1841. 

1841. 


{ 


H 

;h 

;h, 

H 

H. 

H, 

;h, 

H. 


• • 
• • 


1844. . . . 
■ • • • 

1845. June 
1347. July 


•{ H 
. H 
. H 
H 
H 

•{" 

T. 


{ 


R. H. the Prince of Wales, accompanied by General Sir W. Codrincton, 
Colonel Ponsonby, Sir Frederic Stanley, Dr. Armstrong, Rev. F. C. 
Tarver, Mr. Gibbs, etc. 

R. H. the Prince of Wales and his Suite paying a visit at the Golden 
Star Hotel to His Majesty the King of the Belgians. 

R. H. the Prince of Wales and his Suite. 

R. H. the Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Mary of Cambridge, 
accompanied by the Baron Knesebeok and Suite. 

R. H. the Prince of Wales paying a visit’ at the Golden Star Hotel to 
T. R. H. the Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Mary of Cambridge. 
R. H. the Prince of Wales, accompanied by the Right Honourable C. 
Grey, General Major, Colonel Ponsonby, Sir Frederic Stanley, Dr. 
Armstrong, Rev. F. C. Tarver, Mr. Gibbs, etc. 

R. H. Prince Alfred of Great Britain, accompanied by Lieutenant- 
General Sir Frederick Stovin and Lieutenant Cowell. 

, M. Adelaide, Queen Dowager of Great Britain, accompanied by 
His Highness Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar, Lord and Lady Bar¬ 
rington, Sir David Davies, M.D., Rev. J. R. Wood, M.A., Captain 
Taylor, &c. &c., honoured the above establishment with a Three 
Days’ Visit. 

, R. H. the Duke of Cambridge and Suite. 

. R. H. the Duke and Duchess of Clarence (King William IV. and 
Queen Adelaide) and Suite. 

M. Queen Adelaide, accompanied by the Earl and Countess of Errol, 
Earl and Countess of Denbigh, Earl and Countess Howe, &c. 

R. H. the Duchess of Gloucester and Suite. 

R. H. the Duchess of Cambridge and Suite. 

R. H. the Prince George of Cambridge and Suite. 

R. H. Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg Gotha, accompanied by Prince 
Ernest of Saxe Coburg Gotha, and their Suite. 

R. H. the Duchess of Cambridge, accompanied by the Princess Augusta 
of Cambridge, and their Suite. 

R. H. the Duchess of Kent and Suite, accompanied by H. S. H. the 
Prince of Leiningen. 

. R. H. the Duchess of Cambridge and Suite. 

R. H. Princess Carolina of Cambridge. 

. R. H. the Duchess of Cambridge and Suite. 

R. H. Princess Mary of Cambridge. 

R. H. the Duchess of Kent and Suite, accompanied by H. S. H. the 
Prince of Leiningen. 

R. H. the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, with their Family and 
Suite. 






32 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. Slay, 


LONDON AND PARIS 

IK 10 HOUBS, 

By the Accelerated Special Express Daily Direct Tidal Service, 

Via FOLKESTONE and BOULOGNE. 

THE CHEAPEST, QIICKEST, AND SHORTEST ROUTE. 

A Through Night Service between London and Paris, 

Via FOLKESTONE and BOULOGNE. 

For Hours of Departure (which are variable), of both the above Services, see Time Book and Bills. 

SIX THROUGH SERVICES BAILY BY THE SHORT SEA 

ATff2> IVYJ3.II. ROUTS. 


The Mail Trains of this Company, conveying by special appointment the Continental 
Mails, run to and start from the Mail-Packet Side on the Admiralty Pier at 
Dover. 

To avoid inconvenience from examination en route, Passengers should be careful 
to order the registry of their Baggage per South-Eastern Railway. 

Cwcucral Reduction in the Rates for Through Tickets. 

LONDON AND PARIS RETURN TICKETS. 

FIRST CLASS. SECOND CLASS. 

Ey either Boulogne or Calais. £3 12 0 . £2 12 0 

Third-Class Through Tickets by Night Service, 20s. 

BELGIUM, GERMANY, HOLLAND, &c. &c„ 

By the appointed Continental Mail Trains. 

FIVE SERVICES BAILY. 

LEAVING LONDON BRIDGE at 7*30 a.m. and 8-35 pal, 
via Ostend and Calais; and at 9’45 a.m., via Calais. 


THROUGH TICKETS ISSUED AND BAGGAGE UEGISTEKED 

(With a free allowance of 56 lbs. each Passenger), 

To and from the Principal Continental Cities and Towns. 
NEW ROUTE TO THE EAST. 

THE PARCELS EXPRESSES convey Parcels to nearly all Continental 
Destinations, at through Rates, as quickly as the Mails. 

A'lleduced and Revised Scale of Through Rates for Parcels and Merchandise, of any 
weight, between Din don and Paris. A New Through Tariff, between London and Paris, 
for Bullion and Value Parcels; also, Rates for Value Parcels beiween London and Belgium. 

MERCHANDISE FORWARDED TO BOULOGNE, 

For all information, see Time-Book and Book of Tariffs. 

PASSPORTS.—British Subjects can now enter and travel through 

Prance without Passports. 


LONDON BRIDGE STATION, 
SEASON, 1863. 


C. W. EBORALL, General Manager. 


















1863 . 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


33 


FOREIGN BOOKS AT FOREIGN PRICES. 

Travellers may save expense and trouble by purchasing Foreign Books in 
England at the same prices at which they are published in Germany or France. 

WILLIAMS & NORGATE 


1. CLASSICAL CATALOGUE. 

2. THEOLOGICAL CATA¬ 

LOGUE. 

3. FRENCH CATALOGUE. 

4. GERMAN CATALOGUE. 

5. EUROPEAN LINGUISTIC 

CATALOGUE. 

6. ORIENTAL CATALOGUE. 

7. ITALIAN CATALOGUE. 

8. SPANISH CATALOGUE. 


SCIENTIFIC CATALOGUE. 

Natural History, Chemistry, Mathe¬ 
matics, Medicine, &c. 

10. FOREIGN BOOK CIRCU¬ 
LARS. New Books, and New 
Purchases. 

11. SCIENTIFIC-BOOK CIRCU¬ 
LARS. New Books and Recent 
Purchases. 


have published the following CATALOGUES of their Stock :— 

9 


ANY CATALOGUE SENT POST-FREE FOR ONE STAMP. 

■WILLIAMS & NORGATE, Importers of Foreign Books 

14, Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London, and 
20, South Frederick Street, Edinburgh. 


BAGNERES DE BIGORRE 

Is a delightfully situated town at 
the foot of the Pyrenees, possessing 
a large thermal establishment and 
waters of much celebrity. It is 
the most central of all the water¬ 
ing places in the Pyrenees, and 
possesses the most resources and 
the best accommodation alike for 
summer and winter. 

There is an English episcopal 
church and resident chaplain at 
Bagneres, where several English 
families permanently reside. 

THE HOTEL DE FRANCE 

Is a large and spacious establish¬ 
ment, well situated, clean, and 
comfortable. The cuisine is first- 
rate. The Proprietor, Antoine 
Uzac, is accustomed to receive 
English families, and always uses 
his best endeavours to attend to 
the wants of his guests and treat 
them with great liberality. 


CORMAYEUR. 

HOTEL ROYAL. 

L. BERTOLINI. 


Single-Bedded Rooms, from 11 to 3 

Francs. 

Double ditto, 3 to 5 Francs. 

Sitting Rooms, 4 to 8 Francs. 
Breakfast, Francs; with Meat or 
Eggs, 2 Francs. 

Table-d’hote Dinner, 3 Francs. 
Separate Dinners, 4 Francs. In 
Sitting Room, 5 Francs. 

PENSION—Breakfast, Dinner, Tea, 
Bedroom, and service. 

One Month, 7 Francs a Day. 
One Week, 71 „ 

BATHS in the Hotel- 

Warm, II Francs. Cold, 1 Franc. 

D 







34 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


May, 


THE FOLLOWING ARE THE 

NEW WORKS OF THE SEASON. 


TMIE PRINCE CONSORT’S PRINCIPAL SPEECHES 

J. and ADDRESSES. With an Introduction giving some Outlines of his Character. 
Portrait. 8vo. 10s. 6 d. 

flANON STANLEY’S SERMONS, Preached before the 

\J Prince of Wales during his Tour in the East. With Notices of the Localities visited. 
Svo. 9s. 

B ISHOP BLOMFIELD’S MEMOIR. With Selections from 

his Correspondence. By HIS SON. Portrait, 2 vols. Post 8vo. 18s. 


D 


EAN MILMAN’S HISTORY OF THE JEWS. From 

the Earliest Period, continued to Mo 
a New Preface. 3 vols. 8vo. 36s. 


the Earliest Period, continued to Modem Times. A New and Enlarged Edition. With 


S IR CHARLES LYELL ON THE ANTIQUITY OF 

MAN. From Geological Evidences. Illustrations. 8vo. 14s. 


M 


R. BRACE’S POPULAR HISTORY OF THE RACES 

OF THE OLD WORLD. Post 8vo. 


G eneral sir Howard Douglas’s life, con¬ 
versations, AND CORRESPONDENCE. By S. W. FULLOM. Portrait. 8vo. 
15s. 

A DMIRAL MUNDY’S NARRATIVE OF THE ITALIAN 

XjL REVOLUTION, 1859-61. With Notices of Garibaldi, Francis II., and Victor Emma¬ 
nuel. Post 8vo. 12s. 


M 

M 


R. FORTUNE’S NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY TO 

YEDO AI 
8 vo. 16s. 


YEDO AND PEKING. With Notices of Things met by the Way, &c. Illustrations. 


RS. ATKINSON’S RECOLLECTIONS OF THE TAR¬ 

TAR STEPPES AND THEIR INHABITANTS. Illustrations. Post 8vo. 12s. 

rpHE STANHOPE MISCELLANIES. 2nd Edition. With 

A Additions. Post Svo. 5s. 6 cL 

G eneral sir Robert Wilson’s autobiogra- 

PHICAL MEMOIRS. From Early Life down to the Peace of Tilsit. Portrait. 
2 vols. 8vo. 26s. 


M 


R. BATES’ RECORD OF ELEVEN YEARS’ ADVEN- 

TURES AND 
Post 8vo. 28s. 


TURES AND TRAVELS ON THE RIVER AMAZONS. Illustrations. 2 vols. 


ft APT AIN MAYNE’S NARRATIVE OF FOUR YEARS’ 

\J RESIDENCE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA AND VANCOUVER ISLAND. Illustra- 




1863. 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


35 


NEW WORKS OF THE SEASON— continued. 


P ROFESSOR RAWLINSON’S HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, 

AND ANTIQUITIES OF ASSYRIA AND CHALDEA. Illustrations. 8vo. 16s. 

pAPTAIN BLAKISTON’S NARRATIVE OF HIS EX- 

\J PEDITION TO EXPLORE THE UPPER WATERS OF THE YANG-TSZE. 
Illustrations. 8vo. 18s. 


R. MARCH PHILLIPS’S WORK ON JURISPRH- 

DENCE. 8vo. 12s. 


M 

pAPTAIN BRINE’S HISTORY OF THE RISE AND 

\J PROGRESS OF THE TAEPING REBELLION IN CHINA. Post 8vo. 10s. 6 d. 

M 


R. MARKHAM’S TRAVELS IN PERU AND INDIA, 

while collecting Cinchona Plants, and introducing Bark into India. Illustrations. 
8vo. 16s. 

R. BORROWS WILD WALES: its People, Language, 

and Scenery. 3 vols. Post 8vo. 30s. 

R. FARRAR’S CRITICAL HISTORY OF FREE 

THOUGHT IN REFERENCE TO THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 8vo. 16s. 


M 
M 

i RCHDEACON CHURTON’S TRANSLATIONS OF 

GONGORA'S POEMS. Portrait. 2 vols. Small 8vo. 15s. 

E arl stanhope’s life of the right hon. 

WILLIAM TITT. With Extracts from his MS. Papers. 2nd Edition. Portrait. 
4 vols. Post 8vo. 42s. 

M 


R. FERGUSSON’S HISTORY OF THE MODERN 

STYLES OF ARCHITECTURE. Illustrations. 8vo. 31s. 6 d. 


T HE WELLINGTON SUPPLEMENTARY DESPATCHES, 

Vol. 10—Waterloo, Campaign in France, and Capitulation of Paris. 8vo 20s. 


M 


R. FORSTER’S HISTORY OF THE GRAND REMON- 

STRANCE, AND ARREST OF THE FIVE MEMBERS BY CHARLES I, 
2 vols. Post 8vo. 24s. 


(ROFESSOR STANLEY’S LECTURES ON THE HIS- 

TORY OF THE JEWISH CHURCH—ABRAHAM TO SAMUEL. 8vo. 16s. 


M 

D 


R. SAMUEL LUCAS’S SECULARIA; or, Surveys on 

the Main Stream of History. 8vo. 12s. 


R. DAVIS’S VISITS TO THE RUINED CITIES OF 

NORTH AFRICA, situated in Numidian and Carthaginian Territory. Illustrations. 
8vo. 16s. 


M 


R. MARSH’S LECTURES ON THE ENGLISH Lan¬ 

guage. Edited by WM. SMI TH. Post 8vo. 7s. 6d. 


JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 





36 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


May, 


PARIS. 



67, RUE NEUVE ST. AUGUSTIN. 

A LTHOUGH not facing the Rue de la Paix or Boulevard des Capucins, it is not more than 
fifty yards from either of those places, commanding a partial view of them without 
being exposed to their noise. It has extensive and garden-like arranged courtyards, large 
airy Apartments, single Rooms, Table-d’Hote, Reading Rooms, excellent Cuisine, and par¬ 
ticularly moderate Charges. 

Mr. J. HOLYSCHUH, Proprietor, 

PERSONALLY SUPERINTENDS THE MANAGEMENT OF THE HOTEL. 


MAYEN CE. 

. — »o«. 

HOTEL D’ANGLETEBRE. 

HENRY SPECHT, Proprietor. 


This first-rate and excellent Hotel (combining every English comfort), situated 
in front of the Bridge, is the nearest Hotel to the Steamboats and close to the 
Bailway Stations. From its Balconies and Rooms are picturesque Views of the 
Rhine and Mountains. Galignani, Times, and Illustrated News taken in. The 
Table-d’Hote is renowned for its excellence, and for its Genuine Rhenish. Wines 
and Sparkling Hock, which Mr. Specht exports to England at Wholesale Prices. 


BOOKS OF EXCURSIONS. 

Q.LACIERS OF THE ALPS; a Narrative of Excursions 

AA and Ascents; and an Account of the Origin and Phenomena of Glaciers. By JOHN 
TYNDALL, F.R.S. Illustrations. Post 8vo. 14s. 


I CELAND ; its Volcanoes, Geysers, and Glaciers. By 

COMMANDER FORBES, R.N. Illustrations. Post 8vo. 14s. 


THE GREAT 

Atlas Mountains. 


SAHARA. Wanderings South of the 

By REV. H. B. TRISTRAM, M.A. Illustrations. Post 8vo. 15s. 


■RECOLLECTIONS OF TARTAR STEPPES AND THEIR 

■LV INHABITANTS. By MRS. ATKINSON. Illustrations. Post 8vo. 12s. 


THE NATURALIST ON THE RIVER AMAZONS, 

J- during Eleven Years of Travel and Adventures. By H. W. BATES. Illustra¬ 
tions. 2 vols. Post 8vo. 28s. 


yiSITS TO THE RUINED CITIES OF NORTH 

* AFRICA— SITUATED WITHIN NUMIDIAN AND CARTHAGINIAN TERRITORIES. By 

NATHAN DAVIS. Illustrations. 8vo. 16s. 

T ETTERS FROM ROME TO FRIENDS IN ENGLAND. 

L By REV. J. W. BURGON. Post 8vo. 12s. 

QINAI AND PALESTINE, in Connection with their 

tD History. By CANON STANLEY. 6th Edition. Plans. 8vo. 16s. 


JOHN MURRAY, Albemarle Street. 








1863. 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


37 


One Volume, 16mo., 3s. 6d., 

MURRAY'S 

HANDBOOK OP TRAVEL TALK, 


IN FOUR LANGUAGES, 


ENGLISH, 

FRENCH, 


GERMAN, 

ITALIAN, 


FOR THE USE OF ENGLISHMEN ABROAD OR FOREIGNERS IN ENGLAND. 


JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 


VISITORS TO THE CONTINENT 

A RE respectfully informed that they may ensure a good 

state of health by the simple and cheap process of taking PARR’S LIFE PILLS, which 
may be used with confidence in all cases of sick headache, indigestion, bilious, liver, and 
stomach complaints, habitual costiveness, nervous affections, &c. Travellers should make a 
point of taking out a supply with them, for by their prompt use much illness and incon¬ 
venience are prevented. They are an excellent preventive against Dysentery, Lethargy, 
Faintings, Fevers, Cholera, &c. Directions in Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English, are 
folded round each box. Parr’s Pills are sold in boxes Is. \%d., 2s. 9 d., and in Family Packets, 
11s. each. Observe that round the sides of each box of the genuine medicine is affixed the 
English Government Stamp, on which is engraved in wffiite letters on a red ground the 
words * Parr’s Life Pills.’ Sole Proprietors, T. ROBERTS and Co., 8, Crane Court, Fleet 
Street, London. 


GEO. BAKER, 

ENGLISH CHEMIST & DRUGGIST, 

No. 2, PLACE DES BERGTJES, 

GENEVA. 

PRESCRIPTIONS CAREFULLY PREPARED. ALL KINDS OF PATENT 

MEDICINES AND PERFUMERY. 

Homoeopathic Preparations. Soda and Saratoga Water. 


Owing to the facilities accorded by the ‘ Posies Federates Medicines 
and Preparations of all kinds are forwarded with the greatest despatch 
and safety to all parts of Switzerland. 

E 








38 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER 


May, 


OFFICIAL 

Illustrated gatlluag #«ide-§00ks, 

By GEORGE MEASOM. 


Second Editions. 

North-Western Railway and its Branches. Three Hundred 

and Sixty Engravings. ONE SHIIlIlIN - G . 

Lancaster and Carlisle, Edinburgh and Glasgow, and Cale- 

DONIAN RAILWAYS. One Hundred and Fifty Engravings. 

OI0E SHXX.X.XXVG. 

All the above bound together, 1580 pages, 3s. 6d. 

‘An intelligent companion is now before us in “The Official Illustrated Guide to the Lon¬ 
don and North-Western Railway,” of which Mr. George Measom is the author. This useful 
and delightful volume, which is a perfect marvel of cheapness, is prefaced with many inter¬ 
esting railway statistics, and useful directions to the traveller. The book., indeed, is so 
useful and entertaining, that every one who has travelled, or intends to travel, ought to have 
it, while he who has made up his mind to stay at home can find no better substitute for 
travel .’—Liverpool Mercury. 


Second Editions. 

Great Western Railway and its Branches. Five Hundred 

Engravings. OBTE SHI1LIIffGt 

Bristol and Exeter, North and South Devon, Cornwall, and 

SOUTH WALES RAILWAYS. Three Hundred Engravings. 

ONE SHXXiXiIN'G. 

The above two works bound together, 3s. 6d. 

‘Mr. George Measom’s “Official Illustrated Guide to the Great Western Tailway ” is the 
continuation of a remarkable series of illustrations, literary and pictorial, of country crossed 
by our great English railway lines. The abundance and excellence of the information, and 
the good woodcuts given in these works for a shilling, is one of the literary marvels of our 
day.’— Examiner. 

“* The Guide to the Great Western Railway "is a tremendous shilling’s worth. Nearly 
nine hundred pages of description and illustration, ihe letterpress well written and amusing, 
and the woodcuts extremely good. Mr. Measom’s books are well known to every railway 
traveller, and these last issues maintain the reputation of the series.’— Dispatch. 

‘“The Official Illustrated Guide to the Great Western Railway” is one of the largest 
shilling’s worths of reading we ever saw. This interesting publication is a marvel of cheap¬ 
ness. The illustrations are well chosen and well executed, and the letterpress is wriiten in 
the plain unvarnished style which characterises the previous works of the observant tra¬ 
veller, Mr. Measom .’—Bristol Mirror. 


MESSRS. GRIFFIN, CHARLES, & CO., STATIONERS’ HALL COURT. 







1863 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


39 


OFFICIAL ILLUSTRATED RAILWAY GUIDE-BOOKS— continued. 


Great Northern ; Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire ; and 

MIDLAND RAILWAYS. 300 Engravings. 794 Pages cf Letterpress. 

ONE SHILLING. 

North-Eastern; North British; Edinburgh and Glasgow; 

SCOTTISH CENTRAL; EDINBURGH, PERTH, and DUNDEE; SCOTTISH 
NORTH-EASTERN; and GREAT NORTH OF SCOTLAND RAILWAYS. 200 
Engravings. 688 Pages of Letterpress. 

ONE SHILLING. 

All the above hound together, 1482 pages, and magnificent 

steel plate frontispiece, 3s. 6d. 

‘ Mr. George Measom, who is well known as the author of some of the most graphic, as 
well as the cheapest, illustrated railway guides ever published, has just added these two to 
his list. The first contains about 500 engravings, a volume of 794 pages; and the second, 
which is illustrated with 300 engravings, is a volume of 688 pages; and the price of each 
volume is but one shilling. They are truly marvellously cheap productions, and they are as 
good as they are cheap, for they contain a great deal of valuable information about the prin¬ 
cipal towns on the several railways mentioned .’—Leeds Intelligencer. 

‘ Travellers cannot do better than provide themselves with these excellent guide-books; 
for they are full of information, and will supply many hours' reading in the train, thus 
answering the double purpose of amusement and direction. The illustrations are appropriate 
and well executed, whilst those which relate to our great hives of manufacturing industry 
must convey to many foreigners a startling idea of the magnitude and importance of the 
industry of this country .’—News of the World. 


Second Editions. 

The South-Eastern Railway and its Branches. Two hundred 

Engravings. ONE SHILLING. 

Northern of France, with Six Days in Paris. Magnificent 

Map. One Hundred Engravings. 

ONE SHILLING. 

All the above bound together, with map, 3s. 6d. 

« We can do no better service to an intending summer excursionist on the South-Eastern 
coast, or to the Northern of France Railway, comprising therein Boulogne and Paris (and 
how to spend six days there), than to invest the sum of a shilling for each of the two guide¬ 
books above mentioned; and he will have not only an amusing and instructive companion 
for the whole route, but save as many pounds as he has spent preliminary pence. The 
Northern of France and Paris is by far the best guide-book we have yet seen of Paris, and the 
route there by Boulogne. The books, in fact, are well worthy a place in any library.’— 
News of the World. 

* Mr. George Measom maintains his credit as a railway topographer for travellers this 
summer, with two Official Illustrated Guides, one to the South-Eastern Railway and its 
Branches, a most liberal shilling's worth of edification, the other to the Northern Railway in 
France. The latter of these includes a very clever illustrated summary of what may be seen 
in six days in Paris.’— Examiner. 


MESSRS. GRIFFIN, CHARLES, & CO., STATIONERS’ HALL COURT. 


V Mr. GEORGE MEASOM will feel obliged for any local information of public general 
interest, for embodiment in future editions of the above works. 

St. Margaret's, Twickenham, S. TP.— June, 1863. 








40 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


May, 


GENEVA. 

BERGUER ET FILS, 

GRAND QUAI, No. 30 (Near the Metropole Hotel), 

Watchmakers and Jewellers. 

A LARGE and fine Assortment of Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s 

Watches and Jewels of the latest and most tasteful description. 

MUSIC AND SINGING-BIRD BOXES. 

WHOLESALE AND RETAIL. 


VOIRON MOUNTAIN, NEAR GENEVA. 

PLEASURE AND HEALTH. 

rpWO HOTELS will this year be opened on the Voirons: 

the Hotel-Chalet, already known, 1456 metres above the Lake of Geneva; 
and the Hotel-Pension of the ‘ Hermitage,’ 1530 metres above the Lake. A spring 
of iron-water belongs to this Hotel. Both these Hotels are admirably situated. 
From one side of the mountain there is a fine view of the Chablais, the Lake of 
Geneva, and the range of the Jura; from the other side the Mont Blanc and the 
chain of the Alps. Beautiful walks are to be made in the surrounding pine- 
woods. 

These Hotels are kept by Mr. Gaillard, formerly chef de cuisine at the Hotel 
de l’Ecu at Geneva, who has endeavoured to make these Hotels as comfortable as 
any in Switzerland. 

Apartments and Salons for Families. 


References and all necessary information to he obtained at the Consulates and 

Hotels at Geneva. 





1863. 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


41 


THE TOURIST S ROOT, Sis., 

BEING MADE 

THE NATURAL SHAPE OF THE FEET, 

allows the whole breadth of the foot to rest on the sole of the Boot, thus ensuring 

Perfect Ease in the Longest Journeys. 

Plates of Steel are inserted in the Waist of these Boots, by which means a great amount 
of Elasticity is obtained. They are made of the best Calf Leather with CLUMP SOLES, 

and will be found 

Invaluable for all Pedestrian Purposes. 


For Mountain Excursions, 

The Alpine Pedestrian Boot, 25 s., 

as recommended by the author of ‘ Switzerland for Ten Guineas.' 

LICENSEE OF 

THE HYTHE BOOT, 28s. 

(Lieut.-Colonel Carter’s Patent.) 

Directions for Self-Measurement will be forwarded on application to 

JAMES S. CARTER, 

Boot and Shoe Manufacturer, 

295, OXFORD STREET, LONDON. 


NEUCHATEL. 


HOTEL DE BELLE VILLE. 

M OST advantageously situated on the Banks of the beautiful Lake 

it commands most extensive Panoramic Views of the Alps, from Mont Blanc to the 
summit of the Appenzels. 

This New HOTEL has been most elegantly and comfortably furnished throughout wdthin 
the last two years, and will be found to afford first-rate accommodation at reasonable 
charges. ^ ___ 

BATHS IN THE HOTEL. 


I N T E R LAC HEN. 


HOTEL INTERLACHEN. 

MR. MOSER INDERMUHLER, Proprietor. . ' 

T HIS old-established, first-class, and well-known HOTEL is most 

pleasantly situated, and commands most beautiful views of the scenery. Very superior 
accommodation at reasonable charges. Great comfort, good attendance, and extreme 
cleanliness. 

Fine view of the Alps and Jung Frau. 

Table-d’Hote twice a day. 

ENGLISH NEWSPAPERS. 















42 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


May, 


TOURS. 

- *o+ - 

GRAND HOTEL DU FAISAN 

I S beautifully situated in the RUE ROYALE, No. 9, near the 

Loire. It contains handsome Apartments, having a southern aspect looking upon the 
garden and the Rue Royale. 

Excellent Table-d’Hote. 

This first-rate house is much frequented by families both for its great cleanliness and 
politeness shown to visitors. 

ENGLISH SPOKEN. 


TOULON. 


GRAND HOTEL DE LA CROIX D’OR. 

T HIS handsome FAMILY HOTEL is to be recommended for its 

comfort and very great cleanliness. It still continues to deserve the honourable 
mention made of it in Murray’s Guide. 

Table-d’Hote. 

BATHS IN THE HOTEL. ENGLISH NEWSPAPERS. 

Omnibus of the Hotel to meet every train. 


VIC HY. 


GRAND HOTEL DE L’UNIVERS. 

Proprietor— MR. CHABASSIERE. 

HTHIS well-known and first-class HOTEL, deservedly recommended 
-*• by English travellers, is conveniently situated between the Railway Ter¬ 
minus and Mineral Springs, and it combines comfort with moderate charges. 

The Table-d’Hote is most Liberal. 

PUBLIC SALOON WITH PIANOS. PRIVATE BREAKFASTS, DINNERS, 

AND ROOMS IF REQUIRED. 

GOOD COACHHOUSE, STABLING, AND GARDEN. 

MR. and MADAME CHABASSIERE spare neither trouble nor expense to 
render this Hotel preferable to all others for Families and Gentlemen visiting 
Vichy. 

English, German, Spanish, and Italian spoken. 


Vichy, situate upon the banks of the Allier, in a beautiful valley enclosed in an amphi¬ 
theatre of hills, covered with a profusion of fruit-trees and vineyards, is the most 
frequented watering-place in France. The Bathing Season commences on the 1st May. 
English Church Service. By Rail eight hours from Paris, six hours from Lyons, and three 
hours from Roanne. 









1863. 


MURRAY'S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


43 


BETWEEN LAUSANNE AND OUGHY. 



THIS SPLENDID ESTABLISHMENT, CONSTRUCTED ON A GRAND SCALE, 

IS SITUATED ON ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SPOTS ON 

THE SHORE OF THE LAKE OF GENEVA, 

SURROUNDED BY 

AM EMffiOen PAEffi & ©AIBEM. 

IT IS NEAR 

THE STEAMBOAT LANDING & THE ENGLISH CHURCH; 

WITHIN TEN MINUTES* WALK OF 

THE EAILROAD STATION & THE CITY. 


Its Superior Interior Arrangements, the comfort of its Private Apart¬ 
ments, Public Parlours, and Reading Rooms, will offer all 
Desirable Attraction to Travellers. 

REDUCED PRICES FOR THE WINTER SEASON. 

Constant Communication with the City and Railroad Station by Omnibus. 


BATHS, TELEGRAPH, & POST-OFFICE IN THE HOTEL 

Proprietor, A. RUFENACHT. 






44 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER, 


May, 


STRASBOURG. 

H OTEL D’ANGLETERRE.—MR. CH. BRAUN, Proprietor. This Hotel is 
situated immediately opposite the terminus of the central Railway Station for France 
and all parts of the Continent, and adjoins the Post-office. It is near the Theatre in the 
centre of the town. The accommodation at this Hotel is most comfortable, and suitable 
for families or single gentlemen. The prices are moderate. 


PARIS. 

H OTEL DES ETRANGERS, et de la Madeleine, 24, RUE TRONCHET: 

DUMERIN, Proprietor. This HOTEL is situated in the finest quarter of Paris, close 
to the fashionable Boulevards, the Tuileries, and the Champs Elysees, and very near the 
Havre and Dieppe Railway Station ; it offers to travellers every desirable comfort. Excel¬ 
lent Table-d’Hole at Six o’clock, at 3 francs. Breakfasts and Dinners a la carte. Arrange¬ 
ments made at 8, 9, and 10 francs a day for Board and Lodging. Travellers who are 
recommended to this Hotel are requested not to be misled by the conductors of omnibuses 
and cabs, and not to confound this house with others of the same name, and situated in other 
parts of Paiis. 


ROUEN. 

p RAND HOTEL D’ANGLETERRE, on the Quay.—MR. H. DELAFOSSE, 
^ Proprietor. This HOTEL is distinguished for the salubrity of its situation and the 
comfort of its arrangements. It is situated on the Quay facing the Bridges, and commands 
the finest view of the Seine, and the magnificent scenery encircling Rouen, that it is possible 
to imagine. Travellers will find at this first-rate establishment every comfort—airy Rooms, 
good Beds, Refreshments, and Wines of the best quality at moderate prices. An excellent 
Table-d’Hote at half-past Five, price 3 fr. Restaurant a la carte. Mr. Delafosse speaks 
English, and has English servants. The Times newspaper. 


PARIS. 

W S. KIRKLAND and CO., 27, RUE DE RICHELIEU, Foreign Literary 

• Agents. Subscriptions and Advertisements received for all English and American 
Newspapers. Orders for Books, Magazines, and Reviews promptly executed. A weekly 
parcel from London; a monthly parcel from New York. 

Office in London—23, Salisbury Street, Strand. 


BRUSSELS. 

C ARTER’S COMMERCIAL HOTEL, 16 and 18, PLACE DU MUStiE, PLACE 

ROY ALE, has every accommodation and comfort for Single Travellers or Families. 
This HOTEL has been entirely new furnished and decorated throughout this Season; and 
Mr. and Mrs. Caktek, w’ho are English, will pay every attention to the wants and wishes of 
their visitors. Private Apartments for Families, with Board. English Newspapers. 
Allsopp’s Ale and Barclay’s Stout always on draught. 


SWISS COURIERS’ 

AND TRAVELLING SERVANTS’ SOCIETY. 

B EG to inform the Nobility and Gentry, should they require the 
services of a Courier or Travelling Servant, only those whose 
characters have borne the strictest investigation, both as regards 
sobriety, honesty, and general good conduct, have been admitted into 
the Society, and who are capable of fulfilling their duties efficiently. 
The Society therefore ventures to solicit your patronage, and hopes to 
deserve your future favours. 

All information may be obtained of the Secretary , 

HENRY MASSEY, Stationer, 

103 PARK STREET, GROSVENOR SQUARE. 

Established 1856. 










1863. 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


45 


BOOKS FOR TRAVELLERS. 


THE ALPINE GUIDE. 

A GUIDE TO THE WESTERN ALPS: Compris- 

ing Dauphine, Savoy, and Piedmont; with the Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa 
Districts. Edited by John Ball, M.R.I.A., F.L.S. To he followed by a similar 
Guide to the Central and Eastern Alps: the whole forming a complete Alpine 
Guide. Post 8vo. with Maps. [In June. 

A GUIDE TO THE PYRENEES, especially in- 

tended for the use of Mountaineers. By Charles Packe, B.A. In one 
thin Pocket Volume, with a Map of the Central Pyrenees, from the Vallee d’Aspe 
to the Vallee d’Aran, a Geological Map of the Chain, and other Illustrations. 
Crown 8vo. 6s. 

The large Map (the Central Pyrenees) may be had separately, price 3s. 6d. 
in case. 


QOUTH AMERICAN SKETCHES; or, a Visit to 

Rio de Janeiro, the Organ Mountains, and the Paranh. By Thomas W. 
Hinchliff, M.A., F.R.G.S., Author of * Summer Months among the Alps.’ 
1 vol. post 8vo. with Map and Illustrations. [In June. 


pONTANSEAU’S POCKET DICTIONAKY of the 

V_y FRENCH AND ENGLISH LANGUAGES ; being a careful abridgment of 
the author’s Practical French Dictionary, preserving all the most useful features of 
the larger work, condensed into a Pocket Volume for the convenience of Tourists, 
Travellers, and other persons to whom portability of size is a requisite. Square 
18mo. 5s. 


B ishop butler s atlas of modern geo¬ 
graphy. New Edition, enlarged to Thirty-three full-coloured Maps, 
drawn and engraved on Steel by E. Weller, F.R.G.S.; accompanied by a com¬ 
plete Alphabetical Index. Edited by the author’s Son, the Rev. Thomas Butler, 
M.A., F.R.G.S., Rector of Langar. Royal 8vo. price 10s. 6c?. half-bound. 

YAN FOOD AND ITS DIGESTION: Being an In- 

V-/ troduction to Dietetics. By W. Brinton, M.D., Physician to St. Thomas’s 
Hospital, &c. With 48 Woodcuts. Post 8vo. 12s. 

A NEW DICTIONARY OF GEOGRAPHY, Des- 

-AjL criptive. Physical, Statistical, and Historical: Forming a complete General 
Gazetteer of the World. By A. K. Johnston, F.R.S.E., &c. Second Edition , 
revised. In One Volume of 1360 pages, comprising about 50,000 Names of 
Places. 8vo. 30s, 


A GLOSSARY OF MINERALOGY. By Henry 

-CjL William Bristow, F.G.S., of the Geological Survey of Great Britain. 

Crown 8vo. 12s. 


With 486 Figures on Wood 


rTVHE WEATHER BOOK; A Manual of Practical 

JL Meteorology. By Rear-Admiral Robert Fitz Roy, R.N., F.R.S, Third 
Edition , revised ; with 16 Illustrations engraved on Wood. 8vo. 15s. 


London: LONGMAN, GREEN, and CO., Paternoster Row. 








46 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


May, 


GENEVA; HOTEL DES BERGUES. 

THE ONLY HOTEL WHICH HAS AN UNINTERRUPTED VIEW OF 

MONT BLANC AND THE ALPS. 


MESSRS. WACHTER & ADRION, 

Grateful for the patronage they have enjoyed for the last three years from all classes of tra¬ 
vellers, beg to inform their friends that the experience gained in that time has enabled them 
to improve the accommodation and arrangement of their hotel in such a manner that few 
similar establishments can compete with it in comfort. The cellar is unrivalled for the 
quality of the wines and the moderation of the prices. The kitchen department, placed 
under the care of one of the most celebrated cooks from Paris, is not surpassed in Europe, 
while the charges for table-d’hote and dinners h la carte are fixed at the lowest scale com¬ 
patible with the excellence and variety of the viands supplied and the elegance of the 
service. 

The principal object Messrs. Wachter and Adrion desire to attain, under their constant 
personal superintendence, is to render the HOTEL DES BERGUES, by the comfort 
It affords, both to families and single travellers, one of the best on the Continent. 

The Omnibus of the Hotel is in waiting at the Railway Station at the arrival of all the 
trains, and the Commissioner of the Hotel is at the same time in attendance to take charge 
of the baggage of travellers. 

Geneva, May, 1863. 


LYONS. 

-KX- 

GRAND HOTEL DE LYON, 

RUE IMPERIAL, AND PLACE DE LA BOURSE. 

mWO HUNDRED BEDROOMS, and TWENTY SALOONS, in every Variety; 

1 Large and Small Apartments for Families, elegantly furnished; Saloons for Official 
Receptions; Conversational and Reading Rooms; Coffee and Smoking Divan ; Baths; Private 
Carriages, Omnibuses, Restaurant; Service in the Apartments, a la Carte, or at fixed prices. 

ALL LANGUAGES SPOKEN. 

The GRAND HOTEL DE LYON is too important and too well known to require inju¬ 
dicious praise: it suffices to state that it cost nearly THREE MILLIONS OF FRANCS, 
and that the accommodation is of so comfortable and luxurious a character as to attract the 
notice of all visitors. 

Although the GRAND HOTEL DE LYON affords the most elegant accommodation for 
the highest classes, it is frequented by visitors of the humblest pretensions. Rooms at 2 frs., 
very comfortably furnished. 

TABLE D’HOTE at 4 frs. In consequence of the Proprietors having contracted with the 
Bordeaux and Burgundy Wine-growers for supplies of their Best Wines, qualities of the 
first vintages may be had at this Hotel at moderate prices. Since the Hotel has been in the 
hands of new Proprietors, instead of a Company, the reduction they have made in the prices 
precludes them from paying Fees to the Cab and Coach Drivers at the Railway Station. 
Travellers are therefore requested to bear in mind that the Grand Hotel de Lyon is situated 
in the centre of the Rue Imperial, near the Bank of France, and opposite the Palace of the 
Bourse. 






1863. 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


47 


WILDBAD. 

(Five Leagues f rom Pforzheim .) 


Hotel Klumpp, formerly Hotel de l’Ours, 

Mr. W. KLUMPP, Proprietor. 


T HIS First-class Hotel, containing 36 Salons, and 170 Bed¬ 
rooms, with a separate Breakfast and Reading Room, as well as a very 
extensive and elegant Dining Room, Artificial Garden over the River, is situated 
opposite the Bath and Conversation House, and in the immediate vicinity of the 
Promenade. It is celebrated for its elegant and comfortable apartments, good 
cuisine and cellar, and deserves its wide-spread reputation as an excellent hotel. 
Table-d’hote at One and Five o’clock. Breakfasts and Suppers a la carte. 

EXCHANGE OFFICE. 

Correspondent of the principal Banking-houses of London for the payment of 
Circular Notes and Letters of Credit. During the season it is the office of the 
Diligence to Pforzheim Station of the Baden Railway, which leaves Wildbad for 
the Courrier and Express Trains, and returns from Pforzheim after the arrival of 
these trains. Through Tickets issued, and Baggage Registered, to and from most 
of the principal towns. 

GENEVA. 


HOTEL DE L’ECU X>E GENEVE, 

Admirable Situation , facing the Lake and Mountains. 

Proprietor, Mr. T. KOHLER. 

THIS unrivalled and admirably conducted Hotel has long 

.I enjoyed an extensive and high reputation among English travellers. Situated in the 
finest part of the town and facing the Lake, it commands a beautiful view of the environs. 
The accommodation is of so superior a character, that tourists will find it a highly desirable 
place of residence or of temporary sojourn. 

Table-d’hote excellent, at 1, 5, and 8 o’clock, price 4 francs. Omnibus at 

the Station. 


LAUSANNE. 


~*o* 


Hotel Gibbon: Mr. Ritter, Proprietor. 

TOTS First-class Hotel, highly recommended in every 

JL respect, is situated in the best part of the town, and commands the finest 
and most extensive views of the Lake, the Alps, and the splendid scenery around 
Lausanne. The terraced garden adjoining the salle-a-manger is unsurpassed by 
any in the neighbourhood, and was the favourite residence of Gibbon, who wrote 
here his History of Rome. This house will be found to give very superior accom¬ 
modation, and to offer to travellers a highly desirable place of residence or of 
temporary sojourn. 

Pension at Reduced Prices during the Winter Months. 









48 


MURRAY'S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


May, 


SOUTHGATE’S 

SOLID LEATHER PORTMANTEAUS 

PRIZE MEDAL, 1862, 

AWARDED TO 

JOHN SOUTHGATE, 

75 AND 76, WATLING STREET, LONDON, E.C. 


For General Excellence and Cheapness. 



SOLID LEATHER PORTMANTEAUS, 
SOLID LEATHER LADIES’ DRESS TRUNKS, 


AND EVERT DESCRIPTION OP 

PORTMANTEAU AND TRAVELLING TRUNK. 















































































































































1863. 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


49 


LONDON AND ENVIRONS, 1863. 


Just Published, in a Portable Volume, New Edition, price 3s. 6d. 

—-- 


__ 2 | B : liAtGlrvS 

NEW GUIDE TO LONDON ANI 


ITS ENVIRONS* 


Arranged on the simplest plan. Illustrated by a Plan of the City, Map of 
the Environs, Plans, Views, &c. The Environs include—Crystal Palace, 
Richmond, Hampton Court, Windsor, Epsom, Greenwich, &c. 


In Pocket Cases, price Is., or coloured Is. 6d. each, 

BLACK’S NEW PLAN OF LONDON, 
BLACK’S MAP of the ENVIRONS of LONDON. 


To Tourists in Britain. 


BLACK’S GUIDE-BOOKS 
& TRAVELLING MAPS. 


In neat Portable Volumes, illustrated with Maps, Charts, and Views of Scenery, 
and containing full particulars regarding Hotels, Conveyances, &c. &c. 


England, 10/6. 

English Lake District, 5/. 
Wales, North and South, 5/. 
North Wales, separately, 3/6. 
Warwickshire, 2/. 

Isle of Wight &. Hampshire, 2/6 
Gloucester and Hereford, 2/. 


Yorkshire, New Edition, 5/. 
Surrey, 5/. 

Kent, 3/6. Sussex, 2/6. 
Dorset, Devon, & Cornwall, 5/ 
Scotland, 8/6. Ireland, 5/. 
Highlands (Anderson’s), 10/6. 
Lakes of Killarney, 1/6. 



This splendid New Map is now completed, and may be had either in a 
Case, price £2 2s.; or on Rollers, £2 12s. 6d.; or in separate sheets for tra¬ 
velling purposes, price 2s. 6d. each. Index Maps may be had on application. 


BUCK’S ROAD AND RAILWAY TRAVELLING MAPS, 


Carefully constructed from the Maps of the Ordnance Survey and other Authorities, neatly 

bound in portable cases, price 4s. 6 d. each. 


England, 32 X 221. 4/6. 

English Lakes, 19 X 14. 2/6. 
Wales, N. &. S., 14 X Hi- each 1/6. 
Derbyshire, 1/. 


Scotland, 32 x 224. 4/6. 
Ireland, 20 X I4i. 2/6. 
Kent and Sussex, 1/6. 
Yorkshire, 1/. 


Smaller Maps at 2s. 6d. and Is. each. 


EDINBURGH: ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK. 

LONDON : SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS. 


































50 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER. 


May, 


London and South-Western Railway. 

LONDON STATION, WATERLOO BRIDGE. 


PARIS, 

Via SOUTHAMPTON and HA VEE , 

EVERY MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, AND FRIDAY. 

The Cheapest Route. 

Fares throughout (London and Paris)— First Class, 28/0 5 Second Class, 20/0 
Return Tickets (available for one month)— First Class, 50/0 ; Second Class, 36 / 0 - 

Offices —Waterloo Bridge Station—No. 53, King William Street, City—Universal Office, 
Regent Circus—No. 216, Oxford Street (West)—Golden Cross, Charing Cross—Swan-Two- 

Necks; Gresham Street, London. — Southampton, Railway Station.-Havre, 47, Grand 

Quai.—Paris, 3, Place Vendome, or 30, Rue Bergere. 


JERSEY AND GUERNSEY, 

MAIL SERVICE, 

Via SOUTHAMPTON— The favourite Route. 

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 

Fares throughout (London and Jersey or Guernsey)— 31/0 First; or 21/0 Second Class. 
Return Tickets— 45/0 First ; or 35/0 Second Class available for One Month. 

The Last Train from London is at 8.30 p.m. 

Offices as above. 

Jersey Agent, Mr. G. H. Millais. Guernsey Agent, Mr. J. B. Barhat. 


CHAMONIX. 

- »cx- 

GRAND HOTELS Did LONDRES 
AND D’ANGLETERRE. 

-KX- 

KEPT BY E. TAIRRAZ. 

TRAVELLERS will find in this ESTABLISHMENT— 

always of considerable extent, and which has just been enlaiged by the 
addition of a magnificent Building—every possible convenience; comfortable and 
healthy Rooms, and spacious Saloons. Splendid View of Mont Blanc, the Glaciers, 
and the Valley. 

ENGLISH AND FRENCH NEWSPAPERS. 

HOT AND COLD BATHS. 

MULES AND CARRIAGES. 


FRENCH, ENGLISH, AND GERMAN SPOKEN. 













1863. 


MURRAY'S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER, 


51 


UNDER ROYAL PATRONAGE. 


PERFECT FREEDOM FROM COUGHS IN TEN MINUTES AFTER USE, 

And Instant Relief and a Rapid Cure of Asthma, Consumption, Influenza, Colds, 

AND ALL DISORDERS OF THE BREATH, THROAT, AND LUNGS, 

WHICH HAVE 
A MOST 


ARE 

INSURED 

BY 



AGREEABLE 

TASTE. 


%* Small Books, containing many hundreds uj pioperty authenticated Testimonials, may 

he had from every Agent, 

Cure of 14 tears’ Asthma. — ‘ Hindley, March 2, 1863. — I have much pleasure in trans¬ 
mitting the following copy of a testimonial I received this morning.— T. Walls. — “West 
Houghton, March 2, 1863. Dear Sir,—I feel great pleasure in informing you of the great 
benefit my wife has received from the use of the Dr. Locock’s Wafers 1 bought from you. 
She can now sleep soundly the whole of the night, without being disturbed by her cough 
and shortness of breath, although for four years before I got the Wafers she had not been 
able to sleep more than a very short time at once. She is better now than she has been 
for the last fourteen years.— John Eckersley.” ’—Cure of Consumptive Cough.— 
From the Author of the ‘ Narrative of the Second Sikh War.’ —‘ 1 had long suffered from a 
deep-seated cough, when Providence placed in my way a box of your Pulmonic Wafers. I 
experienced instantaneous relief. —J. Thackwell, 3rd Light Dragoons.’ 

All throat affections are immediately relieved by allowing one occasionally to dissolve in the 
mouth. To Singers and Public Speakers they are invaluable for clearing 
and strengthening the voice.— They have a pleasant Taste. 

Price Is. lid., 2s. 9d., and 11s. per box. Sold by all Medicine Vendors. 


INDIGESTION and all DISORDERS of the STOMACH, Sick Headache, 

Heartburn, Flatulency, Giddiness, and all Bilious Disorders, are immediately removed by 
DR. HUGO'S MEDICAL ATOMS which have a delightful taste, and may 
be eaten as confectionery. Sold at is. lid., 2s. 9d., and 4s. 6d. per Packet. Wholesale Agents, 
DA SILVA & CO., Bride Lane, Fleet Street; and sold by all respectable Druggists. 



DORRELL & SON’S 

PASSPORT AGENCY, 


15, CHARING CROSS, 

IMMEDIATELY OPPOSITE DRUMMOND’S BANK. 


Every Information given respecting Travelling on the Continent. 



English and Foreign Stationery, Dialogue Books, Couriers’ Bags, Pocket- 
books and Purses of eveiy description, Journal and Cash Books with Lock 
and Key, Travelling Writing Cases and Inkstandsi and a variety of other 
Articles useful for Travellers. 







































52 


MURRAY’S HANDBOOK ADVERTISER, 


Ma 7, 1863 


LEE’S POLYGLOT 
WASHING 
BOOKS, 

(To save the trouble 
of translating 
Washing Bills). 

For Ladies or 
Gentlemen. 

IN 

English <k French. 
English Js German. 
English <k Italian. 
English <k Spanish. 
English <Sc Portuguese. 

SPON GE B AGS. 

METALLIC 
SOAP BOXES. 





Waterproof Coats. 

KNAPSACKS. 

FLASKS. 


PASSPORTS 

Procured, mounted on linen, and inserted 
in morocco cases, stamped with coronet or 
name at the shortest notice, and forwarded 
by post. 

Vizas obtained and information given. 

The latest editions of Murray’s Hand¬ 
books kept in the original binding, and in 
limp leather, more convenient for the 
pocket, at 2s. a volume extra. 

Trustworthy Courriers and Travelling 
Servants can be engaged at 

LEE & CARTER’S 


MOORE’S 

GERMAN 

INTERPRETER 

With the exact 
pronunciation in 
English in a separate 
column. 5s. in cloth, 
or 6s. in leather. 


MANUSCRIPT & 
ACCOUNTROOKS. 


Metallic and other 
Pocket Books. 


Huggage Habels. 

DOOR FASTENERS. 


Patent Inkstands 
and Light Boses. 

ELASTIC BANDS. 


GUIDE AND TRAVELLING DEPOT, 


Bailway Rugs, 
STRAPS, 
Counter Bags. 

MONET BAGS & 
BELTS. 

PURSES, 
WALLETS, AND 
SOVEREIGN 
CASES. 


TRAVELLING 

TELESCOPES, 
GTcntpasses, 
and Spectacles, 


440, WEST STKAND,W.C. 

TWO DOORS WEST OP THE LOWTHER 
ARCADE, 

Where an extensive Collection of 

GUIDES, HANDBOOKS, MAPS, 

jliritomirres, dialogues, 

GRAMMARS, INTERPRETERS, 

WORD AND PHRASE BOOKS 
In most of the Continental Languages, and 
every article necessary for home and foreign 
travel is kept in great variety. 


ALL THE NEW AND STANDARD 
BOOKS FOR RAILWAY READING. 


MOROCCO AND RUSSIA ROLLUP 
WRITING CASES. 


Foreign Paper, 

ENVELOPES, &c. 


Pocket Pen 

AND 

pencil 


KELLER’S AND 
LEUTHOLD’S 

MAPS 

OF 

SWITZERLAND. 


STUDER’S 

MONTE ROSA. 


MAYR’S 

TYROL. 


LONDON: W. CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET, AND CHARING CROSS. 

LRB 0 ?9 



































































s. < 

















